A weaver friend of mine lent this book to me because I am also a weaver. It is my first George Eliot book. I found it rather boring. The story could have been told as a novelette and gotten the same moral points across. I also found the moral points to be one-sided and hence, not interesting. The characters are pretty much one-dimensional never really straying from their initial set of traits. There are a few women in this book, but they have very minor, slim roles: mother, wife, lover, daughter.
Also, there was a religious bent to it that I didnt fully get. Silas came from northern England and there attended chapel. Whereas in Raveloe people attend church. I am not too sure what the distinction is and how it relates to 1800s England. But it was clear that church was the way to go if you wanted to be a fine upstanding citizen. Also there was one scene where a neighbors wife comes over with her youngest to teach Silas some basics of child care and she brings lard cakes. She uses a stamp (probably iron) to put some letters in to the top of the lard cakes while squishing them flat (IHS) which she assumes are good letters as she sees them at the church. She is illiterate and doesnt know what they mean and the book never explains to the reader assuming everyone will know. When I see IHS, I think industrial hygienists. But I am guessing these stand for some Latin religious phrase. The religious bent itself didnt bother me; the lack of explanation so that I, the reader, can fully understand the culture bothered me.
The book ends with a strong scene that upholds the morals already laid out in the book. While the over all message seems to be that love is extremely important to a happy life, it is given to the reader is a very high-handed way.
Also, there was a religious bent to it that I didnt fully get. Silas came from northern England and there attended chapel. Whereas in Raveloe people attend church. I am not too sure what the distinction is and how it relates to 1800s England. But it was clear that church was the way to go if you wanted to be a fine upstanding citizen. Also there was one scene where a neighbors wife comes over with her youngest to teach Silas some basics of child care and she brings lard cakes. She uses a stamp (probably iron) to put some letters in to the top of the lard cakes while squishing them flat (IHS) which she assumes are good letters as she sees them at the church. She is illiterate and doesnt know what they mean and the book never explains to the reader assuming everyone will know. When I see IHS, I think industrial hygienists. But I am guessing these stand for some Latin religious phrase. The religious bent itself didnt bother me; the lack of explanation so that I, the reader, can fully understand the culture bothered me.
The book ends with a strong scene that upholds the morals already laid out in the book. While the over all message seems to be that love is extremely important to a happy life, it is given to the reader is a very high-handed way.
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