Silas Marner by George Eliot (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Silas Marner by George Eliot. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, as well as a useful discussion of Eliot’s approach to narrative and characterization. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 48-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of George Eliot
• Presentation of Silas Marner
• Summary of Silas Marner
• Character study
  • Silas Marner
  • Dolly Winthrop
  • Godfrey Cass
  • Dunstan Cass
  • Nancy Lammeter
  • Eppie Marner
• Analysis of Silas Marner
  • Narration
  • Characterization
  • Realism

About Silas Marner

Silas Marner follows the titular character, a weaver who is unfairly expelled from his community. He then moves to the village of Raveloe, where he struggles to fit in with the inhabitants and becomes increasingly embittered. This all changes when he finds Eppie, the secret daughter of the local squire’s eldest son, and raises her as his own daughter, learning how to connect with humanity in the process. The novel stands out for its realism, and for its strong moral message.

About George Eliot

George Eliot is the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. Evans grew up in Warwickshire, where her father was an estate manager. From an early age, she refused to be bound by convention: in 1846, she translated the German liberal protestant writer David Strauss’s The Life of Jesus, which scandalized her contemporaries as it denied the veracity of many of the miracles recounted in the New Testament, and she shocked literary London by openly living with a married man. She is remembered as one of the key figures in literary realism, as exemplified in her novels, including The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner and Middlemarch.