Contrast Silas' life in Lantern Yard with that in Raveloe in Silas Marner.

Silas was an active member of the town of Lantern Yard.
His life, as part 1 of the novel states, had

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   “movement, mental activity, and close
fellowship”.

This is
important to point out because this will contrast tremendously later
on.

Back in Lantern Yard Silas’s strong fellowship was the
most important thing for him. This is because the fellowship stemmed from the religious
sect to which Silas belonged. This was his niche; in it, he was “highly thought of”, and
people attributed to Silas certain interesting powers. This was after, during a
prayer-meeting, he fell into a lapse of what is described
as

...[a]
mysterious rigidity and suspension of consciousness” that lasted over a hour. After this
incident, people associated Silas to something tantamount to a spiritual leader, guide,
or at least someone who would be respected for his spiritual
abilities.

Moreover, Silas
had a knack for medicinal cures; a gift he inherited from his
mother.

Silas was happy in Lantern Yard. He had a friend
with whom he spent most of his time, William Dane. Silas also had a fiancée, Sarah, whom
he planned to marry once their finances were in order. In their religious group, Silas,
William and Sarah were always together. The problem that happened in Lantern Yard was
that William betrayed Silas by accusing him of stealing from one of their cult’s elders.
As Silas fell into shame, William further turned the knife by also stealing Sarah. Left
with nothing, Silas has no choice but to go away to the nearby town of
Raveloe.

Raveloe is like a purgatory for Silas. He
purposely chooses to remain alone and do his weaving work, which he uses as a form of
therapy. With the exception of one instance where he came out of his isolation to employ
the herbal cures that he was good for, he remained completely isolated, grieving his
past, and living to accumulate money and gold. So different was Silas in Raveloe, that
he even inspired fear. He detested company, and his enigmatic looks (he had huge eyes
and eyebrows) made him stand out even more.

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 ....he liked their intrusion so ill that he
would descend from his loom, and, opening the door, would fix on them a gaze that was
always enough to make them take to their legs in
terror.

The pivotal events
that change Silas were the theft of his gold by Dustan and the subsequent entrance of
Eppie into his life. This is where life at Raveloe really begins for Silas even years
after having escaped from Lantern Yard.