Silas Marner: Key Quotations

Below is a list of quotations organised by character and theme:

The Individual and Society

Silas Marner:

• "His life had reduced itself to the mere functions of weaving and hoarding."

• "The gold had kept his thoughts in an ever-repeated circle." Squire Cass:

• "The greatest man in Raveloe was Squire Cass."

• "Squire Cass's sons were not inclined to any severe labour."

Fear of the Unknown

Silas Marner:

• "Gold!—his own gold—brought back to him as mysteriously as it had been taken away!"
• "The stone pit was made to swallow up its treasures."

Redemption and Transformation

Silas Marner:

• "It's niver too late to turn over a new leaf."

• "You'd be no better than a beast." Godfrey Cass:

• "Things come round to the same, whether you like it or not."

• "His devious glance and guiltless words."

Family and Parenthood

Eppie:

• "I can't feel as I've got any father but one." Godfrey Cass:

• "It's part of my punishment, Nancy, for my daughter to dislike me." Nancy Lammeter:

• "Duty first—happiness afterwards."

• "I've always had the same sort of feeling towards you."