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.

It is now in the public domain, and can be read in its entirety here.

---

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.