Finished: Silas Marner (Eliot) One of those books I'm sure I should have read earlier in my life, but didn't, Silas Marner is my third George Eliot book, after Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, and I'm safe saying it's my third favorite of hers. Still a good book though. :-) Silas Marner is a church-going, honest and earnest man in his early twenties when we first meet him. He has no living parents, but has a dear best friend since childhood, is engaged to be married to a nice girl, and is involved and respected in his community and church. All this changes when he is set up for a robbery, which he is completely innocent of, by his best friend no less. Silas figures out the betrayal of his best friend, but cannot convince any one of his innocence. His fiance breaks off their engagement, and they absolve him of his sins through the church, and he leaves the town...heartbroken, disillusioned, and no longer believing in people OR in a higher power. Silas travels to the small town of Raveloe, which is predominantly working class, with a few upper crust families in the mix. Silas becomes a weaver and lives on his own in a cottage, not befriending anyone. He just does his job and makes money for his weavings from the richer clientele in town. Most of the people in town are actually afraid of him because of his reclusive personality. Silas lives in his own little world for fifteen years, in an old cottage of the muddy rock pit's former overseer. And, for those fifteen years, he collects his money, rarely spending a penny, as he comes to love his growing pile of riches. Silas hides his coins in two large leather bags in a hole in his floor under his weaving loom. Meanwhile, we also meet a couple of the richer families. Squire Cass is one of the richer men in town, and he's raising his sons on his own since his wife's death years before. His oldest son, twenty-five year old Godfrey, is a typical, aimless squire's son who has not been made to work a day in his life or be accountable for anything. He's actually the GOOD son. The next youngest son is Dunstan, and he's a piece of work. He has taken to gambling, drinking and now blackmailing his own brother, Godfrey. It seems that Godfrey, even though he's in love with Nancy Lammeter, the other rich family's daughter...has been giving into his baser needs and has actually married an opium addicted, poor woman who he now detests. His brother has found out his secret, and continuously blackmails him to give him the money he has collected from the various farm tenants for their father. When Godfrey is at a point of being desperate to pay his father the money he collected, which Dunstan took from him, he agrees to let Dunstan sell his beloved horse and bring him the money. Of course, Dunstan makes the deal, but then runs the horse wildly over a fence with spikes, accidentally killing the horse. More upset that he's got to walk home than at the thought that he actually killed an innocent animal, Dunstan tries to figure out what he'll do for the money now. As he walks, he devises a plan to steal the old weaver, Silas Marner's, money! He figures he must have it hidden somewhere, since the town knows he never spends a penny, and he's right. When Silas is out of the cottage, Dunstan goes in, quickly finds the hole, and makes off with the very heavy bags of coins, which he can actually barely carry! When Silas realizes he's been robbed, he finally goes to town for the first time in distress to report what has happened. Several of the townsfolk are actually sympathetic towards him, and an investigation is opened, but it is a fruitless one. One woman in particular, Mrs. Dolly Winthrop, kindly comes by, and without judgment or disdain, offers her help whenever he needs it and tries to talk him into going to their church. She's very upset that all Silas will do now is sit in his cottage and moan and lament. Meanwhile, back at the Cass home, Godfrey comes clean to his father that he gave the farm money to Dunstan, who then killed his horse. Dunstan has never returned home, and his father says good riddance! Squire Cass encourages Godfrey to straighten up and step up his pursuing of Nancy Lammeter, and ask her hand in marriage at the upcoming New Year's party at their home. Godfrey is tormented inside, though, because even though he's glad Dunstan has disappeared, his wife, Molly, has threatened to come and tell his father about the clandestine marriage. On the night of the party, Godfrey does dance with Nancy, but she makes it clear that she doesn't like the changes in him...that she's heard he has become more like his gambling brother, and she will not marry him. It is clear that she does actually love him though. As the party continues on, Molly, dressed in rags and clutching a two year old child to her chest, makes her way through the snow storm to get to