Silas Marner

Silas Marner by George Eliot, aka Mary Ann Evan (1819 - 1880), is a story in which the love of gold is replaced by the love of a child. Marner is a weaver from a community of people who were dominated by strict religion. He is framed for a crime and leaves. He lives his life in isolation from his new community in Raveloe keeping company only with the gold he has collected. One day his gold is stolen. He thinks his life is pretty much over until a blond child who has just been orphaned walks through his door. He thinks his gold has been replaced by this "golden haired" child and takes care of her. As he takes care of her he learns that there is more to life than his previous hoard of money, there is love and family, the true treasure. Through his new daughter, he once again connects to a community and gains friends and ties that he once thought were gone forever. He is once more a person connected to the world around him and not an isolated hermit.

This is an excellent novel about the recovery of purpose (Marner's purpose of raising his new found daughter) and reconnection to a community. I highly recommend.