What does the novel Silas Marner have to say about the relationship between parents and their children?

GCSE: English Literature

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“He put her into a coal hole and held the door closed”
He didn’t want to punish Eppie but he had this shows he cares for her.

Silas was stolen of his wealth but in return he found Eppie sleeping were he had placed his gold. He is a good father as he accepts the child as a gift but Silas Marner is not the natural father of Eppie.

"But I've a claim on you, Eppie -- the strongest of all claims.”

Eppie is the biological child of Godfrey Cass and Molly Farren, Godfrey’s secret wife. The gold no longer has its powerful hold on Silas that it used to have. In conclusion, I think that because Godfrey lacked in maternal influence he became a bad father just like Squire Cass. However, Silas Marner is a good father as he accepted the child as a gift but is not the biological father. A good father is open faced, good-natured, honest and not selfish. Fatherhood is more than blood; it is a carefully built relationship that cannot be given or stolen like gold.

Saying that Eppie is offered wealth and an upper class life but on page 206 she says

“I should have no delight in life anymore if I was forced to go away from my father.”

She is saying that money cannot replace the love she feels for Silas. Eliot uses the money image when Godfrey realises he cannot buy back Eppie when he says on page

“There’s debts we can pay like money debts, by paying extra for the years that have slipped by. While I’ve been putting off, the trees have been growing- it’s too late now.”
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