Cultural View of George Eliot in Silas Marner - Essay Example

Rachna Jalan Academia-Research English 19 February 2007 Cultural View of George Eliot in Silas Marner Introduction The novel Silas Marner by George Eliot written in 1861 is a beautiful parable of love and redemption. Its touching massage of loving hope is absolutely eternal. Throughout the novel, the social outlook emerges to be the most prevalent cultural view of the author. According to some editors, “The opening of Silas Marner suggests a world of legend and myth-a pastoral countryside untouched by the modern world, where figures are larger than life” (Hughes 20-21). Many consider George Eliot as a freethinker, who held to a high moral standard of behavior and was very much familiar with rural England and its folkways where she was brought up (Mills). The landscape is actually the farming country of the English Midlands where Eliot grew up into a woman (Hughes 21). Silas Marner has been considered as the latest rustic novel written by George Eliot (Uglow). The author has efficiently distinguished and exploited an opposition between the false values of modern life which includes the city, isolated individuality, money and abstract intelligence and the genuine values of the vanishing world which encompasses the village, social communality, sharing, helping and simple emotions (Uglow). England underwent radical transformations in the fields of economy, society and culture during the lifetime of George Eliot (Scott). The greener pastures of the country have already been shifted to make way for the busy industries (Scott). Betrayals, treacheries and other such evils were accelerating at such an alarming rate that literally they were hogging the society. The hastily escalating crimes in the country became such nightmares that people started losing confidence within each other. This resulted in the gradual process of disassociation of individuals from the society to such an extent that the profound love and attachment that existed between the dear ones was slowly merging into dimness. All these alarming issues and their tacit effects made the author fretful about the depleting social values of mankind which she endeavors to preserve. Driven by this trepidation the author created the literature, Silas Marner which essentially reflects the purpose Eliot had in using the social outlook as an important element of culture. Through this masterpiece the author hopes to achieve the rejuvenation of human trust in the goodness of the world thereby bringing all under a common shade of love and kindness driven society. The Social Outlook The author himself is a person who post-mortems the people, the society and the culture as a whole. She is the one who looks for differences between the actual and the thoughts. She throws light on the reality, predicts the outcomes and compares it with the righteousness. Therefore, the author who had dreamt of a society that was modern but gave importance and impetus to the values and ethics of relationship was shocked to see things which were completely contradictory to her dreams. She could thus foretell the miseries of the so-called modern people. It is therefore an attempt by the author to awaken and rejuvenate her fellow-beings to understand the difference between the wrong and the righteous. Silas Marner the chief character of the novel lives in Lantern Yard and is well-respected and liked by people of his town for his attachment to his religion and his church. Silas and William Dame are considered as “David and Jonathan” for their close companionship (“Plot Summary”). Silas having an inexperienced, naïve and trusting nature has blind faith on William, his best friend. He is in love with Sarah his fiancé. Silas falls into the trap of William and is falsely accused of theft and murder. His belief on his loved ones is further shattered by the marriage of his love, Sarah and his best-friend William and he eventually decides to leave Lantern Yard. Silas chooses himself a cottage in Raveloe, distant from the rest of the houses of the villagers. He is isolated from the people as he wants to stay aloof since his sentiments are wounded by cruel people on whom he had blind faith. He is not ready to generate any more confidence on anybody and disassociates himself from the crowd. He is no longer a social being. His cottage is on the edge of the town and his indifferent nature towards the activities in the village makes him very different from the rest of the people. The villagers take pride in their farms, fields and grounds. Silas is disliked by the villagers because of his unfriendly nature. He never wants to mix up with the society. In one of the editions it has been mentioned, “In this way it came to pass that those scattered linen-weavers-emigrants from the town into the country-were to the last regarded as aliens by their rustic neighbors, and usually contracted the eccentric habits which belong to a state of loneliness” (Cave 4). On one hand where the Raveloe townspeople are content to stay within the village performing their responsibilities and expecting social security, Silas on the other hand confines himself in his cell completely cutting himself off from the crowd. He wants to attain peace of mind and wishes to stay away from the hustle-bustle of the people. He is afraid of any further betrayal and doesn’t want to provide any more opportunity to anybody to tear off his innocence and charge him for false accusations. It is the basic part of human nature that when we face bitter experiences we tend to disassociate ourselves from the society and want to stay aloof. We are inclined to avoid meeting people and discover solace in solitude. Therefore Silas Marner who experiences the loss of his love and is betrayed in friendship loses confidence in people around him and always considers them as a source of causing harm to him. The British always had pride in their culture, society and the way of living. They not only valued relationships within the society but also extended relations beyond the boundary of their country. In this modern world with extremely busy schedule everyone wants to live in him or herself. Social contacts are shrinking. Even the neighbors living in the same lane do not interact with each other. Every individual