It is early in the 19th century. My name is Silas Marner, I’m a weaver, and a devout member of a small Calvinist congregation in Lantern Yard, Northern England.
I was falsely accused of
stealing the congregation's funds while watching over the very ill deacon. Two
pieces of evidence implicated me: a pocket-knife, and the discovery of the bag
formerly containing the money in my house. William Dane, framed me, I gave my
pocket- knife to William shortly before the crime was committed.
The woman I was to marry
broke our engagement and married William instead. I left Lantern Yard and the city for a rural
area where I was unknown and settled near the village of Raveloe, where
I lived alone, choosing to have only minimal contact with the residents beyond my
work as a linen weaver. I devoted myself to my craft and became addicted to the
gold coins I earned and hoarded.
One foggy night, my two
bags of gold were stolen by Dunstan ("Dunsey") Cass, a dissolute
younger son of Squire Cass, the town's leading landowner. On discovering the
theft, I became deeply depressed. Dunsey
immediately disappeared, but the community took little notice of this disappearance
since he vanished several times before.
Godfrey Cass, Dunsey's
elder brother, also harbors a secret past. He is married to, but estranged
from, Molly Farren, an Opium addict, working-class woman living in another town. This secret prevents Godfrey from
marrying Nancy Lammeter, a young middle-class woman.
On a winter's night,
Molly tried to make her way to Squire Cass’s New Year's Eve party with her
two-year-old girl to announce that she is Godfrey's wife. On the way, she
collapsed in the snow and lost consciousness.
The child wandered to my
house. I followed the child's tracks in the snow and discovered the woman, dead.
I went to the party for help, Godfrey headed outdoors to the scene of the
accident, but didn’t tell anyone that Molly was his wife. Molly's death was
convenient for Godfrey and Nancy.
I kept the child and
named her Eppie, after my deceased mother and sister, both were named Hephzibah.
Eppie changed my life completely. I was robbed of my gold but think that it was
returned to me symbolically in the form of the golden-haired child.
Godfrey Cass is now free
to marry Nancy but continues to conceal the fact of his previous marriage—and
child—from her. However, he aided me in caring for Eppie with occasional
financial gifts. More practical help and support in bringing up the child was
provided by Dolly Winthrop, my kindly neighbor.
Sixteen years passed,
and Eppie grew up to be the pride of the village. She has a strong bond with me,
I found a place in rural society and a purpose in life. Meanwhile, Godfrey and
Nancy mourn their own childless state, after the death of their baby.
Eventually, the skeleton
of Dunstan Cass—still clutching my gold—was found at the bottom of the stone
quarry near my home, and the gold was duly returned to me.
