The role of "fatherhood" in Silas Marner is a key component in molding the affectionate mood discovered within the pages. The emotional side of this novel is expressed through the relationships between parents and their kin. Through the novel, Eliot has also depicted a battle which has been debated many times over: nature versus nurture.

The father-daughter relationship is an example of the rejuvenating power of pure, natural human relationships. Silas Marner's withered soul, which had shrunken into the miserly accumulation of gold, is redeemed and restored to humanity through the role he had adopted as a father. The love and kindness he gave and received from an orphaned child transformed this miserly soul into a content man with a beautiful heart. Suddenly, his love of gold was forgotten and replaced with the "freshest blossom of youth." "If you hadn't been sent to save me, I should ha'gone...