On the way to the hunt where he hopes to sell the horse, Dunstan passes the weaver's cottage. Godfrey has given Dunstan some rent money from one of his father's tenants now the Squire wants the money, so Godfrey gives Dunstan his horse to sell to raise the cash. Some trouble results from this: the eldest son, Godfrey, has made a hasty marriage with a woman of poor reputation, and the second son, Dunstan, is blackmailing Godfrey to keep their father from knowing. His wife is dead, and his sons are left to their own devices. The greatest man of Raveloe is Squire Cass. After that, Silas is more alone than ever. As a result, he is believed to cause other misfortunes and be in league with the devil. People come for miles to ask his help, and he cannot give any. Once he gives help to a woman who is ill by treating her with herbs as his mother taught him, but this action gives him a reputation as a maker of charms. He works harder and harder to earn more of it and stores it in a bag beneath his floor. His work is at first his only solace, but soon he begins to receive gold for his cloth the gold gives him a kind of companionship.

He settles in Raveloe, where he feels hidden even from God. Soon afterward Silas leaves Lantern Yard.

He soon receives word from Sarah that their engagement is ended, and a month later she marries William Dane. He is sure that Sarah will desert him too, and he takes refuge in his work. Silas, betrayed by his friend and now by his God, declares that there is no just God. In order to find out the truth, the church members resort to prayer and drawing of lots, and the lots declare Silas guilty. Then Silas remembers that he last used the knife to cut a strap for William, but he says nothing to the others. The empty bag is found there by William Dane. Silas' knife is found in the drawer, but Silas swears he is innocent and asks that his room be searched. During Silas' watch, a bag of money disappears from a drawer by the deacon's bed.

But one day the elder deacon fell ill and had to be tended day and night by members of the congregation, as he was a childless widower. He had a close friend named William Dane, and he was engaged to marry a serving girl named Sarah. His fits were regarded there as a mark of special closeness to the Holy Spirit. For fifteen years he has lived like this.įifteen years earlier, Silas was a respected member of a church at Lantern Yard in a city to the north. In addition, he lives completely alone, and he has been known to have strange fits. He is viewed with distrust by the local people because he comes from a distant part of the country. In the village of Raveloe lives a weaver named Silas Marner.

Silas marner illustrated