Silas Marner: Characters (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Silas Marner: Characters

Eliot’s focus on the life story of her central character, Silas Marner, allows her to explore the key themes of isolation, community, gold and belief. However, other characters represent various aspects of rural society at the beginning of the nineteenth century. 

The plot involving Godfrey Cass, his brother Dunstan and Nancy Lammeter illustrates the lifestyle and mindset of the rural property-owning class, and provides a contrast with the working class characters in the novel. Dolly Winthrop’s character is the main vehicle for Eliot’s depiction of rural working class values, although the scenes in the Rainbow illustrate a wide range of opinions and attitudes. Eppie’s character symbolises the emotional and social rewards of Marner’s actions and the benefits of Eliot’s concept of “sympathy”. It is worth remembering the role played by Eliot’s omniscient narrator, whose comments offer insights into her characters and influence readers’ understanding of them.

Here is a summary of the characters in Silas Marner:

Main characters

Silas Marner
Godfrey Cass
Nancy Lammeter
Dolly Winthrop
Dunstan Cass
Eppie Marner

Minor characters

William Dane
Squire Cass
Aaron Winthrop
Mrs Osgood 
Priscilla Lammeter
Molly Farren 
Jem Rodney 
Sally Oates
Mr Macey
Other Raveloe villagers

Silas Marner

The central character of Silas Marner illustrates Eliot’s ideas about the suffering caused by social isolation, the negative effects it can have on a person’s worldview, and the redemptive power of love, connection and growth.

• Marner’s experiences are narrated in the third person, but Eliot’s focus on his state of mind and responses to his experiences are integral to the plot

• Eliot presents Marner as the victim of a terrible injustice:

  • His “shaken trust in God and man” has led him to his solitary life in Raveloe 

  • He is disconnected from his painful memories and “hated the thought of the past”

• Eliot shows how the repetitiveness of Marner’s occupation, along with his isolation, dehumanises him, in Chapter 2: 

  • “He seemed to weave, like a spider, from pure impulse” and his life is reduced “to the unquestioning activity of a spinning insect”

• In Chapter 2, when Marner is paid in gold “for the first time in his life”, Eliot depicts his growing obsession with hoarding his gold, the only thing that gives him pleasure:

  • Counting his gold is “like the satisfaction of a thirst to him”

• The theft of his gold in Chapter 5 makes him “a second time desolate”, “like a forlorn traveller on an unknown desert”:

  • This shows how empty of human connection his life has become

• The “sense of mystery” surrounding Eppie’s appearance in Chapter 12 makes Marner feel that there is “some Power presiding over his life”

• Marner’s instinct to shelter and adopt Eppie is based on his sympathy with her:

  • In Chapter 13, he states that they are both “lone things”

• Eppie’s effect on Marner as she grows up is described as an emotional and spiritual release: 

  • The narrator describes how “his soul, long stupefied in a cold narrow prison, was unfolding too, and trembling gradually into full consciousness”

• Marner’s interest in Eppie’s healthy development reconnects him to life and growth:

  • In Chapter 14, Marner seeks the “knowledge that will help him satisfy the wants of the searching roots, or to guard leaf and bud from invading harm”

• Marner’s transformed life makes him feel, in Chapter 16, that “There’s good i’ this world — I’ve a feeling o’ that now”:

  • His renewed faith in God is emphasised in Chapter 19 when he tells Godfrey that “God gave her [Eppie] to me because you turned your back on her, and He looks on her now as mine”

• Marner’s love for Eppie makes him selfless:

  • He wants her to be “sure” that she won’t regret choosing to “stay among poor folks”

• Marner’s trip back to his old home in Lantern Yard in Chapter 21 confirms that he has “no home but this now”:

  • Since Eppie was “sent” to him he has “light enough to trusten by”:

    • This links his devotion to his daughter with his faith in God

Godfrey Cass

• Eliot uses the character of Godfrey Cass to illustrate the “hard consequences” of “early errors” (Chapter 3) and a lack of “moral courage” (Chapter 13):

• The narrator describes Godfrey as having “a pliant nature” and an “easy disposition” that makes him easily influenced:

  • He has not been guided by strong moral principles and lacks a mother’s guidance, which is described as “the fountain of wholesome love and fear” 

• In Chapter 3, when Godfrey is introduced, his secret marriage to Molly Farren is described as “a blight on his life”:

  • Eliot presents the “ugly story” of his marriage as “low passion, delusion, and waking from delusion”

  • The narrator implies that the marriage is “partly due to a trap laid for him by Dunstan”, who subsequently blackmails him

  • Godfrey takes moral responsibility for “his own vicious folly”, but does not acknowledge his child when she is left motherless

• Godfrey is in love with Nancy Lammeter, whom he cannot marry:

  • His certainty that he would lose her as well as his inheritance prevents him from telling anyone the truth

  • Instead of telling the truth, Godfrey places his hope in “some throw of fortune’s dice”:

