Long Reading Texts: Novels Novel 1: Silas Marn er ——» ° HE NOVELIS George Eliot was the pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans, born in 1819 at Warwickshire, England. She was Sent to boarding school, where deeply influenced by the evangelical preacher Rev. John Edmund Jones, she developed a strong religious faith The publication of her first collection of stories in 1857, under the pseudonym of George Eliot, brought immediate acclaim from critics like Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray and causing much speculation about the identity of the mysterious George Eliot. After a number of impostors claim authorship of her first novel Adam Bede, Evans asserted herself as the true author, causing quite a in a society that still regarded women as incapable of serious writing, Eliot wrote the novels Adam Bede (1859) and The Mill on the Floss (1860) before publishing Silas M (1861). She is best known for Middlemarch (1871-72) subtitled “A Study of Provincial Life” Eliot's novels are deeply philosophical. The detailed and insightful psychological portrayals of her char confronting moral dilemmas broke the standards of Victorian novels that were generally plot-dri domestic melodramas. Eliot's break with tradition inspired the modern novel and numerous future at like Henry James, who admired her philosophical concerns. —_—_—_—_—e Silas Marner is a linen weaver in the village of Raveloe like other weavers of his time. He is an object suspicion because of the curious cataleptic fits he occasionally suffers and the fact that he has come Raveloe from Lantern Yard. He has settled in Raveloe because he had been wrongly accused of and was excommunicated by the members of his religious sect in Lantern Yard. Disappointed in friendship and love, abused by injustice, he leaves his birthplace for good, settles in where he falls into a routine: of solitary weaving, His isolated life is consumed by his loom and the treasure of gold which he hoards and pulls out every night to count it with affection. His attempt to with the neighbours backfires, when a herbal remedy he suggests for Sally Oates’ illness works and fumoured to be a sort of witch doctor. This isolates him further and he confines himself to his loom longer than before. He carries on in this way for fifteen years. In the same village there lives Squire Cass who is the wealthiest man in Raveloe. He has four sons, ‘and Dunstan, or Dunsey being the elder ones. Godfrey is good-natured but morally weak. Though tartied to an opium addict Molly Farren, he is in love with Nancy Lammeter. Dunsey, rather greedy Cruel, enjoys vexing and blackmailing Godfrey with threats to reveal the marriage to their father, Gives Dunsey 100 pounds of the rent money paid to him by one of their father's tenants and finds {ha tight situation when Dunsey insists that Godfrey repay the sum himself. After some arguing, offers to sell Godfreys prized horse, Wildfire, to repay the loan. The next day, Dunsey negotiates the sale of the horse with Mr Bryce, but decides to participate hunt before finalizing the sale. During the hunt he confronts a riding accident that eventually horse. Knowing the rumours of Silas's hoard, he plans to ask the weaver to lend him money, but hig cottage empty, steals the money instead, Silas returns from an errand to find his money gone: by the loss, he runs to the local tavern, Rainbow, for help and announces the theft to tavern reg theft becomes the talk of the village, and a theory of a pedlar arises who came through the village time before and he becomes the prime suspect of the theft. After hearing that Wildfire has been found dead, Godfrey decides to tell his father about the rent but refrains himself from telling anything about his marriage. The Squire though flies into a rage news, curses his idle sons, but does not punish Godfrey. ‘There townspeople offer condolences and advice to Silas who is utterly distracted by the loss of fis gold. Among these. visitors, Dolly Winthrop stands out, She encourages Silas to go to chu 166° he has not done since he was banished from Lantern Yard. oyether with? English Core — XIIicy Lammeter arrives at Squire Cass’s New Year's dance party. Resolved to reject Godfrey's advances use of his unsound character, Nancy, however, finds herself exhilarated by the evening that she spends Godfrey there nwhile, Godfrey's secret wife Molly, having an’ intention to reveal the secret marriage, advances to the jre's house. She has their daughter, a toddler, in her arms. Tired of her long walk, she takes a draft opium, overdoses and dies on the snowy road besides Silas's cottage. Drawn by the light of the fire, y's little girl toddles her way through Silas's cottage and falls asleep by the hearth. Silas is having of his fits at that time and does not notice the little girl enter his cottage. When he comes to his es and finds her, he is as stunned