Silas Marner Research Paper

In Silas Marner George Eliot shows didactic viewpoint through his use of syntax to prove that money and social position do not make one a better person.
Though the Cass family has money they do not get much joy out of life.
Godfrey Cass is in love with Nancy Lammeter, and even though he has money, she does not love him. Eliot questions Godfrey by saying, “Did he suppose that
Miss Nancy Lammeter was to be won by any man, squire or no squire, who led a bad life?( Eliot 74).” This quote shows that Nancy is a different girl then everyone else. She will not fall for Godfrey because he is rich, but in turn she does not know that Godfrey loves her because she will not give him a chance.
Because Godfrey is rich he does not get a chance
to find love, proving that just because you are in a high social class and you are rich does not mean that you will get everything you want.
Along with his son, Squire Cass is one of the richest men around, but is still unhappy that his wife is dead. “For the Squires wife had died long ago, and the Red House was without the presence of the wife and mother which is the fountain of wholesome love..(18)” is what Eliot explains to us. Squire comes off as a happy man mostly because he is rich, but inside he is not very content with himself. Now that his wife is gone the “fountain of wholesome love” is gone his support system is gone along with her, removing a mother to help keep the children in line. This also proves that though he is wealthy and appears to be happy, without love in his life he feels nothing.
Silas is a good man that has money, but has nothing else to love. Silas
Marner is a strange looking man, and though he is rich he is shunned from society. Eliot notifies us that Silas is alone when she says, “Marner’s inward life had been a history and a metamorphosis, as that of every fervid nature must be when it fled, or been condemned to solitude (5).” Silas is an unusual man, but is very kind, and yet is still not accepted because of how he looks. He does
not completely mind being rejected from the town, because he likes being by himself, but without social interaction no one can ever truly be happy. Silas’ money is stolen, the object he loves the most, which causes him to fall into deep despair. “Had he put his gold somewhere else, by a sudden resolution last night, and then forgotten? A man falling into dark waters seeks a momentary footing even on sliding stones… he put his trembling hands on his head and gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation (34),” said Silas urgently after the moment he sees his money has been taken. His life was alright for himself when he had his money, but his life spirals into the dark as soon as he realizes that his money is gone. When Silas had his money he had something to give love and affection to, but once it was gone he did not have anything to run to. He questions his own mind to give himself false hope, but ultimately knows that his money is gone. He needs to grasp the concept that the love of his money was not healthy and was just a reaction to not having contact with the outside world.