Victorians! discussion

On to Chapter 11 :)

Religious and Social Background

.....The novel opens in the village of Raveloe, a remote and idyllic community that has yet to experience the impact of the Industrial Revolution and its smoky factories and clanking machines. In Raveloe and the surrounding countryside, landowners, farmers, and craftsmen such as wheelwrights and shoemakers remain the backbone of the economy. They are religious folk, but not strictly so, as the narrator points out: "Raveloe was not a place where moral censure was severe" (Chapter 3). The narrator also says,

The inhabitants of Raveloe were not severely regular in their church-going, and perhaps there was hardly a person in the parish who would not have held that to go to church every Sunday in the calendar would have shown a greedy desire to stand well with Heaven, and get an undue advantage over their neighbors—a wish to be better than the "common run," that would have implied a reflection on those who had had godfathers and godmothers as well as themselves, and had an equal right to the burying-service. At the same time, it was understood to be requisite for all who were not household servants, or young men, to take the sacrament at one of the great festivals: Squire Cass himself took it on Christmas day; while those who were held to be "good livers" went to church with greater, though still with moderate, frequency. (Chapter 10)
.......By contrast, in Lantern Yard—where Silas Marner lived before moving to Raveloe—the people of the tightly knit community are somber and strictly religious, believing in Calvinistic predestination. Unlike the easygoing Raveloe residents, they do not take part in drinking and festive parties. By the end of the novel, the Industrial Revolution invades the community, turning many of its citizens into grimy factory workers.
.......Because they generally are not strait-laced, the Raveloe folk enjoy a lively party, dancing and fiddling, and a glass of ale at the Rainbow, a public house (tavern).
.......The narrator calls attention from time to time class distinctions. For example, at a New Year's Eve party, the well-to-do participate in the activities while lowlier persons attend only as observers, as the narrator points out: "Already Mr. Macey and a few other privileged villagers, who were allowed to be spectators on these great occasions, were seated on benches placed for them near the door; and great was the admiration and satisfaction in that quarter when the couples had formed themselves for the dance. . ." (Chapter 12).

Structure

.......The novel contains fifteen chapters in Part I and twenty chapters and a conclusion in Part II. The narrator begins the story in the present in the village of Raveloe, where Silas Marner lives in a stone cottage and remains aloof from the rest of the people in the community. The narrator then flashes back fifteen years to a time when Marner lived in the village of Lantern Yard. There, he was a respected member of a community of churchgoers until he was found guilty of a theft that he did not commit. Next, the narrator returns to the present to resume the story. Finally the narrator flashes forward sixteen years to reveal developments at this later time.

Time and Place

.......The action takes place in fictional rural locales, Raveloe and Lantern Yard, in central England (probably the county of Warwickshire). The narrator says Raveloe, where most of the action takes place, "lay low among the bushy trees and the rutted lanes, aloof from the currents of industrial energy and Puritan earnestness."
.......In the first chapter, the narrator reports that the action begins "in the early years" of the eighteenth century. This information, along with an allusion to the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) in the same chapter and allusions to King George III in Chapter 4 and Chapter 8, thus indicate that the the time at the beginning of the novel in the village of Raveloe is a year between 1800 and 1815. When the novel flashes back fifteen years to present an account of Marner's life in the village of Lantern Yard, the time is between 1785 and 1800. After the novel flashes back to the present, between 1800 and 1815, most of the story unfolds in a single year. Later, the novel flashes ahead sixteen years to a time between 1816 and 1831.

In Silas Marner's Chapter 11, what are some specific details about appearance, attire, and atmosphere at the New Year's Eve party?

After reading chapter 12, I see what made Eliot write this book. I guess she was contemplating her own life situation on her long journey to Italy, the one she did with her partner, Lewes.

She wanted to write about the conflict of being a woman stuck between a man and his former wife and children. Lewes had a marriage and children, but could not divorce his wife.

As far as I know Eliot did not have any children and I think about that when I read about Marner's loneliness and the strange baby coming into his life.

Everything comes together for me in chapter 12 - Aha! Here the story begins - and ends:

Because I feel I know how this is going to end. I guess - possible (view spoiler)[ - the brothers in the Red House took Marner's money and now he gets their only child and heir and I can imagine Marner and the child end up as masters in the Red House. (hide spoiler)]

Charlotte wrote: "After reading chapter 12, I see what made Eliot write this book. I guess she was contemplating her own life situation on her long journey to Italy, the one she did with her partner, Lewes.