seeks space and tends to remain aloof. In the presence of such a vulnerable state of our society Eliot reveals her anxiety through her novel. She wants to awaken the dormant human feelings of sharing and caring. She dreams of an era when mankind will successfully cross the boundaries of the so-called personal and private lives to eventually enter into one common social life. The author stresses upon the conversion of “I” into “We” and “My” into “Ours”. Eliot tries to make us realize that it’s high time that we accept this fact before its too late. The church and the churchyard in the centre of the town stand out as the major social center which is never attended by Silas. In spite of impeccable efforts by Dolly Winthrop to be a member of the church festivities on Christmas Day, Silas fails to acknowledge the town church ceremonies and the Christmas holidays. He thus ignores attending the Christmas festivities which is actually a brilliant time to socialize and exchange greetings. Neither he invites anybody to his house nor does he socialize with anybody. He doesn’t even think of marrying and the young ladies in Raveloe are confident that he is not interested in marrying anyone of them. He loves only his golden guineas and worships it because he believes that unlike humans his gold would neither betray nor wound him. Deprived of human companionship and love for fifteen years Silas remains alone and cold until one day when he finds Eppie. Eliot reminds us of the very fact that man is after all a social animal and his instincts towards the society can be suppressed and relegated for sometime but not annihilated. The latent social instinct in Silas can be easily identified in incidences when he endeavors to cure Sally Oates’s heart trouble by his exceptional knowledge of herbs. Even when he reports the robbery of his gold, he never wishes anyone to be punished. This throws light on his hidden concern somewhere deep inside him for his fellow-beings. One of the editions state, “Though desolated by his loss, Silas is drawn closer to human society by the sympathy of the villagers, especially his neighbor Dolly Winthrop” (Hughes 8). The deep-rooted social responsibilities concealed within Silas can be easily traced out when the innocence of the sleeping child awakens his love for human sentiments spontaneously compelling him to stretch out his caring arms to provide support to the child in need. The same Silas who is considered as an alien by the clannish town-folks now when he see the child at the mercy of death the kindness which still lives in his conscious cannot stop him from saving the child. With only a glimpse of the child so innocent and pure he forgets all his sorrows and begins a life fresh and rejuvenated. He once again falls in love, this time with the small child like a beautiful rose bud whom he nurtures as a gardener. By comparing the golden hair of the sleeping child with Silas’s golden guineas, Eliot wittily highlights the relationship between social ethics and materialism. She tries us to realize that just as Silas we have indulged ourselves into the task of generating money so intensively that we have just evaded our basic social ethics. This becomes a matter of concern for the author who therefore makes an attempt to bring into our notice the radical narrowing down of the innocent simple life to make way for the modern urban life (Scott). Through this literature Eliot attempts to bring out the latent human sentiments of the readers making us realize that the mechanical verve is actually dominating our natural life thereby suppressing human sentiments and feelings. The economic boon is in fact weakening the roots of human love. In today’s life our sole motivating factor is the attainment of materialism. The desire to live sophisticatedly and to spend lavishly has converted mankind into money generating machines. Through her literature the author reveals her thoughts regarding the nature of the society-individual relationship. She clearly points out that in our obsession to achieve prosperity we have actually deprived ourselves of the social pleasure of love and kindness. Citing an example of Silas, Eliot hopes to convert the transformation of mankind from isolation to togetherness. The evil fact that how people use each other for their own selfish purposes and discard the relationship once their mission is reached has been shown by the supporting incidence in the story when William Dame, Silas’s very best friend uses him for meeting his purpose of marrying Sara and for that he traps his own friend, the innocent Silas Marner, for no fault of his. Eliot makes us aware that in this process of using each other for climbing one step up the ladder of growth and prosperity we tend to forget that the actual growth is only achieved through love and kindness which exists between Silas and Eppie, an example of unselfish love. While raising Eppie, Silas discovers that joy and happiness which he could never imagine. For the first time, Silas experiences reciprocated love, love that is more profound and more touching than his attachment for gold. The child very gracefully teaches him that in spite of betrayals and treacheries there still exists goodness in this world. Silas’s delight couldn’t be more than it is now. Silas is gentle to the villagers who equally reciprocate benevolence and warmth. Eliot assumes that just as Silas’s life changes after the arrival of Eppie, our latent passion of love and attachment will undoubtedly rejuvenate someday. Later in the story when Godfrey acknowledges Eppie as his own daughter in front of all, offers her a rich life, materialism does not entice her and she instantly refuses the proposal of luxurious life at the cost of leaving Silas. She loves him as her father and cannot bear the fact of staying away from him. Here, once again Eliot tries to highlight the triumph of love and attachment over material values of life. That Eppie decides to marry a workingman, Aaron and to stay together with Silas in the countryside for the rest of her life rather than staying like a princess at the Red House, the author teaches us how we can avoid getting into the clutches of material enticements in order to pursue the more essential facets of life. Finally, when we come to know that Silas is