by her appearance as he was by the disappearance of his money. mistakes her blonde hair to be his gold. A little while later, he traces the girs footsteps outside and Molly's body lying in the snow. las enters the Squire's party with the baby gitl in his arms to find a doctor, causing a stir at the dance. frey, recognizing his daughter, accompanies Dr Kimble to Silas’s cottage and is relieved that his secret safe as soon as the doctor declares Molly dead. He does not claim his daughter, and Silas adopts her. las grows increasingly attached to the child and names her Eppie, after his mother and sister. Her baptism ings him to the church for the first time after his coming to Raveloe. With Dolly Winthrop’s help, Silas ises the child lovingly. Eppie not only acts as a bridge between Silas and the villagers, but also brings las out of the benumbed state he fell into after the loss of his gold. In his newfound happiness, Silas. jns to explore the memories of his past that he has long repressed, novel now takes the story forward sixteen years. Godfrey has married Nancy and has inherited the Red House, but not the title after the death of the old Square. He and Nancy have no children. Their fone daughter died at birth, and Nancy has refused to adopt anyone. Eppie has grown into a pretty and Spirited young woman and Silas a contented father. Dunsey's skeleton is found at the bottom along with jlas's gold in the Stone-pit behind Silas’s cottage when it drains out while watering neighbouring fields The discovery frightens Godfrey and he fears that his secrets are destined to be uncovered as well. He confesses the truth to Nancy about his marriage to Molly and fathering of Eppie. Nancy regrets that they could have adopted Eppie long back had Godfrey told that earlier Godfrey and Nancy decide to visit Silas's cottage to adopt Eppie, confining the truth yet to themselves, but Eppie's refusal forces Godfrey to reveal all. However, after hearing about her lineage, Eppie tells them she would rather stay with Silas and won't leave him for anyone. Godfrey and Nancy leave, resigning themselves to helping Eppie from afar next day Silas decides to visit Lantern Yard to see if he was ever acquitted of the theft of which he was laccused years ago. The town has changed almost beyond recognition and Silas realizes that his questions will never be answered. However, he is content that he has regained his faith in Eppie. Eppie and Aaron Winthrop, Dolly's son, are married on a fine summer day, with the wedding at Mr Cass's fexpense. The couple comes to live with Silas at his cottage which has also been renovated at Godfrey's fexpense. The beautiful small garden besides the cottage is a gift from Nancy and Godfrey for the newly wedded couple. The vilagers are happy to see that Sils's kindness to an orphaned child has been apthy rewarded. Silas Marner is a moral allegory of the redemptive power of love that skillfully employs various literary devices, such as flashback, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony and characterization in its intertwined major land minor plots. It treats the themes’ of faith, family, and class with a universal appeal, at a English society and institutions were undergoing rapid changes. liot has used certain symbols to represent abstract ideas and concepts in the novel. Marner's cottage: The cottage's picture of gloom and neglect: mirrors Silas’s negative state of mind. With Silas's change of heart, the cottage acquires a warm and welcoming look. Thus the cottage functions as a rker of Silas's changeover. Initially, when Silas is isolated and without faith, his home is bleak and closed loff from the outside world, with its doors tightly shut, but when Eppie comes into his life, the cottage comes the abode of an ideal family. larner's loom: Mamer's loom, which is constantly in motion and never going anywhere, embodies the nding and unchanging nature of Silas's work and life. The cause of his poor eyesight and bent frame, is also his only source of income. His loom foreshadows the coming of industrialization and the many ads on it symbolize the variegated nature of the villagers who together forms the community. e hearth: The hearth becomes symbolic of class distinction, where the upper rung is always found sitting lose to the tavern’s fire. It symbolizes all comforts of home and family. Godfrey imagines his children iplaying around the fire in the wainscoted parlor, making it a symbol of domesticity is the Silas’: hearth that brings out two drastic changes in his life in Raveloe, when first Dunsey and then Long Reading Texts ppie find their comfort in the light and warmth of Silas’s fire, attracting both misfortune and redemption. 