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New Year, New Fallen Woman: Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth Readalong

586 replies

BishyBarnyBee · 28/12/2023 07:42

Following the very successful Madame Bovary readalong, we have decided to explore another woman who refused to be bound by contemporary mores.
So shocking at the time, two of Gaskell's friends burnt their copies.

"Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth (1853) was the first mainstream novel to make a fallen woman its eponymous heroine. It is a remarkable story of love, of the sanctuary and tyranny of the family, and of the consequences of lies and deception, one that lays bare Victorian hypocrisy and sexual double-standards. Shocking to contemporary readers, its radical utopian vision of a pure woman faithfully presented predates Hardy's Tess by nearly forty years."

We will aim for two chapters a week - a weekend chapter and a mid week chapter. If I have time, I'll try and do a ChatGPT chapter summary, but anyone else is welcome to jump in if I haven't got there first.

We start 1st Jan, so if you are up for a bit of Victorian passion, guilt, regret and redemption, sign up here!

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KohlaParasaurus · 05/01/2024 12:40

I also didn't fully appreciate the meaning of the scentless, discarded flower.

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 05/01/2024 12:34

Yes - @Livinginthenineteenseventies I am appreciating that MG's detail is always likely to be significant. The (discarded) flower is nothing to him but will seem more to her...

Livinginthenineteenseventies · 05/01/2024 09:24

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 04/01/2024 10:19

I was struck with use of a symbol: Mr B gives Ruth a scentless flower (one that is only lovely to look at- all about appearance). A warning about what he is and what he will offer.

I missed that symbolism. I think I took it at face value, viewing it how Ruth viewed it! I re-read it and notice that I had also missed that the flower Mr B gives to Ruth was one that 'someone had left on the table'. It's a bit like oh here you are, have this object that someone has discarded. An opportunist!

TheWriteStuff · 04/01/2024 21:19

Loving the commentaries so far. Good spot on the camellia without scent and I definitely think it represents Bellingham: all looks and no use.

A couple of things that stood out to me...

  1. Ruth lives in a world of snow - no warmth or colour. Bellingham lives in a vibrant warm world. The whole book so far seems to be about contrasts but this one is reinforced a few times and maybe explains it is not just Bellingham that attracts Ruth, but the colourful world he inhabits.
  1. Jenny was Ruth's only defence against Bellingham - her wisdom and advice and care. She has been removed and Ruth is now vulnerable. There may be no one else who will be able to protect her. EG not so subtle with this one, she literally says as much right at the end of the chapter. Grin
FuzzyCaoraDhubh · 04/01/2024 19:46

I seem to have missed that wonderful line @Midnightstar76. I must go back and find it. It's brilliant.

Yes. That woman, the little boy's grandmother, had the measure of Mr. B. alright. The voice of experience!

Midnightstar76 · 04/01/2024 19:31

Oh I am enjoying this and looking forward to the next chapter. I liked this line in the writing

“Literally and figuratively, their lives seemed to wander through flowery pleasure-paths.” Where Ruth reflects on the riches and grandeur of the rich now she is back in her real world. Mr B is a scoundrel. His lack of tact towards the old lady regarding her dwelling was rude to say the least. I am envisioning a broken heart ahead for Ruth. Please don’t go there Ruth!

KohlaParasaurus · 04/01/2024 16:38

We get Ruth's family history in the next chapter.

Interesting that when Ruth artlessly says, "I know I'm pretty," presumably because she has been told she's pretty when she was growing up and just accepts it as a neutral fact, she gets the same sort of response from her peers as a 21st century teenage girl might get if she indicated that she was satisfied with her appearance.

GrandMarnierChocolate · 04/01/2024 16:16

Loving the summaries and comments so far. I'm struck by how innocent and honest and unassuming Ruth is at the beginning. Guessing she'll change. Oh! how the world, and Mr B, is going to change her.

ChatGPT said she was an orphan. Is that right. I thought her father was still alive?

FuzzyCaoraDhubh · 04/01/2024 10:21

That's definitely a very apt observation LiesDoNotBecomeUs. It's clear from the outset that Ruth will not be able to deal with this man.

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 04/01/2024 10:19

I was struck with use of a symbol: Mr B gives Ruth a scentless flower (one that is only lovely to look at- all about appearance). A warning about what he is and what he will offer.

