NON-AFRICAN PROSE; GEORGE ELIOT: Silas Marner
Comment on the friendship between Silas Marner and William Dane
Explanation
Silas Marner
Comment on the friendship between Silas Marner and William Dane.
Silas Marner has a gentle, loving nature and a truthful, simple soul. On the other hand, William Dane is a hypocritical, self-righteous young man. The two first meet at Lantern Yard during the betrothal of Sarah to Silas Marner. They both belong to the same church prayer meeting group and Silas Marner feels at home in the company of William Dane.
Silas Marner is highly thought of in the community,, being a young man of exemplary life and ardent faith. At one of the prayer meetings, Silas Marner is struck by a cataleptic fit which jeopardizes his chances of marrying Sarah, even though there is not enough reason to break an engagement which the church approves of. William Dane then seizes the opportunity of Silas' fit to set him up as they take their turns in watching over the ailing senior deacon at night. As fate would have it, Silas Marner had previously used his knife to cut William's strap for him forgetting to replace it in his pocket.
On that fateful night senior deacon dies, Silas Marner must have had his fit again, for suddenly, he realizes that the Deacon has been long, dead and wonders why William has not come to take his turn watching over the deacon. Apparently, William placed Silas' knife near the deacon's bed and went away with the bag of money while Silas is unconscious, sneaks into Silas' chamber and tucks the empty bag behind the chest of drawers to frame Silas.
This act leads to the summoning of Silas to the church where the lots cast declare him guilty. His hope in God to vindicate him proves futile and when he hears that William has married Sarah, he becomes totally disillusioned and devastated. This state of mind drives him to a new "land" Raveloe where he becomes a different person altogether. He lives a solitary life and, with his faith in God shattered, he keeps aloof from his neighbours altogether who in turn ostracize him.
Thus, as a result of William's betrayal, Silas' life in Raveloe is described as — "an eager life filled with immediate purpose which fenced him in from the wide, cheerless unknown". However, it is a barren life devoid of human relationships except with his gold. The only being that makes an inroad into his affection is the child, Eppie, who reminds him of his own little sister. From the moment he finds her, she becomes a "light" in his life and his "window" to the outside world.