A Study Guide for George Eliot's "Silas Marner," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.

A collection of critical essays discussing the structure, themes, and subject matter of Silas Marner by George Eliot.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject German Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Paderborn (Germanistik und vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft), course: Europäischer Realismus, language: English, abstract: George Eliot's Silas Marner, "that charming minor master piece" (in Eliot 252) as F. R. Lewis calls it, was published in 1861 by John Blackwood. Her publisher explains: "Silas Marner sprang from her childish recollection of a man with a stoop and an expression of face that led her to think that he was an alien from his fellows" (Eliot VII). This man was a weaver like Silas Marner. In making him the protagonist of her novel, George Eliot emphasizes his strangeness by adding short-sightedness and cataleptic fits to set him off from the people around him. The difficult process of this outsider's integration into society is the theme of the novel...

Based on K. Barth’s definition of faith and R. Bultmann’s existentialist theology, J. H. Mazaheri has attempted to reveal G. Eliot’s profound religious and spiritual quest by focusing on the short but powerful novel, Silas Marner. The critic believes that her thought in the area of religion and theology has not been appreciated enough by critics, and that a postmodern reading is necessary in order to understand it. So, through a close textual reading, the author shows not only the affinities G. Eliot had with Coleridge and Wordworth, already mentioned by others, but also with Schleiermacher and Kierkegaard. The novelist clearly distinguishes between religion and superstition: if she strongly rejects the latter, she believes in the reality and good aspects of the former. Indeed she demythologizes Christianity in a positive way, and implicitly offers a new definition of religion. On the other hand, although she admired and translated Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity, she differed from him as much as she did from Strauss, whom she also translated. This essay on Silas Marner proposes, thus, a new approach to G. Eliot’s thought, while stressing the qualities of her art, especially in the way she uses allegory, irony, and free indirect speech.

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format. In CliffsNotes on Silas Marner, you explore the life of Silas Marner, a weaver who has been outcast from his original home and lives a lonely, miserable existence until his gold is stolen and a child comes into his life to replace it. This memorable novel is George Eliot's most well-known and admired work—one that strives to present realistic human relationships and address the function of religion in society. Chapter summaries and commentaries take you through Silas Marner's journey, and critical essays help you understand the plot, structure, characterization, themes, and use of symbolism in the novel. Other features that help you study include Analyses of each of the main characters A section on the life and background of George Eliot A section of review questions A selected bibliography A genealogy chart to help you understand the complex relationships of the novel Classic literature or modern-day treasure—you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject German Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Paderborn (Germanistik und vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft), course: Europäischer Realismus, language: English, abstract: George Eliot’s Silas Marner, “that charming minor master piece“ (in Eliot 252) as F. R. Lewis calls it, was published in 1861 by John Blackwood. Her publisher explains: “Silas Marner sprang from her childish recollection of a man with a stoop and an expression of face that led her to think that he was an alien from his fellows” (Eliot VII). This man was a weaver like Silas Marner. In making him the protagonist of her novel, George Eliot emphasizes his strangeness by adding short-sightedness and cataleptic fits to set him off from the people around him. The difficult process of this outsider’s integration into society is the theme of the novel...

Gold! - his own gold - brought back to him as mysteriously as it had been taken away! Falsely accused of theft, Silas Marner is cut off from his community but finds refuge in the village of Raveloe, where he is eyed with distant suspicion. Like a spider from a fairy-tale, Silas fills fifteen monotonous years with weaving and accumulating gold. The son of the wealthy local Squire, Godfrey Cass also seeks an escape from his past. One snowy winter, two events change the course of their lives: Silas's gold is stolen and, a child crawls across his threshold. Combining the qualities of a fable with a rich evocation of rural life in the early years of the nineteenth century, Silas Marner (1861) is a masterpiece of construction and a powerful meditation on the value of communal bonds in a mysterious world.

Gale Researcher Guide for: George Eliot's Silas Marner is selected from Gale's academic platform Gale Researcher. These study guides provide peer-reviewed articles that allow students early success in finding scholarly materials and to gain the confidence and vocabulary needed to pursue deeper research.