disappointed and is scared that his dark past might never be cleared, he still firmly believes in the existence of goodness and righteousness in the world. Hence, Eliot tries to show that things like righteousness and loyalty very much exists in the world as long as we trust. Through her brilliant composition of Silas Marner, Eliot seeks to remind us that moving away from our fellow-beings is never a solution. Each one of us does go through bitter experiences in life. We do feel disturbed and upset at times and but we should never lose hope. Rather we should feel confident to begin afresh. Keeping ourselves aloof is not the solution. That way we only try to escape from our social ethics. On the contrary, we need to come closer with our dear ones to overcome our pains. Only love cures the wounds of love just as the love of Eppie enables Silas to come out of his pains due to the betrayal by his best friend and fiancée. The author wants to make us realize that not only one is required to share his pains with his fellow-beings but is also expected to express his love and care for the ones in pain. The author believes that it is only through this mutual exchange of human sentiments mankind can evolve out of the petty and sporadic motives in order to achieve the actual source of perpetual happiness. Conclusion The world in this modern era, in its indomitable efforts of economic progress, has actually taken several steps back from its original desires, the desires of love, compassion and loyalty. Money appears to be the sole motivating factor to the global populace who has very little time to ponder upon other valuable things in life, spending time with lover ones in particular. Silas Marner is an encouraging endeavor by George Eliot to caution the readers and the world at large that it’s high time for all the malformations to be reverted just as Silas’s heart is converted. George Eliot dreams of “Merrie England” representing small rural communities highlighting open-heartedness and inclusiveness (Uglow). Here, there is no space for private or inner life and people live in society following the social and rituals (Uglow). Feelings are clear and straightforward and individual views and thoughts too remain through public rehearsal (Uglow). This England of the author is expected by him as a place where there is absolutely no scope for issues like deceit, cynicism and alienation (Uglow). By adopting and nurturing little Eppie, Silas becomes a hero in the eyes of the villagers. The love of Eppie sheds the strong sheath of armor that he has placed around himself. In her novel, Silas Marner, the author investigates issues like redemption love, the conception of society and the status of the gentry and family. The author nicely presents a comparison: the loss of faith and the good of the public vs. the rights of the individual and the significance of social group. In the regeneration of Silas’s nearly lost humanity, Eliot shows that as long as we have love and confidence on each other goodness and benevolence always remains in this world. Works Cited Cave, Terence. ed., George Eliot: Silas Marner.USA: Oxford University Press, 1998. 4. Grinsell, Scott. “Social Commentary in Silas Marner”. 14 Feb. 2007. Hughes, Holly. Geroge Eliot’s Silas Marner.New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 1985. 8-21. Mills, C.M. “George Eliot’s timeless short novel of a miser who finds gold in the gift of parental love”. Customer Reviews. 29 Nov. 2006. 20 Feb. 2007. “Plot Summary”. BookRags. 14 Feb. 2007 . Uglow, Trinity and All Saints. "Silas Marner." The Literary Encyclopedia. 1 Apr. 2002. The Literary Dictionary Company. Leeds. 16 February 2007. . Cultural View of George Eliot in Silas Marner Draft Introduction The novel Silas Marner by George Eliot written in 1861 is a beautiful parable of love and redemption. Throughout the novel, the social outlook emerges to be the most prevalent cultural view of the author Betrayals, treacheries and other such evils were accelerating at such an alarming rate that literally they were hogging the society All these alarming issues and their tacit effects made the author fretful about the depleting social values of mankind which she endeavors to preserve. Driven by this trepidation the author created the literature, Silas Marner which essentially reflects the purpose Eliot had in using the social outlook as an important element of culture. Through this masterpiece the author hopes to achieve the rejuvenation of human trust in the goodness of the world thereby bringing all under a common shade of love and kindness driven society. The Social Outlook The author had dreamt of a society that was modern but gave importance and impetus to the values and ethics of relationship was shocked to see things which were completely contradictory to her dreams. It is an attempt by the author to awaken and rejuvenate her fellow-beings to understand the difference between the wrong and the righteous. Brief story of Silas from Lantern Yard till the marriage of Eppie highlighting social reflections. It is the basic part of human nature that when we face bitter experiences we tend to disassociate ourselves from the society and want to stay aloof. In the presence of such a vulnerable state of our society Eliot reveals her anxiety through her novel. She wants to awaken the dormant human feelings of sharing and caring. She dreams of an era when mankind will successfully cross the boundaries of the so-called personal and private lives to eventually enter into one common social life. The author stresses upon the conversion of “I” into “We” and “My” into “Ours”. Eliot tries to make us realize that it’s high time that we accept this fact before its too late. Conclusion The world in this modern era, in its indomitable efforts of economic progress, has actually taken several steps back from its original desires, the desires of love, compassion and loyalty. Silas Marner is an encouraging endeavor by George Eliot to caution the readers and the world at large that it’s high time for all the malformations to be reverted just as Silas’s heart is converted. In the regeneration of Silas’s nearly lost humanity, Eliot shows that as long as we have love and confidence on each other goodness and benevolence always remains in this world. Read More