167The village of Raveloe: The village of Raveloe is a symbol of harmonious living and focuses on the need for a restful surrounding for human habitation and contentment. Had the novel been in 2 busy to the core story about the life of Silas Marner, and the influences that shaped his life would have becor secondary to relating the events taking place in @ bustling environment. Lantern Yard: Lantern Yard is a striking symbol of Marner’s past life and spiritual thaw. Later, when he this place he finds no traces of past, symbolizing the disruptive power of industralization. His immedi departure from the place symbolizes his final break up with the embittering history and welcoming tt new-found purpose. The Material Wealth: The gold that Silas fondly hoards or Dunstan greedily looks forward to, symboliz the way to umpteen miseries in the case of both. The Nature: Objects like spider and ant symbolize solitary labour and monotony of work, flowers and bit symbolize the new-found joy and happiness. The newly emerging plant symbolizes Silas's rehabilitat Eppie planting her garden with a furze collected from the bush where her mother had breathed her symbolizes the bond between mother and daughter. Silas and Aaron working together as a team in tf garden brings out the value of labour that receives joy while working with one's own hands. The drai marshy Stone-pit symbolizes clarity and openness, for in its hidden depths lay the body of Dunstan ETL Questions } ; egether with® English Core — XII ‘What is the significance of the quotation from the poem by William Wordsworth that Eliot as an epigraph for Silas Marner? What are the benefits and consequences of accepting and meeting responsibilities? How theme reflected in the novel? How far has chance been a device to assert the role of circumstances in life in the novel Marner? To what is Silas's situation of opening his trouble to his Raveloe neighbours compared to he reaches the tavern? What difference this moment brings in Silas’ life? How does the Cass houschold provide a counterpoint to the domestic life Silas and Ep How is their parenting directly proportional to the character of their children? "| can't say what I should have done about that, Godfrey. I should never have married a ‘else. But I wasn't worth doing wrong for—nothing is in this world, Nothing is s0 good as it beforehand—not even our marrying wasn't, you see” Portray Nancy in the light of these said by her It has been said that givers are enriched by giving. How does this principle operate in Silas How has the writer brought into view the consequences of blinding rigidity of religion in Marner? Why did Silas wish to visit Lantern Yard again? What did his visit accomplish? Compare Nancy's and Dolly's systems of belief. The novel is set up as two parallel narratives that intersect three times. How does the inters display @ progression in Silas's status as a respected member of the community? How does the novel impress upon its readers the dignity of human labour through conte lass distinctions? Though Silas does not struggle to find purpose and connection in his life, the novel is still his recovery of purpose, faith, and community through his finding Eppie. Comment. Make a comparative estimate of the parenting abilities of the three fathers in the novel this reflected through their personality traits? How do symbols and allegory interact with realistic details and representation in Silas . Generally speaking, people get what they deserve, for better or worse. Support your what degree does this rule apply to characters in this novel? What are the respective roles of material wealth, social interaction, and social position attainment of happiness? .. What is Silas’ first thought when he notices the mass of gold on his hearth? How does on compare ‘both his treasures? (On the subject of adoption, who'do you agree with most, Godfrey or Nancy? Why? The open door of Silas’s cottage was the way to ruin for Dunstan, the way of refuge for and the door of hope’ for Silas. JustifyLONG READING TEXTS NOVEL 1 : SILAS MARNERD) [ANSWERS TO LONG ANSWERS QUESTIONS errr TL. Silas Mamer starts with an epigraph: A short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book oF chapter that intends to suggest its theme, It has been taken from a poem by William Wordsworth, that says: “A child, more than all other gifts ‘That earth can offer to a declining man, Brings hope with it, and forward-looking thoughts” ‘These words convey that as we grow old we lose the connection with the nature that we had in ur childhood days, but there is @ hope of regaining that because of the continuation of our family Tineage through our children. They also tell that our children can evoke in us those memories of childhood and be a source of joy and hope for the future. Eliot's selection of Wordsworth: epigraph and its use at the beginning of her novel highlights: the philosophical aspect of her affinity with Wordsworth, It is not hard to imagine that Eliot had. this mode! in her mind when she wrote this story of a child becoming a cause of an isolated spiritually