Silas Marner

By George Eliot
It’s been a while since I read Middlemarch; I remember enjoying it immensely (a good book to read while travelling on trains through the UK, incidentally) but had forgotten why. Reading Silas Marner reminded me – George Eliot takes you right into a community, building up the many characters and their foibles, illuminating the customs and beliefs of their society, and when she depicts foolishness, weakness or error, she does it kindly.

Silas Marner, a weaver, was brought up in “Lantern Yard”, an unspecified religious community, but is banished after a “friend” sets him up for stealing the church’s moolah and steals his chick. Marner makes his way to Raveloe, where he is not the most popular of residents, as the pain of his betrayal and banishment has made him a bitter and withdrawn person. He hoards his gold, earned through long hours on the loom, which is the only precious thing to him. So when it’s stolen, he kinda goes to pieces. Through chance, however, a young orphaned child turns up on his doorstep, bringing about his personal salvation. (He names the child Hephzibah, after his mother and sister; when it is noted that this is a bit of heavy duty name for a child he says, don’t worry, she will be called Eppie for short. I don’t know why I feel the need to note this – it’s just such a terrible name!! NB Apologies to all people called Eppie out there).

I have obviously been watching too many television soaps, because I expected many more twists and turns and disappointments and much more anguish before the finally happy end of the novel. Apparently this was Eliot’s favourite of her own work; I found it enjoyable and I love Eliot’s gentle style; but overall the story was a little bit “so what”. To channel the Queen for a moment, one isn’t always in the mood for a bit of nineteenth century novel. But if you are, this is a nice one.

Rating: 7 out of 10