    • Eliot shows a clear link between his moral weakness and his trust in “blessed Chance” in Chapter 9

• Godfrey’s actions have deeply affected his personality:

  • In Chapter 13, Godfrey’s hope that Eppie’s mother is dead shows how his “duplicity” has led to the corruption of his character

  • This serves as a poignant example of the moral consequences of his choices, revealing the extent to which his deceit has shaped his identity 

• Following his wife’s death, Godfrey is free to marry Nancy:

  • He fails to see the point of “throwing away his happiness” by confessing to Nancy

  • He resolves to do everything to help his daughter, except acknowledge her

  • These decisions demonstrate his lack of moral courage

• Godfrey suffers the consequences of his actions when his marriage remains childless:

  • Their childlessness contributes to their mutual unhappiness, but despite this, Nancy repeatedly rejects his suggestion to adopt Eppie

• When Godfrey eventually confesses to Nancy, she points out that she would have adopted Eppie if she had known she was Godfrey’s daughter:

  • This makes Godfrey feel regret and remorse and “all the bitterness” of his “error”

• Godfrey’s assumption that Marner would be content to part with Eppie is rooted in class prejudice:

  • He does not believe the “labouring people around him” can have “deep affections”

• When Marner and Eppie reject his offer of adoption, he is disappointed and angry:

  • His reaction illustrates his sense of entitlement and his lack of understanding of the bond between Eppie and Marner

• Godfrey finally acknowledges the consequences of his actions in Chapter 20: 

  • He says: “It’s part of my punishment … for my daughter to dislike me”

• The outcome of Godfrey’s story demonstrates Eliot’s moral message about actions and their consequences:

  • His unhappiness is shown to be a direct consequence of his earlier actions

Nancy Lammeter

• The character of Nancy enables Eliot to demonstrate the importance of morally correct beliefs and behaviour:

  • She is also an important vehicle for Eliot’s concept of sympathy in the novel

• Nancy’s strong sense of right and wrong is based on her religious beliefs and her sense of “propriety and moderation” (Chapter 11)

• Nancy loves Godfrey Cass, but won’t marry him at first because she thinks he is “careless of his character”:

  • She suspects he leads “a bad life” because of what people say about him

  • His circumstances make him changeable in his behaviour towards her

• Although Nancy’s family are among the wealthier inhabitants of Raveloe, they are hard-working, with strict moral values: 

  • Nancy’s hands show the effects of dairy work, something that Eliot had personal experience of from her own upbringing

• The “delicate purity” of Nancy’s appearance is a reflection of her innate goodness and integrity: 

  • However, her “unalterable little code” and “rigid principles” cause her unhappiness 

• Nancy’s refusal to adopt a child stems from her moral and religious “principles”:

  • She believes that adoption would be “to try and choose your lot in spite of Providence” (Chapter 17)

• Even as she suffers in her childlessness, Nancy embodies Eliot’s concept of sympathy:

  • She tries, “with predetermined sympathy, to see everything as Godfrey saw it”

  • When Godfrey confesses to her in Chapter 18, she forgives him, despite his deception of her

Dolly Winthrop

• The character of Dolly Winthrop, the wheelwright’s wife, is an embodiment of Eliot’s concept of sympathy

• She is described as a “mild, patient woman” of “scrupulous conscience”: 

  • She is hardworking, but always ready to help her neighbours 

  • Her mind is “drawn strongly towards Silas Marner” when his gold is stolen

  • Her “desire to give comfort” is recognised by Marner and he begins to trust people again

• From the beginning of her acquaintance with Marner, she provides emotional and practical support: 

  • When he adopts Eppie, Dolly shows him how to dress her

  • She persuades him to attend church, integrating him into the Raveloe community

  • Her sympathy enables Marner to talk about his history

• Dolly’s “simple view of life” and her “simple belief” reflect her uneducated background:

  • However, her belief in “trustening” (trusting) in a higher power helps Marner come to terms with his past misfortunes

Dunstan Cass

• Godfrey Cass’s brother, Dunstan (Dunsey), is integral to the plot of Silas Marner:

  • It is implied that he traps Godfrey into his first marriage

  • He blackmails Godfrey into lending him money

  • He steals Marner’s gold, then disappears

  • The discovery of his body in the stone-pit leads to Godfrey’s confession 

• Despite his belief that he is “such a lucky fellow”, Dunstan suffers a series of misfortunes:

  • He kills Godfrey’s horse, which he was planning to sell

  • His actions lead to his demise as he falls into the stone-pit and drowns after stealing Marner’s gold

• Dunstan Cass embodies Eliot’s ideas about the consequences of immoral behaviour: 

  • His dishonesty, laziness and greed result in his death

Eppie Marner

• The character of Eppie allows Eliot to present the redemptive power of an innocent child:

  • The Wordsworth quotation that prefaces the novel presents an idealised image of a child who brings hope