desolated man's redemption. . The need to own up to one’s faults and shoulder the responsibilty of making 2 clean conf if one is guilty of wrongdoing is a crucial lesson propounded by the author “The life of Godfrey Cass is an outstanding example of this viewpoint. In his bid to hide his marriage from his father, Godfrey desperately clings on to scapegoats. He shirks his responsi ‘and duty and in the bargain becomes the only sufferer of his crimes. He is made use of by his younger brother. He is hesitant about proposing to Nancy until the last chance. He leaves his father feeling disappointed in him. Worst of all he loses the rightful ¢ (on Eppie, his child, because when he makes an attempt to redress the wrong done to her, refuses to go to him and prefers to stay on with Silas No amount of temptation, such as the prospect of becoming an upper-class git, or living in cor at Red House, can induce Eppie, a genuine and mature soul, who is not swayed by mom distractions, however glittering they may seem to be. . The chance incidents dramatically alter the prevalent circumstances in Silas Mamer. Para they become forebodings of misfortune too. The chance sight of a light, emitting from an open door, leads to Marners loss of his gold: cone might presuppose the thief Dunstan's debts would be squared up, the incident leads to death in the waterlogged stone quarry ‘The loss of his gold tums out to be the brightest spark in Mamer’s life. Eppie walks in through his thereafter and Sils, imagining her golden curls to be his lost gold, wholeheartedly accents he While the death of Molly seemingly at an opportune moment in Godfrey's life appears to troubles, in reality it marks the start of his lifelong tragedy. He concludes that now he ‘able to adopt Eppie without revealing his past, but Eppie categorically refuses to be adopt him, leaving the couple childless. The drawing of lots at Lantern Yard had by chance gone against Silas, but Silas won his lucky when he went back to Lantern Yard to realize that he must come to terms with his circumsts Thus the chance factor is not a fairy story element in the novel but a device to assert the: circumstances in life In Chapter 7, Silas's entry into the Rainbow tavern is the first moment since his banishment Lantem Yard that he is seen in any way a part of community. He is at the Rainbow to seek 194 “Jogether weth® English Core Solution—XIafter being robbed. The tavern-goers make him sit down by the hearth and tell his story from beginning to end. As he does s0, he begins to experience the first stirrings of a sense of solidarity with his neighbours. Everything about the experience is “strangely novel’ for him. He has never been inside anyone's house but his own since long. More importantly, in the last fifteen years he has not had the experience of feeling reassured by the presence of others. In deseribing these beginnings of a change, Eliot relies, as she often does, on a metaphor drawn from the natural world. Here, Silas is compared to a budding plant in the late winter, when the sap has started to circulate but before there is any outward sign of life. This image of rebirth suggests ‘an idea of community as something natural and organic, as opposed to the unnatural, deforming isolation from which Silas is beginning to emerge. The Squire has always been seen complaining that he has been “too good a father” and has spoiled his sons. In this regard, the Cass household provides a counterpoint to the domestic life Silas arid Eppie create. Both Godfrey and Eppie grow up motheriess—the former in circumstances of great plenty, the latter with litle, Both fathers indulge their children, but while the Squire does so out of negligence, Silas does so out of love. Eppie never doubts Silas’s love for her, whereas Godfrey does hold that doubt about his father. Eliot implies that this crucial difference is the reason Godfrey has grown up weak-willed and cowardly, while Eppie possesses a strong sense of values. This contrast is all the more striking since Eppie is, in fact, Godfrey's natural daughter. . Nancy gently repeals Godfrey with these lines in Chapter 18, soon after he confesses to his fatherhood to Eppie and about hiding the fact from Nancy for almost eighteen years. Nancy's reaction is not fone of anger, but instead one of deep regret that had Godfrey claimed Eppie long ago, they would hhave raised her themselves. When Godfrey responds that Nancy would never have married him had she known of his secret child, she responds with these lines, a gentle condemnation of Godfrey's act and the thinking that justified it ‘The words bring Nancy’s “unalterable lttle code” of behaviour into confrontation with Godfrey's sel justifying informal logical fallacy. While Nancy and her code are portrayed as occasionally illogical, Eliot leaves no doubt that Nancy is a deeply moral person. In taking Godfrey to task for simply ‘molding his