Godfrey is at his worst in these chapters. While it is
clear that he is not directly responsible for Molly’s death, Godfrey’s
desperate desire that Molly not survive is horrifyingly cruel and
selfish. Eliot, always uncompromising in her moral judgments, presents
Godfrey’s cruelty as the natural result of his dishonesty and cowardice. This
selfishness is simply the result of Godfrey being “a man whose happiness
hangs on duplicity,” who repeatedly shirks the demands of his conscience.
Strangely enough, however, Godfrey seems to be rewarded for his
duplicity, as he receives exactly the miracle for which he has hoped.
It is not difficult for us to surmise, though, that Godfrey will
not get off quite so easily.
As mentioned earlier, both of the novel’s main characters,
Silas and Godfrey, are remarkable for their passivity. Neither man
acts—instead, both are by and large acted upon. However, Silas is
acted upon primarily because of bad luck, whereas Godfrey is acted
upon because of his own naïveté and cowardice. Here, both characters
are presented with an opportunity for action. Silas takes action,
while Godfrey does not. Silas’s decision to keep Eppie has great
positive consequences for him, bringing him companionship and redemption.
Godfrey could have made the same decision—as Eppie’s natural father,
with greater justification—but he does not. As we will see, when
Godfrey eventually tries to make up for this inaction, it will be too
late.
