George Eliot's ＂Silas Marner＂: a Novel of Self-Redemption

愛麗特的織工馬南：一本自贖的小說

朱森榮(Charles S. J. Chu)

《真理大學人文學報》 2期 (2004/03) Pp. 149-159

https://doi.org/10.29962/TOJA.200403.0006

摘要

維多利亞時代是一個文學興盛的時代。狄更斯領導此時代前期的小說界。他死後的小說天下，使由愛麗特（George Eliot）接棒。愛麗特因為心理寫實的手法，而開啟了英國小說界的另一章，也因此被冠上近代小說家的第一人。她的小說充斥著當代所重視的道德教誨。她寫作的重點，大部分是強調因果的關係與道德的觀念，也因此被認為是一位道德濃厚的小說家。本文針對愛麗特的《織工馬南》一書，論述織工馬南（Silas Marner）和年輕鄉紳哥德佛（Godfrey Cass）兩人的心路歷程。馬南是一位虔誠的教徒，受到陷害而對人和宗教都失去信心，他獨自一人離鄉背井遠走他鄉，以織布維生，賺得的金幣銅板是他唯一的安慰。後來一位才剛會走路的小孩子來到他家，將他從無生命的金銀財寶拉了出來，走回有生命的人群中。這位走失的小孩其實是鄉紳的私生子，但是他缺少道德、勇氣而遲遲不敢相認，內心煎熬十六年想要接回這位少女的時候遭到拒絕，而必須接受家裡無後代的事實，但是無論如何，他總算克服了道德的懦弱，走出了內心的陰影。總之，作者認為個人行為的因，必然會產生道德的果，也深信獎賞與懲罰不虛假手於他人，終會善有善報惡有惡報。

並列摘要

The primary characteristic of Victorian novelists is found in the analysis of problems of life and in the recommendation of methods of solution. In this respect, George Eliot far surpasses all the others. She likes to trace the causes and effects of actions. Most of her novels are colored with a strong sense of moral law. That is why she is called a moral novelist. In ＂Silas Marner＂, therefore, we shall focus on Eliot's rendering her characters search for self-redemption and, at the same time, show how strong Eliot is as a moral novelist. The interest of this novel lies in the fact that true wealth is love, not gold. Silas loses his gold only to reclaim a greater treasure of fellowship. It bears a moral truth, but George Eliot achieves this by way of telling a fable-like tale, instead of giving a drowsy moral lecture. It is ＂essentially a myth of spiritual rebirth,＂ as Walter Allen remarks. Besides, Godfrey's moral weaknesses are another concern for George Eliot. He just couldn't pluck up his courage to admit the mistakes he had made and accordingly this indecisiveness kept torturing him for many years.