Silas Marner book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Chapters 1 to 7

1. How far does Silas Marner's past explain his withdrawal from other people?
2. What might gold offer Silas Marner that fellowship no longer seems to offer?
3. How much responsibility does Godfrey Cass bear for yielding to Dunstan's demands?
4. What does Dunstan's response to the failed horse sale suggest about how he treats other people's losses?
5. Why might losing his gold push Silas Marner toward people rather than deeper into isolation?

Meeting 2: Chapters 8 to 13

6. How much weight should the villagers give the tinderbox when deciding whom to suspect?
7. Is Godfrey Cass's partial confession a step toward honesty or another way to avoid it?
8. What can the neighbors' charity offer Silas Marner when it cannot resolve the theft?
9. What would make Godfrey Cass's request for forgiveness convincing to Nancy?
10. How does the child's arrival change what readers might expect from Silas Marner's solitary life?

Meeting 3: Chapter 14 to Conclusion

11. What does Silas Marner's experience suggest about whether caring for someone can also mean learning to trust others?
12. How much moral weight should we give Godfrey Cass's private promise to provide for Eppie?
13. How might Eppie's plans for marriage test the trust within her household?
14. Does the discovery that prompts Godfrey Cass's confession make his honesty more understandable or less admirable?
15. What should matter most in deciding who has a claim to be Eppie's father?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.