Silas Marner

To “a simple weaver like” Silas, Raveloe seems very different to the communities he has known in the past (17). The farms are bountiful and the ground is fertile, so the local people do not need to work as hard as they do in his native region of Northern England. The people are less religious, so his faith is not stirred. He busies himself with work and weaves faster than he needs to. Silas is “paid in gold” and—since he no longer donates money to the church or has money taken from him by an employer—he is able to save a good amount (19). Counting his money gives him a sense of satisfaction.

Silas notices that Sally Oates, his neighbor and the wife of the local cobbler, is suffering from an illness. The symptoms seem to Silas to be the same “as the precursors of his mother’s death” (20). He offers Sally an herbal remedy that helped his mother with the pain. When the remedy works, people suspect that Silas dabbles in witchcraft. Other people come to Silas for help with their various illnesses. Silas honestly admits that he does not know how to help them. Growing irritable, he sends them away. The locals turn on him, blaming him for any bad luck. Though Silas tried to help Sally, he instead isolated himself further. He works 16 hours a day and amasses more wealth, counting his gold coins each night. The coins are kept in an iron pot beneath the floorboards under his loom. When the pot is full, he fills two large leather bags with more earnings. For 15 years, he lives in this remote and miserly fashion, counting his coins for comfort and security.

The wealthiest man in Raveloe is Squire Cass. While he is well-regarded and holds “the title of Squire,” the local people do not think as well of his two sons. Dunstan, nicknamed Dunsey, is notorious in Raveloe (26). He is cruel, greedy, and unpleasant. He drinks heavily and gambles. In contrast, his older brother Godfrey is good-natured. The local people hope that Godfrey will one day marry Nancy Lammeter, a local woman. In recent times, however, Godfrey has seemed strange. In November, Godfrey and Dunsey argue ferociously about £100. Godfrey lent the money to his brother, knowing that it was actually rent meant to be paid to their father by a tenant. Now, their father wants the money and Godfrey worries that he will discover that his sons have been lying to him. He implores Dunsey to repay the money “pretty quickly” (29). Dunsey refuses, insisting that the missing £100 is now Godfrey’s problem. He is blackmailing Godfrey by using a terrible secret: Godfrey is secretly married to an opium addict named Molly Farren. Dunsey tells Godfrey to sell his favorite racehorse, Wildfire, to recover the £100. Since Godfrey worries that Nancy will be unhappy to learn of his secret marriage, he caves under his brother’s pressure. When Dunsey jokes about killing Molly, however, Godfrey becomes angry. He threatens to reveal all their secrets, taking his brother down with him.

Though Dunsey would rather not endanger his comfortable lifestyle, Dunsey fears that he has been too cruel to his brother. Dunsey offers to sell Wildfire on his brother’s behalf. Godfrey agrees, as he wants to attend a social event the following evening where he might see Nancy. The narrator explains that the secret marriage was a “trap laid for [Godfrey] by Dunstan” (35). Godfrey is in love with Nancy, who fills an emotional hole in Godfrey’s life left by the death of his mother. Godfrey is miserable because he worries that his secret marriage threatens his marriage prospects with Nancy.

Dunsey prepares to sell Wildfire. As he passes Silas’s house, he remembers the rumors that the weaver has “a great deal of money hidden somewhere” (38). He thinks about ways to get this gold for himself, but he puts the idea aside as he plots how to sell the horse. He negotiates a price for Wildfire with his acquaintances. The price will be paid when the horse arrives at the stables. Dunsey impulsively decides to take Wildfire on a ride beforehand, joining the local hunt. During the ride, however, Wildfire falls on a stake and is killed. Since there are no witnesses, Dunsey walks home alone through the mist. While walking, he again thinks about the rumors of Silas’s gold. He knocks on Silas’s door and discovers that it is unlocked. The house seems empty, even though a fire is lit inside. Dunsey locates the sacks of gold and runs out of the house and “into the darkness” (45).

When Silas arrives back at his cottage, he barely registers that the door is opened. He has never considered that he might be a victim of theft. As he sits down, contemplating his evening meal and the “nasty fog,” he thinks about how he will count his gold coins later in the evening, as he does every night (47). When the time comes to count the money, however, he notices that the bags are missing. Silas searches in vain for the bags. When he realizes that the gold is gone, he screams. At first, he thinks God or some supernatural force may have taken his money. Then, he decides that he has been robbed. Thinking about his neighbors, his chief suspect is a “known poacher” named Jem Rodney (50). He decides to tell the people of Raveloe about the theft. In the Rainbow, the village pub, he finds no one important. The pub is divided into two rooms in which patrons are permitted to enter based on the local social hierarchy. The room for the higher-class patrons is empty, so Silas enters the other room.