She wa..."

I guess I had never thought of that....great observation....I think also her own struggles with the church, separation and religion were also conflicts in her life.

Chapter 13

What makes someone a good parent?

"At present, the Squire had only given an express welcome to the heads of families as they appeared; but always as the evening deepened, his hospitality rayed out more widely, till he had tapped the youngest guests on the back and shown a peculiar fondness for their presence, in the full belief that they must feel their lives made happy by their belonging to a parish where there was such a hearty man as Squire Cass to invite them and wish them well."

This may have been a gathering of the townsfolk for a good time, but hierarchy was still strictly adhered to. Yet for all their primping and posturing, the Squire and his equals were not so far removed from them. For the night's entertainment there isn't a group of musicians but a lone fiddler as you might find in any casual setting. Here Eliot really cracked me up when she proceeded to present to us the repertoire of this fiddler!

"Here, Solomon," said the Squire, with loud patronage. "Round here, my man. Ah, I knew it was "The flaxen-headed ploughboy": there's no finer tune."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onXOA...

This is followed by Mr. Lammeter:

"Thank ye, Solomon, thank ye," said Mr. Lammeter when the fiddle paused again. "That's "Over the hills and far away", that is. My father used to say to me, whenever we heard that tune, "Ah, lad, I come from over the hills and far away." There's a many tunes I don't make head or tail of; but that speaks to me like the blackbird's whistle. I suppose it's the name: there's a deal in the name of a tune."

Lyrics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%2C_...
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfq9V...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxgLy...

This chapter is a mixture of tragedy and, for Silas, a whole new life. The story of Eppie is poignant and so heart-warming. It's almost as though she sprinkles pixy dust over all and sundry, filling people with hope and joy wherever she goes. Godfrey may even make his escape for freedom at the advent of this child though his intention is not to shirk his responsibility.

I can't help but notice that the child arrives among them still within the Christmas season. Her impact is gentle and loving. Whereas Silas had turned his back on church/chapel because of their nasty treatment of him, Eppie comes before any difficulties he might have had and in order for her to be brought up in the best way possible he is willing to do whatever it takes, even taking her to church if necessary. It doesn't seem to be accidental that a little child puts out her hand and leads him. Very moving!

Kerstin wrote: """Here, Solomon," said the Squire, with loud patronage. "Round here, my man. Ah, I knew it was "The flaxen-headed ploughboy": there's no finer tune."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onXOA......"

Thank you for the audio dimension, Kerstin!
:)

The child does seem to bring, as Hilary posted, pixie dust. Silas lost his gold but gets his golden hair child again. No conincidence there. There's also a great quote in these chapters.

"It is seldom that the miserable can help regarding their misery as a wrong inflicted by those who are less miserable". (Chapter 12) With all the unrest in the world this week, that quote jumped off the page at me.

Silas desperately wants to be a good parent to the child. Dolly seems to be a good resource for him. You have to admire his trying to do right by the child.

It was moving, and I can totally see Silas doing this for Eppie's education and social standing. I think many, if not all of us, would do something they don't like/believe in for the sake of a loved one.

Talking of quotes, there is this one right at the beginning:
"A child, more than all other gifts
That earth can offer to declining man,
Brings hope with it, and forward-looking thoughts.” —WORDSWORTH.

I can't help thinking that there is a parallel here. Someone utters one thought/opinion on Silas and it gathers momentum through the rest of the village, like a snow ball, people finding sense in the tiniest things (such as Silas's great 'maternal' care), but thankfully this time it is positive.

I love the idea that there has been a cosmic exchange here--Silas's gold for the child. I also love that he doesn't regret the bargain at all. Not only does Eppie give him someone to love, but she also transforms his life by drawing him into the community and causing him to interact with his neighbors. It's a testament to the hidden depths that people can possess.

I noticed that in Chapter 13, when Godfrey looks on the face of his dead wife, "he remembered that last look at his unhappy hated wife so well, that at the end of sixteen years every line in the worn face was present to him when he told the full story of this night," (133). Who is he telling the story to? Does Eppie discover who her real father is? I guess we'll find out in the next section.