actions to contingency, Nancy is passing Eliot's judgment as well, that those who allow tends to justify means ignore basic questions of right and wrong, Silas Marner is an excellent example of a dynamic character whose growth suggests that fragrance ‘lings to the hand that gives roses. He did something unexceptional to have reared an orphan child diving her both a fatherly and motherly love and was aptly rewarded for that. When we first met Silas, he appeared to have shut himself off from society and literally froicked with his gold. It is, only when this gold is stolen and he finds Eppie, his entire world view changed. Caring for Eppie, with her gold locks, was to Silas a sign from heaven that. maybe if he cared for this blonde child, his gold will return to him. Yes, the gold returned. It was through her that he wos ‘welcomed into the society that looked at him with “strangeness’. The gold also returned to him in the form of his “reawakened senses and trust’ and he was regarded as an “exceptional person” in the society. He was completely transformed. He raised her to be one the finest young women of the village His faith was renewed and he began to love again. His natural goodness came out and he realized that people are more important than money. f . In the novel the writer has brought into view the consequences of blinding rigidity, not just as theological concems but as institutions that have widespread repercussions on the lives of ordinary individuals, like Silas Mamet. When the prevalent practices are based on dogma, then the results ‘can be life-changing as is proved through the miseries endured by Silas, when he was declared ‘guilty of murder and theft merely by the counting of hands, instead of the due process of law. Novels 195Mamer was denied conventional justice as in Lantern Yard, the authorities did not believe in tal up their cases before a law court and had implicit and blind faith in their own system of counting hhands to pronounce a person guilty, On the other hand, Dolly Winthrop informs Marner about attending the village service as otherwise the child Eppie, whose upbringing he has undertaken, would be disadvantaged without her baptism. and christening into a formal religious scheme of fife. The author makes clear by these opp ‘examples, the true place of religion in our lives and suggests that the latter form, where faith and community are intermingled without one imposing a formalized codification on the believers, is the fone that can lead to peace and human happiness. 9. ‘Silas wished to visit Lantern Yard to clear up his lingering doubts about the theft for which he hed been accused and abused by the community, and meet Mr Paston, the minister, there. ‘The moment Silas reaches there, he realizes that the town hed lost its familiar landmarks having become a large manufacturing town, He had to take several turns and make new enauities to reach the vicinity of Prison Street where he had been imprisoned. The chapel had been razed and. 2 factory had come up in its place. Also, no one could give the whereabouts of Mr Paston, ‘The fate of simple village folk portrayed through the character of Silas Marner and Eppie is in contrast. to the insipid lives of Lantern Yards population. The fact that Mamer and Eppie had managed to survive and live on happily despite the changes all around them, shows the reader that lke silas, there is Tight’ for all of us even in the most deprived circumstances, Silas realizes that his questions will never be answered, but he is content with the sense of faith: he has regained through his life with Eppie. 10. Nancy Lammeter is a woman with an unalterable litte code that had formed all her habits. Her in the will of providence has made her resist Godfrey's proposal of adopting a child. She thinks that God has chosen her to remain childless, she must stay resigned to het fate. She is too opinionated i believing that an adopted child could turn out good. (On the other hand, Dally Winthrop is a simple, kind and loving woman who strictly believes in Dresence of a child in bringing warmth to the family life. She is the person who helps Sil in looki at life with a new perspective and restoring his faith in God and community. She even guides him looking after his adopted child Eppie and later chooses Eppie as her daughter-in-law by matrying son Aaron to her We can clearly assume that Dolly Winthrop is more flexible in her approach Nancy, 411. There are two plots in Silas Marner: Silas’ rejection of humanity and his redemption, and the involving Godfrey and his two wives The book covers thirty years portrayed in relatively three short periods, The first shows Silas liv ‘an isolated life in Raveloe, followed by a flashback to the time fifteen years earlier when he ‘excommunicated from Lantern Yard, skipping quickly back to its original point when once at We find Silas facing loss of his hoarded gold