Starting May 2 in the Lost in Classics Facebook Group we will be reading Silas Marner by George Eliot aka Mary Ann Evans. If you have been thinking about joining us but still need convincing, check out these 5 reasons why you should! 1. It's a short introduction to reading George Eliot Middlemarch might be considered 'the best novel in the English language' but at 263 thousand words it's a bit of a challenge. Silas Marner is a more doable 29 thousand. 2. It's full of interesting vocabulary and Language Don't worry, despite its shortness the language is meaty enough to really sink your teeth into, what with the country dialect, the references to old trades, in particular weaving and the description of clothes! It also has many instances of words that used to have a meaning that is different from the current one. In fact I will be creating some infographics to help you make sense of it all. Please let me know if you interested and I will be happy to send you a copy. 3. It is an excellent example of what 'realism' really means. Reading about George Eliot you will be told about her use of realism, that she herself describes in Adam Bede “my strongest effort is to avoid any such arbitrary picture, and to give a faithful account of men and things as they have mirrored themselves in my mind. The mirror is doubtless defective; the outlines will sometimes be disturbed, the reflection faint or confused; but I feel as much bound to tell you as precisely as I can what that reflection is, as if I were in the witness-box narrating my experience on oath”. But in Silas Marner she literally picks up harsh reality and slaps you in the face with it when she goes from describing pretty dresses at holiday parties in one chapter to showing a drug addict mother traipsing through the snow with her infant child. We tend to think of such things in modern cities, not in the countryside of 19th century 'Merry England'. 4. It is a reflection of its time. Silas Marner was written in 1861 but is set at the beginning of the 18th century, in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. During this time, there was mass migration of workers from the country to the cities to work in factories. Although the inhabitants of Raveloe, the fictional village where the story is set are superstitious and cautious of 'foreigners', they are faithful churchgoers who help their neighbours in times of need. Perhaps the book is like a nostalgic snapshot of idyllic country life, compared to the disconcerting search in the big town for an area that no longer existed, taken over by a big factory. 5. It's not all about the relationship between Silas and the 'abandoned' girl. Devil worshipping, black magic, potions, Scrooge-like greed and coveting, drugs and alcoholism, tradition, religion, love, social roles and status, secrets and lies, Silas Marner has it all! I hope these sparks have ignited your desire to join us. Leave your email address on the contact page and I will add you to the Group.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
What is this?When I started lostinclassics I looked for language lessons in the books I was reading, such as for example the use of phrasal verbs or inversion in conditionals and I explained them through examples found in the text. I also did reviews of the books I read and tried to give some advice on how to read classics using the various resources I know of. Then I switched to just reviews and lately I have been doing a bit of creative writing inspired by my reading. Who knows what I will come up with next! Archives
September 2020
Categories |