Silas Marner by George Eliot
Question
“A child more than all other gifts
That earth can offer to a declining man
Brings hope with it, and forward looking thoughts”
William Wordsworth
What does the novel Silas Marner have to say about the relationship between
parents and their children?
Introduction
9 (tick the box when you’ve done it.)
Name the novel and the author and the date it was written.
Write about ¾ of a page summarizing the plot and referring to the question.
e.g. George Eliot used the following quotation by William Wordsworth on the
title page of her novel. Throughout the story of Silas Marner, she explores
the nature of the relationship between children and their parents through
many of the main characters.
Silas Marner is a lonely weaver who has kept himself at a distance from the
community in Raveloe….
Write about some of the Victorian values that would have influenced George Eliot. Can you
see these influences in the novel. Is there any evidence that Eliot does not always agree with
them?
Main Part
9 (tick the box when you’ve done it.)
Write in detail about the relationship between Silas and Eppie: include:
o
How Silas came to find her
o
His reasons for keeping her
o
His possessiveness over her and desperate need to be loved
o
The way she transforms his life
o
The fact that she is not his natural child
o
His approach to discipline
o
His feelings when Godfrey tries to claim her
Write in less detail about two other parent/child relationships in the novel. Choose from:
Squire Cass/Godfrey & Dunstan
Dolly/Aaron
Molly Farran/Eppie
Godfrey/Eppie
Godfrey & Nancy’s sadness over
their childlessness.
How are these relationships similar to or different from that between Silas and Eppie?
Conclusion
Refer back to the quotation in the question. Now that you have studied some of the relationships
between parents and children in Silas Marner, do you agree that children bring hope and forward
looking thoughts to the characters in the novel?
Throughout your essay, don’t forget to back up your points with relevant quotations.
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