Silas Marner Lesson Plan

Why does Marner think he should get to keep the child? Does this make sense to you? Why or why not?

When it's suggested that Marner hand the child to a woman who is more used to caring for children, he refuses, claiming that since the child sought him out, he should get to keep her. It's believed that no one has a claim to the child because her mother is dead and her father is unknown. Does that mean Marner should get the child, just because her mother happened to die near Marner's home while he had a cataleptic fit with the door open? This does not seem like a particularly good reason for someone to raise a child: he is a nearsighted older man with no experience with...