Silas Marner Greed Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

"But she'll be my little un," said Marner, rather hastily. "She'll be nobody else's." (1.15.18)

Here, Silas shows real greed for the first time, and it's not about gold—not gold coins, anyway. He's greedy for Eppie (but not in a creepy way… we guess).

Quote #8

Snap on the right hand and Puss on the other put up their paws towards a morsel which she held out of the reach of both—Snap occasionally desisting in order to remonstrate with the cat by a cogent worrying growl on the greediness and futility of her conduct; till Eppie relented, caressed them both, and divided the morsel between them. (2.16.28)

In this funny little image of Eppie playing with her pets, we can see that she's a mediator between Silas and the village. Just as Eppie fixes the greediness of the cat and dog by sharing the little bit of food that she has, she moves between Silas and the other folks. She's like a tasty morsel, bringing peace when she's shared. Okay, maybe it's time to revise the "not creepy" judgment.

Quote #9

"I like the working-folks, and their victuals, and their ways. And," she ended passionately, while the tears fell, "I'm promised to marry a working-man, as'll live with father, and help me to take care of him." (2.19.54)

Greed is also the desire to have more than you were born with. Here, we see Eppie's lack of greed. She wants nothing more than to marry someone who will let her look after her father, and she refuses Godfrey and Nancy's offer to improve her life. There's nothing wrong with this, except that it kind of undermines the whole notion of "ambition" or "bettering yourself."