The History and Literary Context of Silas Marner Essay -- English Lite

The History and Literary Context of Silas Marner Silas Marner was written in 1860 by Mary Ann (Marian) Evans, better known under the pen name of George Eliot. She used this name for several reasons; for one, she'd had affairs with a variety of unsuitable men, which was greatly frowned upon in those days, and she rightly thought this could affect her career as a successful novelist. For another reason, women authors were looked down upon by critics and indeed, society, so she felt sure she would have a greater chance of success under a male name. Other women writers like the BrontÃÆ'Â © sisters have done similar things. Whilst she was young she was a firm Christian, as was expected. It was only later that she began to question her faith, when she met the unconventional Charles Bray and his wife Caroline. Eliot's father was horrified when he discovered this, having an evangelical outlook on life. He broke contact with Eliot entirely, ashamed that one of his children should turn out to be a non-believer. However, when her mother died in 1836, Eliot returned home to look after her father although she wouldn't give up her education and learnt German and Italian. Because of her linguistic skills, Eliot's first publication was a translation of Strauss' Life of Jesus, under her real name. She still was not writing novels until she met George Lewes. Lewes was married and with children, but he and Eliot grew gradually closer until they finally decided to elope. As Lewes was already married, he and Eliot could not be officially joined in matrimony, but they lived together like man and wife, and Eliot even went under the name Lewes. Their relationship was censured by many, and Eliot hardly left the house, becoming... ..., and soon many people from all over Raveloe were coming to Silas to have him cure their rheumatism and other ailments, adding more darkly "that if you could only speak the devil fair enough, he [Silas] might save you the cost of the doctor." So witchcraft was still in people's minds. Drugs were also used in that time, and Godfrey Cass's wife, Molly, was addicted to opium, the drug which finally killed her. The life that George Eliot was depicting in Silas Marner was one in which poverty and wealth lived side by side, and people accepted that that was how things were. Religion was very important to all, whether it was non-conformist or Anglican. By the time George Eliot wrote Silas Marner she had lost her Christian faith, and this could have inspired her to write about somebody who also loses their faith although, unlike George Eliot, Silas regains his.