Silas Marner Chapter 1 Silas Marner

Silas was a respected member of a church at Lantern Yard in a city to the north. He had a friend named William Dane and he was engaged to marry a serving girl named Sarah.  His friend, William Dane was shrewd in comparison to him. He started getting closer to Sarah and developed an intimacy with her. One night, when Senior Deacon, who was a childless man, fell ill, Silas had to share his night watch turn with William. During Silas' watch, a bag of money disappears from a drawer by the deacon's bed. Silas' knife is found in the drawer, but Silas swears he is innocent and asks that his room be searched. The empty bag is found there by William Dane. Then Silas remembers that he last used the knife to cut a strap for William, but he says nothing to the others. Guilty Silas could see through the treachery of William. He understood that William was the real culprit. Later, he got to know that William had married Sarah.

The two sons of Squire Cass, Godfrey and Dunstan (Dunsey) are known by way of their father, who is a respectable and relatively wealthy man in comparison with the rest of the people of Raveloe. Dunstan is set as a direct contrast to Godfrey. Where Godfrey is merely weak, Dunstan is completely bad. He is vain, arrogant, and selfish, as well as dishonest. Like Godfrey, he is primarily interested in what he wants for himself, but he lacks any saving virtues. Dunstan suspects his own worthlessness: while he thinks what a fine person he is, he fears the opinions of others on that subject. This narcissism is put symbolically by having Dunstan take Godfrey's whip, as it gives a better appearance than his own. He was kept idle by their father Squire Cass and this gave his idle brain to weave devilish schemes. He managed to get away every time with his evil deeds, he naturally got a boost and kept his evil work going. One evil deed inspired another. He is described by the narrator as a ‘spiteful jeering fellow’. He persuaded his brother Godfrey Cass into marrying Molly, blackmailed Godfrey into selling his horse. He ruthlessly skilled the horse by taking a silly risk and left it by the side of the road. He then stole Silas’ gold and also the wild oats he had been sowing. Evil deeds brought sheer fun to Dunstan.

William Dane was a shrewd fellow compared to Silas Marner. He started developing an intimacy with Silas’ betrothed, Sarah. Being childless, when the senior deacon fell ill, he was tended to by some of the brethren or sisters. Silas shared his night-watching turn with William. The night the deacon died, William did not arrive for his morning watch shift. Later, William arrived with the minister who informed that a pocket-knife was found beside the dead deacon’s bed with the church bag gone missing. When Silas’ dwelling was checked, it was William who found the church bag, thus proving Silas guilty. Silas understood that the culprit was William. The last time Silas had taken out the pocket-knife was when he cut a strap for William. He did not remember putting it back in his pocket. Later, Silas came to know that William had married Sarah.

Dunstan Cass and his elder brother were kept idle by their father Squire Cass and this gave Dunstan’s idle brain to weave devilish schemes. He is a negative character and since he got away every time with his evil deeds, he naturally got a boost and kept his evil work going. One evil deed inspired another. He is described by the narrator as a spiteful jeering fellow. He persuaded his brother Godfrey Cass into marrying Molly, blackmailed Godfrey into selling his horse. He ruthlessly skilled the horse by taking a silly risk and left it by the side of the road. He then stole Silas’ gold and also the wild oats Silas had been sowing. Evil deeds brought sheer fun to Dunstan. A reader almost seems relieved when Dustan’s life comes to an end.

Godfrey Cass is a character who does not display any developmental arch till the end of the story. He is a coward without any moral courage though he was not an evil person. He has no desire to harm anyone. He does not like to shoulder responsibility or account for his actions, and prefers to avoids conflicts. Eliot does not offer much insight into his character, his early marriage fell apart but we are made to believe that it was not his fault, he cares for Eppie but he does not work on it. He is an unsettled man, afraid of taking tough decisions and lets others take charge of his life and actions. The weakness and moral ineptitude of his character is given as a reason for his failure to act upon his good intentions. Godfrey’s self-realization towards the end does not bring closure to the events in the novel, he still fails to do his duty for his daughter.

Silas Marner came to Raveloe fifteen years back. Before coming to Raveloe, he lived in a town to the north, named Lantern Yard. Silas Marner of Lantern Yard was absolutely different from the Silas Marner of Raveloe. He was a very religious man and had many friends. Silas had a best friend named William Dane. Silas suffered cataleptic fits, which made William think of him being possessed by Satan. Silas had knowledge of curing diseases with herbs, which he learnt from his mother. The Senior Deacon, who Silas was watching over, died, and the church members also accused him of stealing the bag filled with the church’s’ money. Sara, the girl who Silas got engaged with, broke off with him. With all the happenings going against him, Silas lost his faith in God and man. He left Lantern Yard and came to Raveloe as a man completely opposite of what he used to be.