"Cliff Notes - Silas Marner" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

to mysterious fits that rob him of his senses for minutes at a
time. He does nothing to deserve being expelled from his
congregation or having his fiancee Sarah break off their
engagement. He does nothing to deserve being robbed fifteen
years later by Dunstan Cass. And he does nothing to deserve
finding Eppie. These things simply happen to him, like spells
or miracles, transforming his life.

This storybook quality is suggested in the book's opening
passage, which seems to describe a magical other world. Soon,
however, Eliot shifts to a more realistic view. She explains,
as an anthropologist might, how superstitious country folk are.
She talks about the linen-weavers in sociological terms, as
"emigrants from the town into the country." Then you first see
Silas in his cottage, weaving away while village boys peer
curiously in the windows. He doesn't need to be realistic, some
readers argue. The point is that you are asked to fit this
eccentric creature into a realistic social context. The
villagers see him as a magical figure--they say he works for the
devil--but this is a comment on their superstitiousness, not on
Silas. As you read, consider how his skills--as a weaver or as
a herb-healer--are regarded by the villagers. Watch how his
grief over his robbery and his care of Eppie pull him into
village life.

Other readers place more emphasis on the passages where Eliot
dissects Silas' psychological processes. She explains how he
felt when he left Lantern-Yard, how he became a miser, how he
reacts to the theft of his gold, how Eppie's presence heals him
and draws him back into the mainstream of life. She gives you a
medical reason for his fits and shows you how his poor vision
often confuses him. In comparison to her analysis of Godfrey
Cass' mind, of course, Silas' psychology seems rudimentary. But
those who think Silas is realistic point out that Eliot is
trying to portray a limited mind stunted by a poor education and
a lifetime of ceaseless work.

The debate over Silas' realism goes on and on. But one thing
seems clear--Eliot is sympathetic toward him. She constantly
shifts from his perspective to that of the community surrounding
him and back again, to show how misunderstood he is. She
reminds you that he once had a mother and a sister and a
childhood. Silas doesn't act in grand sweeping gestures, but
Eliot interprets the strong emotions lying behind his timid
little actions. Thus, by the time he makes his meek, stammering
appearance at the Rainbow to report his theft, you've already
seen him go through an internal agony of disbelief and despair
at home. Even though he quietly tells Eppie that she herself
must choose between him and her real father, Godfrey, Eliot
makes you feel how hard this is for Silas, how devastated he