What are Nancy Lammeter's feelings toward Godfrey in chapter 11 of Silas Marner?
As Chapter 11 of Silas Marner begins, Nancy Lammeter is confused about Godfrey Cass’s behavior. It pains her that his attention varies widely. She believes that she made it clear to him that she would not marry him. In spite of her clear communication, he sometimes pays her “marked attention,” but also ignores her for weeks at a time. She worries also about his bad habits, reasoning that if he really loved her, he would not give others reason to gossip about his reputation. The chapter takes place at Squire Cass’s Red House, before and during a dance party he is hosting.
Despite her reservations, when they sit down to tea, she reflects that Godfrey is “of quite the highest consequence in the parish” and that she could have become mistress of his grand home had she married him. Nancy attempts to remain resolute in her conviction that rank was...
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irrelevant to her estimation of his conduct, which “showed him careless of his character.”
Although Nancy tries to resist Godfrey’s charms without seeming rude in front of their fathers and the assembled guests, they are paired for the first dance. When her dresses’ hem tears and she has to sit out the dance, Godfrey remains attentive. Acknowledging how much she means to him, Godfrey asks if she cannot forgive him. He suggests he will make amends and give up the habits she dislikes.
Nancy really felt agitated by the possibility Godfrey’s words suggested, but this very pressure of emotion that she was in danger of finding too strong for her roused all her power of self-command.
“I should be glad to see a good change in anybody, Mr. Godfrey,” she answered, with the slightest discernible difference of tone, “but it ’ud be better if no change was wanted.”
When her sister Priscilla arrives with the necessary items to fix her hem, rather than send Godfrey away, Nancy deigns to let him stay while trying to seem uncaring and cold.
References
What are Nancy Lammeter's feelings toward Godfrey in Silas Marner?
Despite differences in personality, Nancy Lammeter is flattered by the attention that Godfrey pays her. Like Nancy, Godfrey comes from a relatively well-off family, so there's definitely a connection there. But as we've already mentioned, personality-wise it's a different story. Whereas Godfrey is quite easygoing, Nancy is a stubborn young lady very much set in her ways. To a large extent, this is due to her upbringing, which has instilled in her a strict moral rectitude and a very narrow way of looking at the world.
Nancy is a very strong, inflexible character, and this makes her intolerant of other people's foibles, including Godfrey's. She sees Godfrey as a weak character, someone to be moulded into a better, stronger man. In other words, she doesn't truly accept Godfrey for who and what he is.
In some respects, this is entirely an appropriate attitude, as there's a great deal of immaturity about Godfrey; he needs a strong woman to take him in hand and exercise some measure of control over his life. Nancy fits the bill perfectly.
But beneath Nancy's stern exterior there beats the heart of a genuinely decent, caring woman. It's notable that when Godfrey confesses his secret marriage to her, she forgives him. This would appear to indicate that her feelings for him are much deeper than previously thought.