1. What is the significance of Silas Marners nearsightedness?

Silass poor eyesight is part of the bodily deterioration and deformation he has
experienced as the result of his long hours of work at the loom. Like his bent
frame and premature aging, it is a mark of the dehumanizing qualities of long,
repetitive labor. On the level of plot development, Silass poor vision creates a
parallel between Eppie and Silass lost gold. He does not see Eppie come in,
just as he did not see the gold leave. When he first notices Eppie, Silas sees
her blonde hair and thinks that somehow his gold has returned. He must touch
her hair in order to understand that Eppie is a living thing. On a symbolic level,
Silass nearsightedness embodies his general narrowness of vision and
thoughta limitation that, until Eppie comes into his life, prevents him from
thinking beyond the narrow confines of his work and his gold. It is significant
that, when we see Silas sixteen years after he has adopted Eppie and grown
out of his spiritual straitjacket, his eyes seem to have gathered a longer
vision, as is the way with eyes that have been shortsighted in early life.

2. Compare Silas Marners love of his money to his religious faith.

For fifteen years, Silass gold serves as a substitute for his lost faith. Silas
loves his gold, works for it, and looks forward to viewing it and holding it in his
hands each evening. He even comes to love the faces engraved on the coins
as if they were his friends. But, as is made clear when Eppie appears, in his
miserliness Silas has wasted his love on something that has no capacity to
reciprocate. Unlike his lost faith, Silass love of his money is simply a desire
and does not involve any higher system of beliefs. Moreover, Silass love of
his money could be seen as the opposite of faith in that it renders his actions
important only as a means to obtain more gold. Conversely, a life of faith, as
exemplified by Dolly Winthrop, is one in which actions have meaning as
manifestations of belief.
The other major difference is that religious faith is a communal experience. In
both Lantern Yard and Raveloe, community is formed around shared faith.
According to Dollys simple theology, religious faith is intimately associated
with a faith in ones neighbors, and the church is seen as responsible for
those members of the community who cannot care for themselves. Silass
guineas, on the other hand, draw him away from the world and shut him up in
the isolation of his cottage.

3.
What does Silas Marners cottage represent?

Silass stone cottage functions as a symbol of domesticity, one of Eliots

primary motifs in the novel. Silass is a strange sort of domesticity, since the
cottage is hardly furnished, but the cottage is still very much Silass private
space. For Silas to be incorporated into the community, he must first be drawn
out from his isolation in the cottage. Thus, the novels two most important
events are intrusions into Silass cottage, first by Dunsey and then by Eppie.
After each intrusion, Silas is forced to leave the cottage to seek help in the
public space of the village.

Similarly, the cottage functions as a marker of Silass growth into the

community. Initially, when Silas is isolated and without faith, his home is bleak
and closed off from the outside world, with its doors tightly shut. As Silas
begins to open himself up, his cottage likewise opens up. As Silas and Eppie
become a family, the home is literally brightened and filled with new life, as
the family gets several animals and improves the garden and yard.

The Cass household, the Red House, functions as a counterpoint to Silass

cottage. While at the opposite extreme of size and luxury from Silass abode,
the Cass home also undergoes a transformation as it moves from the Squires
control to Nancys. The Red House plays host to two major social events in
the novel: the New Years dance and Aaron and Eppies wedding procession.
However, while Silass home continues to grow and take on new members,
the Red House becomes increasingly subdued and has fewer occupants at
the novels close than at its beginning.