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Silas Marner: the characters
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Eliot sets two men side by side: Silas, poor and honest, and Godfrey, rich but weak.
Silas
At first trusting and devout. Betrayed, he cries that there is "no just God that governs the earth righteously, but a God of lies, that bears witness against the innocent".
In Raveloe he becomes isolated and miserly.
Raising Eppie reconnects him with people, faith and joy.
In Raveloe he becomes isolated and miserly.
Raising Eppie reconnects him with people, faith and joy.
Godfrey and Dunstan
Godfrey: good-natured but weak and selfish; he hides his first marriage and his child to protect himself. In the end he is punished by childlessness and loses Eppie.
Dunstan: cruel, spiteful and greedy. He blackmails Godfrey and steals Silas's gold.
Dunstan: cruel, spiteful and greedy. He blackmails Godfrey and steals Silas's gold.
Eppie, Dolly and Nancy
Eppie: loving and loyal; she tells Godfrey she can't feel she has "any father but one".
Dolly Winthrop: a kind, simple neighbour who helps Silas raise Eppie and return to church.
Nancy Lammeter: Godfrey's wife, principled and dignified.
Dolly Winthrop: a kind, simple neighbour who helps Silas raise Eppie and return to church.
Nancy Lammeter: Godfrey's wife, principled and dignified.
Why is Godfrey a contrast to Silas?
- Godfrey is rich but hides his child out of cowardice.
- Silas is poor but takes in and loves a child who is not his.
- Eliot suggests true fatherhood is about love, not blood or wealth.
Answer: Godfrey abandons his daughter while poor Silas loves her, showing that love, not blood, makes a father.
Silas: betrayed, isolated, redeemed by love. Godfrey: weak, selfish, punished. Dunstan: cruel thief. Eppie: loving, loyal. Dolly: kind neighbour. Nancy: principled.
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