{"id":3064,"date":"2017-04-25T20:32:31","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T15:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fableandi.com\/?p=3064"},"modified":"2020-03-20T12:28:29","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T06:58:29","slug":"ruth-elizabeth-gaskell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell – Story of a Fallen Woman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Gaskell tells the story of a fallen woman in the Victorian period in her novel Ruth<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Ruth Hilton\u2019s parents die, her guardian helps her to secure the position of an apprentice at a seamstress\u2019 shop. Sixteen year old Ruth is befriended by Mr. Bellingham who convinces her that he is in love with her. They run away and Ruth finds herself becoming his mistress. When Mr. Bellingham falls ill, his mother sees it as the perfect opportunity to whisk her son away from the temptress that is Ruth. Alone, abandoned, moneyless and pregnant, Ruth finds a friend in Mr. Benson, minister of a small congregation. After a lot of persuasion, she moves in with Mr. Benson and his sister and starts a new life with an invented past. But what happens when the past catches up with her?
\n <\/p>\n

The Good<\/h3>\n

Elizabeth Gaskell\u2019s bravery in writing a novel that touches on such sensitive topics is commendable, especially since she is the wife of a minister. The public must have been furious for writing a novel that talks about illegitimacy. Ruth<\/em> has a brisk pace throughout, except in the middle where it drags a bit. Gaskell is successful in pointing out the hypocrisy prevalent in the Victorian society. When Sally, Mr. Benson\u2019s household help, is suspicious about the truth about Ruth, she makes her cut her hair like a widow before she accepts her. Mr. Bradshaw, who highly praises Ruth seems to forget all her good qualities when he comes to know of her past.
\n <\/p>\n

There are thought provoking passages on what the society considers as \u2018sin\u2019 (example : a fallen woman) and whether the church should accept or rebuke those who have sinned. Also, the burden of this sin falls solely on the woman\u2019s shoulder and the man is never blamed, thanks to the gender hierarchy that existed in those times.
\n <\/p>\n

There is an underlying theme that defies the logic of \u2018good looks make a gentleman\u2019. By the examples of Mr. Bellingham and Mr. Benson, a hunchback, Gaskell effectively guides the reader through such examples that makes one see how weak or strong human nature can be.
\n 

\"Book
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n

The Bad<\/h3>\n

Perhaps in an attempt to make Ruth appealing to her readers, Gaskell strips her of all human vices. She is a virtuous, gentle, calm, ever-patient, never-complaining, selfless girl. She is the perfect heroine, except for her \u2018sin\u2019 in mothering an illegitimate child. So I think this characterisation of the young girl makes her seem unrealistic.
\n <\/p>\n

I enjoyed Vol. 1 and Vol. 3, but Vol. 2 greatly dampened my interest in the book. There were a lot of Biblical quotes and passages which gives an overall preachy tone to the book. Mr. Bellingham seems to be an unbelievable character. We know he walked out on Ruth, but in some portions in the book, Gaskell writes in his POV about how he loves (loved?) Ruth. It felt as if Gaskell was undecided whether to show Mr. Bellingham as the man who seduced and cheated a young girl or make the readers see his nice side (I could not see any) as well.
\n 

\"Book
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n

The ending greatly disappointed me and seemed as if Ruth was the one who had to pay the debts of sin throughout her life. Perhaps this was the only way in which the novel would be accepted by the society of the Victorian times. But it made me feel unsatisfied because of the forced sympathy it tries to evoke in the reader.
\n <\/p>\n

Final Verdict<\/h3>\n

I liked the novel and found it to be a moving read. I would recommend reading it if you are a fan of Elizabeth Gaskell. However, if you are new to her work, I think North and South<\/em> would be a better pick.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Title : Ruth
\nAuthor : Elizabeth Gaskell
\nPublisher : Penguin Classics
\nPublished : 1853
\nLanguage : English
\nPages : 375
\nRating : 4\/5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Gaskell tells the story of a fallen woman in the Victorian period…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6307,16],"tags":[6369,96,497,513,514],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\nRuth by Elizabeth Gaskell - Story of a Fallen Woman | The Book Satchel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Elizabeth Gaskell tells the story of a fallen woman in the Victorian period in her novel, Ruth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell - Story of a Fallen Woman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Elizabeth Gaskell tells the story of a fallen woman in the Victorian period in her novel, Ruth.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Book Satchel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-25T15:02:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-20T06:58:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ruth1.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Resh Susan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@www.twitter.com\/thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Resh Susan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Resh Susan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c066f414ca95bff496a832cc43b1e634\"},\"headline\":\"Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell – Story of a Fallen Woman\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-25T15:02:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-20T06:58:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/\"},\"wordCount\":683,\"commentCount\":19,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c066f414ca95bff496a832cc43b1e634\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ruth1.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"books by women\",\"classics\",\"classics club\",\"elizabeth gaskell\",\"ruth\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/ruth-elizabeth-gaskell\/\",\"name\":\"Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell - 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