Silas Marner, written by George Eliot, is a fiction novel that tells the story of a man named Silas and his life in Lantern Yard, North England. Silas came from Raveloe and he lived there with his family and friends until he was excommunicated. At Raveloe, Silas was falsely accused of stealing and she then ventured to Lantern Yard where he lived for the rest of his life. There at Lantern Yard, he also becomes a loving father to a girl whom he names Eppie. Eppie’s mother, Molly, a drug addict, died when Eppie was still an infant and Eppie’s father, Godfrey Cass, disowned her in order to marry the love of his life Nancy. Throughout Silas’s life, he goes through many emotions and experiences many different things. From being a happy man, to a miserable man, to a father, Silas lives a life full of ups and downs. Silas Marner is a story that teaches us about religion, fate, and loss and gain.
Religious belief is a complicated topic that can change and alter throughout one’s life. We may not always follow the same religion and sometimes we may stop believing in God all together. There are many religions in the world and they are either polytheistic, meaning the believer worships more than one god, or monotheistic, meaning the believer worships one single God. Religions such as Judaism, Islam and Christianity are monotheistic while religions like Buddhism are polytheistic. In Silas Marner, the religion practiced is Christianity. When Silas was younger and living in Raveloe, he practiced the teachings of Chrisitanity and attended Church. However, he stopped believing in God when he was falsely accused of stealing/excommunicated. Then, at Eppie’s arrival, he started seeing the light in life, and went to Church again. Practicing a religion takes time and sometimes, people end up converting or giving up. When one practices/follows a religion long enough, they can feel connected with the others around them and in Silas’s case, he felt love after going back to Church after such a long time. Religion is one’s belief that can change the way one views/looks at things.
Fate decides not who we are, but how we end up in the future. Fate is the development of events beyond our control. An example of fate is if you will win the lottery. You can’t physically decide whether you win or not, your fate determines whether you win or not. However, not everything we do in life is what fate decides. In Silas Marner, the fate of different people are written out between the lines. Godfrey’s ending is having no children. This is because he abandoned Eppie when she was still a baby. Dunsey’s ending, however, isn’t so pleasant. He ends up dying at a young age by breaking his neck and this is caused by himself, trying to run away after robbing Silas. Silas, unlike Dunsey, ends up in a much better spot. Silas enjoys his life with his adopted daughter Eppie and son-in-law. His good deed of caring/adopting Eppie granted him a nice life. “People who are kind will be rewarded for their kindness, but cruel people will be rewarded with trouble.” Proverbs 11:31-71 ERV. When we are kind to others, we get repaid with kindness, however, an evil doing can cause a troublesome future.
In life, there will be times when we lose and gain, depending on the situation we’re in. The things/times we lose in life can be related to what we gain in life. If we come upon two options in life and we choose option A, then we automatically lose option B, even though we gained option A. In Silas Marner, the characters in the story all gain something, either good or bad, but also end up losing something, valuable or not. Godfrey Cass loses his daughter but gains a lover. Dunsey Cass, on the other hand, loses his life but gains money for a few minutes. Silas’s gain was a happy life, a daughter, and a family. However, in the process, he lost his family in Raveloe, friends in Raveloe, reputation, and hope. Eppie, similar to Silas, loses her biological family, but gains a loving father, someone who truly cares for her, and a husband. In life, we can benefit through our gains and mourn over our loss. Our actions can also cause our gains and losses in life. The gains and losses we experience in life and shape our outcomes in the future.
Silas Marner is a detailed story that teaches us many lessons in life. Through Silas, we see how religion can change our life. We see Silas’s struggle throughout his path as a Christian. We see and feel the pain that religion has caused him and how it helped him feel love. We also explore the topic of fate. We see through the characters that kindness will be repaired whilst evil behavior will cause consequences in later life. The Chinese proverb: 善有善报，恶有恶报, has the same meaning. We also see the gains and loss in life the characters experience. The same time we gain something, we would be losing another, and when we lose something, we gain another thing at the same time. That’s what the Chinese proverb 塞翁失马，焉知非福 means. Silas Marner gives us different aspects in life and teaches us many of life’s important lessons.
Comments