The Significance of Chapter Twelve of Silas Marner by George Eliot
The significance of chapter 12 is a turning point or pivot in the
personalities of some of the characters and in the plot. Silas Marner
himself and Godfrey Cass are directly involved in the pivot, while
Molly, Dolly, Nancy, Eppie and Aaron are all involved indirectly. This
chapter changes the plot of the book completely and for that reason
alone it is significantly important.
In chapter 12 many events happen which change the course of the book.
Silas Marner finds a child in his house suddenly after having a fit
which he was unaware of. He then goes outside looking for someone who
may own the baby but only to find a poor woman who appears dead in the
snow. Silas runs to the Red House clutching the baby in his arms. He
asks for assistance, which includes Godfrey's help as he recognizes
the child as his own. Godfrey finds the dead woman who is identified
by him as Molly Farren. However he keeps this a secret and tells no
one. He wants his marriage and the fact he has a child to be kept
secret at the moment.
Silas wants to adopt the child as his own because he feels that the
child has come to him for a reason. Marner fills the hole in his heart
with the child where as before it was filled with money. The child has
switched places with his money and therefore develops his personality
to a kinder more caring and compassionate man than before. This is
shown when Silas gives the child some sugar, which he wouldn't eat for
himself, "he had refrained from using it for himself: as he put the
spoon into her mouth". Godfrey wants to marry Nancy Lammeter, so when
he finds out his wife is dead and Silas has his child, he sees this as
a good thing as now nothing can hold him back from marrying Nancy.
This shows his selfishness or moral cowardice as he thinks Silas will
look after his child so he wants to marry Nancy to benefit himself.
The society that Silas is trying to be accepted into cannot not find a way to accept Silas, nor find a way to make him acceptable. Although Silas is extremely wealthy, this does not make him acceptable in the community. Being rich situates him in the upper class allowing him to make an attempt at being one of them but in the end he fails because he cannot change his personality without losing sight of who he really was. At the Corey’s dinner party he has problems with wearing gloves while no one else is wearing them, and drinking from the wine glass like it was ice water served at his home table, also the conversation he could not enter into or follow. When he finally does he has drunk to much wine. After telling his War story he feels confident now that’s he has established himself in the conversation so he continues to talk about his paint to Bromfeild. As he goes on these rants unceasingly talking about pointless subjects he is the only one talking because no one at the party cares f...
For example, James becomes more involved in his family members lives after Kathleen's passing. Initially, James only paid attention to Kathleen as she was his first daughter and he was clearly obsessed with her. His other children were raised by Materia, but when both Materia and Kathleen died, he stepped in to raise them as a single father. James shows his strength by emerging himself into his family to help the entire family cope. In contrast, Nathan turned his attention to others when his family needed him the most. After learning from his children that his youngest daughter, Rith May, was killed, he said, "she wasn't baptized yet" (Kingsolver 368). Nathan then goes into the village center and attempts to baptize the Congolese children with the rain water. This sends a haunting message to the Price family that Nathan shows no regard for his family members feelings. Instead of helping his family, he turns them away and focuses on his religion. This turns out to be a detrimental mistake as his family leaves him in the Congo. In addition, James attempt to fill the void left by Kathleen in a healthy way by raising Kathleen's daughter Lily. James takes her in and deceives his other daughters about Lily's true mother as he adopts his daughter's child as his own. This is a healthy way to fill Kathleen's void as he is taking in another child and
About thirty years ago there was a young girl in love with her boyfriend. One day, he convinced her to take their relationship to the next level, telling her how deeply he cared. A couple weeks later, she found out that she had become pregnant, and decided it was best to hide it from him. They kept in close contact over the next few months, and he told her that they would be together forever. When her father realized that she was having a baby without marriage, he made her leave the house until she came back with a husband. When the baby girl was born, she decided to tell the boyfriend about the child, by bringing her to his house. He lived on a small farm right outside town and you had to pass over a small river on a bridge to get back to his house. As she opened the door, she walked in on him with another girl. Filled with anger, (pause) she gets in her car and speeds off. Now she could not return home unmarried and had lost her only love because of this one child. As she looked over at the baby, she is only reminded of her boyfriend and the image of him with the other girl. (tone increases) Finally, she reached the bridge, then slammed on the breaks. She got out and in a moment of rage threw the baby over the bridge to rid her of the baby girl’s troubles. Later that night, the police were tipped off about a murder at the bridge and came to find the girl hanging from the bridge.
