The Lost and Found Gold: A Book Review of "Silas Marner" by George Eliot



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A weaver who hordes his gold suddenly loses it in a robbery. Soon, though, a golden-haired orphan appears at his doorstep. This sets the stage for the classic book Silas Marner by Mary Anne Evans (under the pen name of George Eliot).

SUMMARY

   A weaver named Silas Marner finds himself falsely accused of stealing his chapel's money. On top of that, his fiance's mother forbids him from ever speaking to her daughter ever again. In despair, Silas leaves town.

   Years later, Silas is living in Raveloe, still as a weaver. He keeps to himself, save for when he has customers. He collects and hordes gold (personally, this reminded me of Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol), keeping it hidden under some loose bricks.

   His money is stolen, but a few days later, he finds a woman in the snow. The woman is dead of frostbite and Marner adopts the woman's golden-haired daughter. With the help of Dolly Winthrop, Marner's friend, he names her Eppie. She grows up to be married at the end of the book.

   There are other characters who have their own stories: Squire Cass (Marner's landlord), his oldest son Godfrey, his youngest son Dunstan, and the beautiful Nancy Lammeter.

   Godfrey loves Nancy, but he has a secret that keeps them apart. Dunstan is a lazy trouble-maker who disappears early on. Eventually, Godfrey and Nancy are married, soon after Silas adopts Eppie. At the end of the book, before Eppie is married, some startling secrets come to light.

   There are thousands (maybe millions) of good books out there. You can tell a book is especially good, though, if it makes you happy and mad, laugh and cry. I would say Silas Marner is an especially good book!

CONTENT

   There is not really much violence in this story. The most violence is when a skeleton is found after the stone pits are drained of water. 

   Once Eppie is older, she has a romantic relationship with Aaron Winthrop, but it is a healthy relationship. There is nothing inappropriate between them. Godfrey Cass is already married while he holds feelings for Nancy. He marries Nancy only after his wife dies. Neither is there any swearing in the book.

   Silas Marner learns the valuable lesson of cherishing people, rather than wealth. There are also values/lessons of forgiveness and God's providence in the book. Silas Marner is a most touching book and is definitely one of my favorite stories ever!

GENERAL INFORMATION

 Number of pages: 194

Author of book: George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans)

Published in: 1861

Primary Audience: Children, Teens, Adults