and accepting Eppie as his lost treasure. Siteen later, the results of the early events are evident. ‘The third phase contains five main events: the Lantem Yard robbery, the theft of Silas gold, death of Molly (or the arrival of Eppie), the retum of Silas’s gold, and Godfrey's attempt to his child In the beginning, there is little connection between the two plots which reflect individual ruin, by the end of the story the two intertwine to attain salvation. The community of Raveloe that deserted Silas opens its arms to welcome him wholeheartedly. Eppie provides @ connecting link only between Godfrey and Silas, but between Silas and the community as well 12. In the novel, Silas Mamer is a linen weaver, who tolls ceaselessly at his loom and earns an living. His earnings give him solace at a time when he is powerless in the defence of his inne against a wrong accusation of theft. Even when all his gold is robbed and he is left a pauper is able to recover his losses and his peace of mind, through the labour of his hands. 196 Jagether with® English Core Soluion—XI2B. 4 15, con the other hand, the Cass brothers, Godfrey and Dunstan, who scrounge of their father, are On tthe coat laced by Hs broter Dunstan and is forced to surender hs conta oe Gece Ne ck marage 2 secret. Dunstan on Kling Godley’ horse and having ro ec tonquare up his debts resorts to stealing Mamers gold voor eho te the Ie of the idle sink into further ruin and meet wih sorow, whereas The brothers, we Jninad ts earn hs bread honesty and diigenty, finds his We being bettered aa en year Hs cottage becomes 8 cheertul abode. His relationships with the vilages a eae ite tar and Epple becomes a true daughter to him in his old age Pe a ecaeiuced to an leolated Sas, centring his faith only on his hoarded heap of gold. The Wve ae re apsearance at his door ian allegory of Cstan sahaton the moment of rebith Ie cropped the cid brings in Sas the thoughts of his lost litle sister and is tong fibernted ol felns ae awakened aeerreth of ove told quivering oftendemes that once was in Marer’ if, turns to him The warty ot tren Sat cacovered Epp on his hearth, and decides to raise her is entire Fa errs copie Becomes a mor to view Sia, Her atival has made him love het a8 Tor ena er he as become aware of the soda religous and behavioural duties of @ Man having a purpse in if, le binging uP Eppe Fraga ne had been a disgruntled rebel against socety feng he had been unjust wronged by ere Jet agar him by the Lanter Yard church. Eppes coming had restored is ah n toe ae saan hire over Godfrey as parent further strengthens his tst in humanity im community, and in te church cere rare widower fsrated by the behaviour of his three sons. He prefers the company Sauire Cas & Wecour neath He i constant deridng his sons, though he himself. does not Of he wage ame hei a responsible squire, and generous host caring forthe wllage and se ther eho Goafey would be the night he to the manor Thus he is Keen on Godtey ware i an appropriate heuseholod, such asthe Lammeters. Fae cee ae tthe of Eppes at pains to hide Ne parenthood and chooses to sue the Sey ae scully hs younger brother tan come clan inthe mate: He doesnt have the sara eas rate’ and fs to adopt Eppe oso gesture of rtrbuton tothe weaver. saree Popes ratesal he Understonds hi mistake and sreconced to his fate. ae ae Copies father isan aflectonate ond cating parent. who takes parenting seriously and Sis Ma CPP fers good upbringing, He stats t0 goto church fr the sake of Epi, and ses hat eer rog nine on clear scupuousy. ad age he is amply compensated by the'ove and care of fs daughter, Pe rernrel at one level the oom isa means of Ivehood forthe weaver Sias. Symbol i Un the noe atroer's physical lation, fom the vilage. Cottage weavers such os Silos were aoe ulaaton hed entered Srtish Indust. ts regular motion. while remaining ener ste of Marers ocometion, which was restricted to the cottage by and large Soran ee arnt symbole the varegated nature ofthe vilagers who together formed the Vilage communi rae, ere besdes keeping the premises warm, symbolizes an element of brightness in Maer’ reat ea Sst the wernt ofthe hearth and revellers atthe Rainbow tavern eax ove Ie Fp he fee Codey mages cre paying around the rei the wansoted parlour marking la symbol of domes. ae ae srking symbol of Mame’ fe. Its eater close-knit community was hemmed in Lanter sty trot Marner leaves behind. His ter wit which depicts a changed space 9 dogma be carte community, s 2 symbol of Sas’ curent Iie, where a new begining rr ing symbolized by the industrial topography of Lantem Yord Novels 19716. The plot of Silas Mamer seems mechanistic at times, as Eliot takes care to give each character: Or her just deserts. Dunsey dies, the Squire's lands are divided, Godfrey wins Nancy but ends childless, and Silas, a mischievous stranger is treated as the most admired person of Raveloe liv happily ever after with Eppie. Fate, as a deciding factor while rewarding or punishing each character's actions, is @ central ‘of the novel. For Eliot, itis we who determine not only what we do, but also what is done to Better or worse, we get what we deserve, Nearly every character in the novel serves as an example of this moral order, but the best di is Godfrey who means well, but is unwilling to make sacrifices for what he knows to be right. However, throughout the novel Eliot maintains that Godfrey is not a bad person—he has sir ‘been compromised by his inaction and falls victim to the ironic situation just because compr thoughts and actions cannot, in terms of morality, have anything but compromised results. 