Walter is confronted by the event of having another child when his wife, Ruth, shares the information about what has happened and what her plans are to resolve and continue the scenario. Walter brings to topic of his importance to the scenario, and decides to break away from the event and think of his answer towards his wife’s information and response. He later is shown the understanding of his wife by the reaction of his mother, who questions his standing on how his father would have reacted. This brings Walter to think of why he should change and not walk out on times of importance. Walter discovers that his turmoil of drinking and appearance on the topic could lose the life of his newly developing child.
In the very beginning of the book, David Henry makes a decision he will live with for the rest of his life. He gives his newborn daughter away. He justifies this action by saying, “This poor child will most likely have a serious heart defect. A fatal one. I’m trying to spare us all a terrible grief” (Edwards 19). Little did he know, that by telling his wife their daughter died, he would be destroying his relationship with his wife and son. Because of the strain on his relationship with his family, the rest of them go on lying as well. In the end, they all have secrets that tear them
that they were fighting on different sides. Paul then starts to feel he killed himself and wishes no more of a part in the war.
how he beat her. Mel, Terris husband, gives us his feeling for his ex-wife, and
elder and does this violate the qualification of being “the husband of one wife.”? Several views will be taken into consideration, married widowers, unmarried men and divorced men, as well as interpretation of “the husband of one wife.”
The film chronicles the histories of three fathers, and manages to relates and link their events and situations. First is Mitchell Stephens and his relationship with his drug-addict daughter. Second is Sam, and the secret affair he is having with his young daughter Nicole. He is somewhat of a narcissistic character because of his preoccupation with himself and pleasing himself, and his lack of empathy throughout the film for the others in the town. Third is Billy, who loves his two children so much that he follows behind the school bus every day waving at them. Billy is also having an affair with a married woman who owns the town’s only motel. On the exterior the town is an average place with good people just living their lives. But, beneath all the small town simplicity is a web of lies and secrets, some which must be dealt with in the face of this tragedy.
...rson and he knows that she will take care of the little guy even if the Guy is not around. A distort desire to be free of the situation drive the whole family into tragedy and leave them grieves
In the beginning Silas is a rich and powerful man, greed and selfish ambition had just started to take its toll on his decisions. Throughout the novel Silas continually does wrong by buying out his partner and becomes greedy to the point of money being the only thing that mattered to him. In result Silas loses everything, it is not until Silas loses his home and his company that he is forced to change. By the end of the novel Silas “rises” to become a good moral man that exemplifies honesty and humility.
...ver his life. He finds that his half-life is happy and the other half is full of darkness and sadness. Bowman knows he has never felt love before, and he doesn’t know if he can ever love. He start to feel unwanted in the house, because he finds out that Sonny and the woman
... becomes very disappointed that his mother hasn’t shown any affection. All the money he won never got Hester to show any affection to him and crushes Paul’s heart. The love of his mother is gone because of her selfishness and greed she revealed when her son was just trying to make her happy so he can receive affection.
Silas’s redemption is evoked, when he takes Eppie the little child and raises her. By doing that, he was attaching him self to his passion, and re-gaining trust in kinship and emotions. The following quotation support the point mentioned:
Silas starts the story as a popular man from Lantern Yard as he is a regular attendee to church and is well respected. He is referred to as ‘Master Marner’. His best friend is William Dane. William frames Silas for a crime he did not commit. People in the village start to accuse Silas of the theft of the dead Deacon’s money. The way this church were organised in those days meant that it was down to pure luck to decide whether Silas was guilty or not. This was the main reason why lots were picked to decide Silas’ fate. He was a firm believer in God and was adamant that he would be cleared. “I can say nothing. God will clear me” (Chapter 1 page 12). Despite his solid belief, Silas was falsely found guilty and he had to leave his place of birth. The author, due to her different beliefs, portrayed this as if to say that it wasn’t up to God to decide your fate, but up to you to decide your own fate. However, contrary to this, his prayers did come true later on in his life, but in the form of a baby.