  • Eliot echoes Wordsworth in her narrator’s assertion at the end of Chapter 14, comparing a “little child” to a rescuing angel

• Eppie first appears after Marner has lost his gold:

  • From the start, she is juxtaposed with the gold:

    • Her golden curls are compared to the golden lustre of Marner’s guineas

    • Marner repeatedly equates the gold’s disappearance with Eppie’s appearance 

    • This creates a symbolic contrast between material possessions and human relationships

• Eppie’s character illustrates Eliot’s ideas about family and community:

  • Eppie “had come to link [Marner] once more with the whole world”, symbolising the reconnection of Marner to human connections beyond his isolated existence:

    • Her bond with Marner embodies Eliot’s concept of sympathy

• Even in adulthood, Eppie is a model of unselfish love and devotion: 

  • She only agrees to marry Aaron Winthrop because he promises they can live with Marner

  • She refuses to leave Marner when Godfrey, her real father, wants to adopt her

William Dane

• Marner’s best friend at Lantern Yard, William Dane, steals the church money and incriminates Marner:

  • This act shatter’s Marner’s life and trust in those around him and leads to his departure from Lantern Yard

• Dane gets engaged to Sarah, who was previously engaged to Marner:

  • Other than greed, this is a possible motive for Dane’s behaviour

Squire Cass

• The widowed father of the Cass family, Squire Cass is the wealthiest landowner in Raveloe: 

  • He manages his home and estate carelessly and is often seen in the Rainbow

  • He enjoys throwing celebrations for the villagers

• The community of Raveloe thinks it is a “weakness” for him to keep all his sons at home “in idleness”

• Squire Cass is a domineering father, who is often critical of his sons:

  • Godfrey is aware of his uncompromising nature and knows that he cannot tell him about his secret marriage

Aaron Winthrop

• Dolly Winthrop’s youngest son, Aaron, is an honest, hardworking young man

• He grows up alongside Eppie and marries her at the end of the novel

• Marner approves of Eppie’s choice, saying, “nobody could behave better … He’s his mother’s lad”

Mrs Osgood

• Mrs Osgood is an aunt to Nancy and Priscilla Lammeter 

• Mrs Osgood’s family are as wealthy and established as Squire Cass’s

• Notably, Mrs Osgood is the first person to pay Marner in gold

Priscilla Lammeter

• Priscilla is less beautiful than her sister, Nancy, and refers to herself as “ugly”

• She claims to have no interest in marriage, although she is keen for Nancy to make a good marriage

• Her good sense means that she runs her family home efficiently and enjoys relative independence while looking after her father

Molly Farren

• Molly Farren is the secret wife of Godfrey Cass and the mother of his child:

  • His marriage to her is a source of constant fear and anxiety for him

• Neglected by Godfrey, Molly becomes addicted to alcohol and opium:

  • She blames Godfrey for her misery and plans to expose his secret

• On the way to Raveloe, she takes opium, falls asleep in the snow and dies:

  • Her death enables Eppie to enter Marner’s life as the child she was carrying finds its way to Marner’s hut

Jem Rodney

• Jem Rodney is a young man of Raveloe, the local mole-catcher, who is “a known poacher, and otherwise disreputable”

• He sees Silas having a seizure and spreads rumours about him:

  • This fuels the villagers’ superstitions and mistrust towards Marner 

• Due to his reputation as a poacher, Marner accuses him of stealing his gold

Sally Oates

• The cobbler’s wife, who suffers from dropsy (a build-up of fluid in the body's tissue) and heart disease

• Silas cures her symptoms using a “preparation of foxglove”, which brings him unwanted attention from the other villagers

Mr Macey

• The tailor and parish clerk of Raveloe, Mr Macey, has authority in the village

• He is an elderly bachelor, who often entertains the villagers in the Rainbow with stories of the old days:

  • This adds to the communal atmosphere

• He is supportive of Marner after the theft of his gold and offers him (unwanted) advice

Other Raveloe villagers

Eliot’s depiction of a wide range of Raveloe villagers is one of the most realistic aspects of Silas Marner. All the villagers play a role in the Raveloe community, illustrating the social cohesion that excludes Marner, a lone weaver. The following villagers are shown arguing in the Rainbow or enjoying the hospitality of the Osgoods or Squire Cass:

• Mr Crackenthorp – rector of Raveloe church, who investigates the robbery of Silas’s gold

• Mr Lammeter – father of Nancy and Priscilla

• Mr Tookey – assistant clerk to Mr Macey, with whom he often argues

• Ben Winthrop – wheelwright of Raveloe, husband of Dolly and father of Aaron

• Mr Snell – landlord of the Rainbow, the Raveloe pub

• Mr Dowlas – farrier of Raveloe

• Master Lundy – butcher of Raveloe

• Dr Kimble – doctor of Raveloe and married to Squire Cass’ sister