Novel Insights Guide To

Silas Marner

by George Eliot


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TABLE OF CONTENTS


Author Biography ..................................... 1
Chapter 01 - 02 ..................................... 2
Chapter 03 - 07 ................................... 8
Chapter 08 - 11 ................................... 13
Chapter 12 - 13 ................................... 20
Chapter 14 - 15 ................................... 25
Chapter 16 - conclusion ................................... 29
Test Questions .................................. 34
Vocabulary Tests ................................... 40
Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle .................................. 60
Selected Bibliography .................................. 70


Chapters 01 - 02

The first two chapters introduce the setting; a small rural town in early nineteenth century England named Raveloe, and the main character, a rather strange, myopic weaver named Silas Marner. Marner carries a certain amount of suspicion among his Raveloe neighbors due to the fact that linen weavers are held to be strange to begin with, but Marner has come from some unknown territory, and suffers from strange epileptic seizures to boot. Marner's background is then explained, how he was falsely accused of stealing money from a dying church treasurer by his "best friend," who also stole his fiancée, leaving Silas totally devoid of faith in man and God. Coming to Raveloe in such a state fifteen years previously, he had isolated himself from his neighbors, forming an affectionate attachment only with the gold he earned from his weaving. At one point, he was able to render aide to an ailing neighbor through his knowledge of herbs that had been passed on from his mother, but this only added to the local superstition that he had some ability to perform black magic, overwhelming him and causing him to disperse them and withdraw even more.


Suggested Activities - Chapters 01 - 02

  1. Invite an optometrist to speak to the students, explaining why Silas's eye would have protruded so much, making him appear so frightening.
  2. Role play: Ask students to write and act out a skit in which they portray what happened to Silas in Lantern Yard. If there are a sufficient number of students, have two groups - one to present the story from William's point of view and one from Silas's.
  3. Visit an old fashioned loom and allow students to participate in weaving as it was done at the time of the setting of this story.
  4. Invite a neurologist to explain how epileptic seizures can cause a person to behave in the ways that Silas did.

Review Questions - Chapters 01 - 02

  1. What is the setting of the story?
  2. Describe the village of Raveloe.
  3. What is Silas Marner's most noticeable physical characteristic?
  4. According to the strange behavior he exhibits, from what disorder does he suffer?
  5. At the beginning of the story, how long has he lived in Raveloe?
  6. Where did he live before?
  7. Why did he leave? How does Jeremiah 9:4 apply to William Dane? Look up Ps. 31:13; Prov. 10:18; Prov. 11:9. How do these verses describe what happened to Silas?
  8. A flashback is a narrative device of jumping backward in time which allows the author to cover a great time span and give important background details while focusing on a significant episode. How is the flashback technique used effectively in chapter 1?
  9. Contrast Raveloe with Lantern Yard.
  10. When Silas gave herbs to Sally Oates, what did people think of him?
  11. What did he do when people came to him looking for cures?
  12. What happened to his water pot?
  13. What does his reaction indicate about Silas?
  14. How was Silas different in Raveloe compared to the way he was in Lantern Yard?
  15. How can Silas be considered the perfect miser? What Scripture would apply to what is happening to Silas's heart?

Review Question Answers - Chapters 01 - 02

  1. The story is set in early nineteenth century England in the village of Raveloe.
  2. Raveloe is a small, rural village in which most of the inhabitants have lived for several generations, making them automatically suspicious of any outsiders. There was a church at the center of the village and a few more affluent homes, built of brick and stone, with walls and orchards, and sufficient land that the owners could live for some time without farming at all. The rest of the village was made up of working class people. The village was far enough removed from the rest of society that it lagged behind modern trends, and the citizens lived comfortably in their societal roles from generation to generation.
  3. He had large, protruding eyes that were extremely nearsighted.
  4. Some form of epilepsy - he apparently suffered from petit mal seizures.
  5. 15 years.
  6. Lantern Yard
  7. He had been falsely accused by his best friend of stealing money from a dying deacon in the church. Jer. 9:4 warns that everyone should be on guard against his neighbor. Silas was too trusting. He did not suspect that William was setting him up when he didn't show up for his shift to watch the dying man. Num. 33:30; Deut. 17:6; Matt. 18:16 instruct that there should always be two witnesses to accuse anyone of a crime, but William set Silas up to take the blame on circumstantial evidence only. The other verses describe how one who spreads slander takes the life of the person who has been slandered. Although Silas did not physically die, he died emotionally due to the actions taken by the man who had claimed to be his closest friend.
  8. Eliot introduces Marner, then flashes back to his life in Lantern Yard, explaining both how he came to Raveloe and hoe he came to be such a withdrawn, reclusive man.
  9. While Raveloe is rural and withdrawn from the main track of society, Lantern Yard is a crowded, bustling urban area centered around a local parish.
  10. People believe that he has some knowledge of black magic.
  11. Unable to handle the steady influx of people at his door, and equally unable to cure all of their ills, he becomes irritated and refuses to see them.
  12. His water pot broke when he stumbled and it fell on the stones.
  13. He became distraught over it, showing that he still had the capacity to show emotion.
  14. In Lantern Yard, Silas had been friendly, with a fiancée, and friends. He was generous with what he earned, giving a portion to the church as well as saving for his upcoming marriage. He had been active in church, showing a love for God as well as for his fellow man. In Raveloe, Silas had become isolated from other humans, afraid to care for anyone and not allowing anyone to care for him. He lost his faith in God after the incident in Lantern Yard, so he no longer attended church and was not generous with his money, keeping it all for himself and eventually becoming totally involved with the money as if it were the love of his life.
  15. Silas was the perfect miser because his entire life belonged to his money. He loved his money more than anything else in his life. He gave affection to his money that should have been given to a God and a wife or children. He wrapped his heart around the money in a way that was worshipful. He was willing to give up anything in order to have more money; he did not think of his own comfort or pleasure but only of the money. I Timothy 6:10: "The love of money is the root of all evil" would apply.