Silas Marner
Silas Marner is an 1861 novel written by George Eliot. Unlike other Eliot novels, Silas Marner is a very compact book with a straightforward narrative and very few subplots. It concerns Marner, a weaver unfairly forced out of his home village after being framed for robbery. Moving to the small town of Raveloe, he leads a quiet, lonely life where he hoards his money and is treated with suspicion by the townspeople until he is struck by tragedy, and then redemption, shortly thereafter.
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| Original Title: | Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe |
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| Written by: | George Eliot |
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| First published: | 1861 |
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| Source: | Read Silas Marner here |
It is now in the public domain, and can be read in its entirety at Project Gutenberg or at All The Tropes.
Tropes used in Silas Marner include:
- Blackmail: Dunstan to Godfrey
- Character Title
- Daddy's Girl: Eppie
- Et Tu, Brute?: Silas's backstory involves being framed by his best friend
- Hair of Gold: Eppie, symbolizing the gold Silas lost
- Happily Adopted: Silas and Eppie
- Karmic Death: Dunstan
- Loners Are Freaks: This is kind of the point of the novel, but it's also the general attitude of the townspeople
- Meaningful Name: Eppie's name is short for Hephzibah, which means "my delight is in her." It's also used in the book of Isaiah as a synonym for Zion/Jerusalem after she's been restored to God's favor...thus spelling out that Eppie's appearance signals Silas's redemption.
- Miscarriage of Justice: What forces Marner out of his hometown
- The Scrooge: Silas in the first part of the book
- The Seven Basic Plots: Booker uses this tale as a prime example of how the Rebirth plot doesn't have to involve a romance - instead of a love interest, this story uses a child to touch the heart of poor Silas and bring him back to an enjoyment of life.