Silas Marner: Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

That evening, Silas Marner and Eppie are sitting alone in the cottage. Marner is exhausted by the events of the afternoon, and has been craving the quiet of being alone with only Eppie. Near them on the table is the gold, arranged as Marner used to arrange it. He has been telling Eppie of how he counted the gold every night. At first, he admits, he worried that Eppie might again be changed into the gold after she had appeared on his hearth. The gold holds no power over Marner now, but he worries aloud that if Eppie were lost he might again feel God had forsaken him.

There is a knock at the door and Eppie blushes when she opens the door to admit Mr. and Mrs. Cass. Godfrey first apologizes to Marner for the loss of his money, hoping that he can make it up to him, as one of his own family members was the thief. Godfrey tells Marner’s it's time that he had some rest, as he’s worked so hard at his weaving to survive before and after the robbery. Godfrey says to Marner that he has done his part by Eppie and he’s sure it would be a comfort to the weaver to see her taken care of by folks who could make her into a lady.

Godfrey points out that he and Mrs. Cass have no children and, therefore, they would like to adopt Eppie as their own. As Godfrey speaks, Eppie puts her arm around Marner and feels him trembling. Marner is clearly distressed, but says only that he will not stand in Eppie’s way if this is what she wishes. Eppie steps forward and she thanks Mr. and Mrs. Cass, but she refuses their offer, unwilling to leave her father, and to give up the folks she’s familiar with by becoming a lady. With a sob, Marner takes her hand.

Godfrey, irritated, exclaims that he has a claim on Eppie because she is his child and her mother was his wife. Eppie is startled. Marner speaks with new fierceness, asking Godfrey why he didn’t claim his daughter sixteen years earlier. Godfrey turned a blessing away, Marner points out, and so God gave the child to him. Godfrey no longer has any right to the child. Godfrey claims he has repented for this past choice, but Marner insists, “repentance doesn’t alter what’s been going on for sixteen year.”

Godfrey urges rationality. Such a change wouldn’t tear Marner and Eppie apart forever, he argues. He says that he feels it’s his duty to care for his own daughter, and that Marner ought to be happy to see her elevated to better circumstances rather than marrying a lowly man. Eppie's initial decision to refuse the offer of adoption was determined by her love for Marner, but Godfrey’s insistence and his treatment of Marner cause repulsion toward her biological father to grown in her heart. Marner, on the other hand, is struck by a fear of raising his own desires in the way of what’s best for Eppie and he again defers to her decision.

Eppie insists that she would never again be happy if she were forced to leave her father, Silas Marner. He had no one to love or care for him before she appeared in his life, and she’d again be leaving him alone. He cared for her and loved her first, and she is certain that no one will ever come between them. Nancy reminds Eppie that what she says is a natural way to feel, but that she also owes a duty to her true father. Eppie says she can only think of Marner as her father, that she wasn’t raised to be a lady, and that she’s engaged to marry a workingman.

Godfrey is frustrated that his attempt to atone for his past wrongs has been thwarted. He leaves abruptly, unable to say anything else to Marner and Eppie, and Nancy follows more gracefully.