the party. She is determined to finally tell Godfrey's father about their marriage and THEIR CHILD! Molly gives in to her craving to use her opium, though, and soon grows tired from it's affects and passes out in the snow. The baby crawls from her arms and sees a bright light. She toddles on to what ends up being Silas Marner's cottage!! She pushes the door open and gets all cozy on the hearth before Silas ever sees her. When he does see her, he is smitten by her golden hair and the way she looks at him. He wonders if it's his gold come back to him in the form of this beautiful baby. When the baby cries "mamma", Silas realizes she wasn't alone and follows her little footprints in the snow to her mother, who appears to be dead. He gathers the child up and runs to the where he knows the town doctor is...at the New Year's party at the Cass home. When Godfrey Cass sees the child, he knows that she is his and that the woman in the snow must be Molly. He insists on going as well, not to see if she's ok...but to see if she's going to say anything if she is. Alas, she is dead. Godfrey's mind goes to how he is now free of the "hateful" woman, and free to pursue Nancy. He has a small pang of guilt about his child, but keeps quiet and doesn't claim her as his. Silas insists that since the child came to him and she has no parents now, that he will keep her and raise her. The town wonders if he can do it, and all kinds of advice comes his way, especially from women...but the only woman he takes kindly advice from is Mrs. Winthrop. She convinces Silas that the baby needs to be Christened and that Silas needs to become a church going man. Silas agrees, and names the baby Eppie after his little sister who'd died as a child. For sixteen years he does everything he can for Eppie. He does become a church goer. He makes sure she gets schooling. And mostly he spends all the time in the world with her and loves her dearly. They spend time in the meadows where she loves the flowers, and he continues his weaving, earning money, but not hoarding it as he did in the past. Godfrey, in his tiny bit of guilt, does provide some things for them over the years disguised as acts of charity. So, for sixteen years, Silas and Eppie live happily together. And what's more...Mrs. Winthrop's son, Aaron, who has come with her on her visits to the Marner house all his life, has fallen in love with Eppie, and she with him. Aaron wants to marry Eppie and move in with her and Silas and become a dutiful son-in-law to Silas. He's a good guy! Meanwhile, over in the Cass household, Dunstan has never returned home to threaten Godfrey again, Squire Cass has passed on, and Godfrey and Nancy have lived the same sixteen years in a childless, married life. Nancy has resigned herself to the fact, but Godfrey cannot stand not having children. Over the years he brings up adopting a child to Nancy (thinking that he'll "adopt" Eppie from Silas), but Nancy always says no. She feels like they should not mess with God's will that they be childless. On the same night that Silas and Mrs. Winthrop discuss Aaron and Eppie getting married, the draining of the mud pit near the cottage for farming reasons, has lead to a gruesome discovery! The bones, and identification of Dunstan Cass are found in the bottom of the pit....along with the two heavy leather bags fulls of Silas Marner's coins! The evil Dunstan had walked right into the watery pit all those years before and drowned! Silas, though not obsessed with money anymore, is happy to have it back so he can give it to Eppie and Aaron to provide for them. When Godfrey finds out his brother is the one who stole Silas' money, something in him snaps and he finally tells Nancy the truth after all these years. He tells her the reason he wanted to adopt Eppie from Silas is because Eppie is his child by a lowly woman he married...the woman in the snow who died. Much to his surprise, Nancy sticks by him and goes with him to see Silas and Eppie and let them know that he's her real father, and what's more, he wants Eppie to come and live with him and Nancy so he can provide for her in the way she should be. Needless to say, both Silas and Eppie are stunned and upset! Eppie insists that she wants no father but Silas, and after going around and around about it, Godfrey concedes and leaves them alone. Again, what a selfish bastard. After all that is said and done, Eppie marries Aaron is a small town ceremony, in a dress provided by Nancy....because Godfrey and Nancy decide that what they really want is for Eppie to be happy, but they will provide for her if she ever needs it. So....even though Silas Marner was done so wrong by his original friends, and then initially treated poorly by his new townsfolk...he finds true love in this young baby who loves him unconditionally as a daughter for the rest of his life. :-) A pretty good book!