In the novel “Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe” what was the connection between Silas and Eppie?

“Silas Marner” was the adoptive father of the orphaned child Eppie, named after his deceased mother and sister, both named Hephzibahis.

“Silas Marner” is a tale of a linen weaver who is betrayed and falsely accused by so-called friends and forced from his community to a rural area where he is unknown. His life is ruined, his faith is lost, his heart is broken. He lives in lonely isolation devoting himself to his craft and miserly adores the gold coins he earns and hoards from his weaving. When his horde is stolen, Silas is once again crushed and falls into a deep depression.

Tragic circumstances cause Eppie to come into Silas’ life, which changes it completely. Silas has been robbed of his material gold, but thinks that he has it returned to him symbolically in the form of the golden-haired child. Mischievous in her early years, Eppie grows into a radiant and beautiful young girl, devoted to her adoptive father.

The novel is strong in realism, psychological insight and offers sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues to do with religion, industrialisation and community.

“Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe” (1861) is the 3rd novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880). She was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote 7 novels, which include “The Mill on the Floss” (1860), and “Middlemarch” (1871–72), mostly set in provincial England.