17, Silas Mamer's obsessive love of gold brings lustful desire for possessing the gold coins. He devastated when he is robbed of his gold. It is when he finds the abandoned Eppie and to be her caregiver, that he experiences true and lasting happiness. Godfrey Cass, who abandons Molly and her child because he is intent on marrying the upper Nancy Lammeter, knows no inward peace as he lacks courage to confess to his misdeeds of ‘Thus when he actually claims Eppie as his daughter after 18 years and hopes to compensate his past, he is snubbed by his very daughter who prefers to remain a commoner. Godfrey ct himself by providing material comforts for her but can never attaim:the happiness that Mamer' ‘Squire Cass is very conscious of his wealth and status but is inwardly unhappy at the behaviour: waywardness of his sons, while Dolly Winthrop, who helps Mamerin looking after the infant, to persuade Mamer to attend church and paves the way for his acceptance in the communi These incidents prove that true happiness lies in litle acts of kindness rather than in coutwardliness. 118. Right from the day he lost his gold, Silas had been into the habit of looking out as if expect gold to come back. However, one day when he gets back to his hearth after doing so, he that his gold is “brought back to him as mysteriously as it had been taken away’ It was not until he leans forward, that he finds “instead of the hard coin with the familiar ‘outline” his fingers touching “soft-warm curls" of a lovely little child, who somehow has his cottage and was sleeping besides the hearth, We can say that his greed for gold confuses blonde hair with his lost money. Earlier this mistake may have shown his insane obsession with his lost gold, but later on is si ‘because this litle gir, Eppie, becomes just as precious to Silas as his gold was, and perhaps a hhealthier replacement for it was Eppie through whom he was brought back into the co bringing back joy to him. We know that he eventually receives his gold, but the real miracle was that the child's main i ‘was not helping Silas return his gold, but helping Silas care for someone for the first time i lite. That was the true miracle of the child in Silas’ life 19. In my opinion, adopting a child is a very personal and serious issue that should be dealt very delicately. Both Godirey and Nancy were justified in their own views. We can't fully disagree with either of them. Nancy had accepted her il fate as being the providential pun that reflected her deep-rooted Christian beliefs which seemed the norms of the society those She used to introspect her actions when alone, (On the other hand, Godfrey desired a child earnestly and he chose to adopt Eppie not. ‘of kindness for any orphan in general, but because there were his own selfish motives decision, and that was the fact that he was childless even after years of his married life, He 198 Jogether with® English Core Solution—XII20. ‘well knew that Eppie was his child from his secret marriage with Molly and hence he had claim on her far more than Silas. T think one should not hesitate in adopting a child if one has not been blessed with a child of one’s own, especially if the child is also bereft of parents. There is nothing more divine than providing a child home and hearth, Silas open door, which also portrays his emptiness and loneliness, stands as a significant symbol of his spiritual condition; welcoming evil or good whatever enters in to leave its influence on him, The open door of his Lantern Yard house places evidence against him that threw him out of his own religious sect, Later the open door of his stone cottage in Raveloe when he goes out on an errand, invites Dunstan who not only eventually steals his treasure, but also caims to be the cause of Dunstan's ruin who. falls in the stone pit and dies. During one of his fits, Silas leaves the door open again letting Eppie toddle Her way inside and find her refuge beside his hearth His opened door first brings a curse, but later brings a blessing to him in the form of Eppie who becomes a healthier replacement for his lost gold. She fils him with joy, faith, love and hope that he had almost forgotten since last fifteen years. —