Silas' life at Raveloe is so unlike that at Lantern Yard that it seems almost a dream. The countryside is different, the church has little in common with that of his old sect, and even the old Power he has trusted in seems far away here.
Work claims all of Silas’ attention until he receives his first money. Then the coins seem to offer companionship. Silas comes to look forward to the evenings, when he can take pleasure in the brightness of his gold.
From his mother, Silas had learned the medicinal properties of herbs, and once he uses his knowledge to bring relief to a sick woman. For some time after that, he is beset by villagers wanting charms against disease or other evils. Silas knows of no such charms, but his refusal is taken as mere ill-temper, and after that he is more alone than ever.
His work and his gold draw Silas ever farther from contact with his neighbors. Only once does anything happen to show that he has any affection left: Silas drops his old pot and saves the pieces as a memorial of its long service. After that, there is only his money and his loom, and thoughts of them when he is away from home. He forgets his herbs; his life shrinks into the compass of his room.