KohlaParasaurus · 04/01/2024 08:59

The delicate hints that Mrs Mason's bad mood might be due to a dose of PMT😮

I liked the way the social hierarchy was being built into the story. The elegant people at the ball, but also those more disadvantaged than the seamstresses - the family of the rescued boy, the homeless person, the nameless servant in Mrs Mason's household whom Ruth sent on errands.

And of course, with my Mumsnet head on I was yelling, "No, Ruth, DON'T! Throw this one back!"

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BishyBarnyBee · 04/01/2024 07:25

I'll try to resist being the first person to comment every time - but I loved this chapter. Such a lot in it!

The grumpy Mrs Mason taking her mood out on the girls, the sly dig about Ruth acknowledging she is pretty, the old hands supporting her but basically telling her she needs to toughen up.

The drama of the children taunting each other into danger and the dramatic horseback rescue. Then I loved the stroppy grandmother refusing to be cowed into gratitude, and Ruth being blind to Mr B's arrogance because she has cast him as a hero.

Mrs G doesn't pull her punches. We are left in no doubt that Ruth is naive - barely a child herself - and Mr B is a calculating, scheming cad and clearly up to no good.

A fast paced chapter which leaves us keen to read on and find out where Mr B's dastardly intentions will lead. Does anyone know if Ruth would have been released in chapters, like Dickens' work? This would definitely make me buy the next instalment!

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BishyBarnyBee · 04/01/2024 07:12

Chapter 2
In which Cinderella goes to the ball - but does she meet her Prince Charming?

Mrs Mason criticises Ruth's shabby Sunday best, but another girl reassures her she is pretty. Ruth shocks the others by agreeing, because many people have told her so. She is delighted to get out of the workshop and walk to the "joyous and brilliant" ball room.

Ruth assists Miss Duncombe, who is charming to Mr Bellingham, but cold with Ruth. She taps her feet impatiently, which gets in the way of the mending, then complains at how long it takes. Ruth starts to remonstrate but catches the amused eye of Mr B, which makes her laugh to herself. He compares the noble Ruth with the flippant, artificial Miss D. Miss D leaves without thanks so Mr B gives Ruth a camelia as a thank you. His eye is drawn to Ruth throughout the evening.

Ruth dreams happily of Mr B, which is a contrast to last night's distressed dreams of her mother. Gaskell hints at the future asking "Was this a more evil dream than the other? "

Ruth goes on an errand and sees a child washed away in the freezing river. She recognises Mr B as he gallops in and saves the boy. He is struck again by her beauty and gives her money to help the boy, so that she has to agree to meet him again. Jenny is very ill so Ruth cannot get away to help the boy but when she meets Mr B at church, he is unconcerned. He gives her another task so they will have to meet again.

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BishyBarnyBee · 04/01/2024 07:10

@TheWriteStuff , yes of course - anyone is very welcome to join, or dip in and out, whatever works for you. Thanks for the ChatGPT insight, I've loved the symbolism and it's brought back memories of doing Tess of the D'Urbervilles for A level many years ago. Lots of symbolism there!

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TheWriteStuff · 03/01/2024 20:40

Because ChatGPT had been mentioned, I just asked it about the symbolism in Chapter 1 and it had the following to say...

In "Ruth" by Elizabeth Gaskell, the symbolism in Chapter One sets the tone for the novel and introduces key themes. The novel begins with Ruth, a young orphan, working as a seamstress. The opening chapter symbolizes Ruth's vulnerability and social isolation, as she is left alone in a world that is indifferent to her plight. The act of sewing itself can symbolize Ruth's struggle for survival and her attempts to mend the fabric of her life.

Additionally, the novel explores societal attitudes towards morality and the consequences of societal expectations. Ruth's circumstances and the judgment she faces for her actions become central themes throughout the story. The symbolism in Chapter One foreshadows the challenges and moral dilemmas that Ruth will grapple with in the narrative.

I think ChatGPT should be read with a pinch of salt but I wonder if the moral dilemna here is Ruth's desire to run out into the snow (to be free) vs the expectation to stay and sew (society's expectation).

TheWriteStuff · 03/01/2024 20:37

Can I join you all?

I've just read Ch 1 to 'catch up'. I found it very atmospheric in it's claustrophia - which came about partly as a result of the descriptions of dark, gloomy cramped streets and rooms and partly because we see the world through Ruth's eyes and she seems to long for the sapce to run outdoors.

Nice idea about the tree as a symbol of that. I didn't spoke it when I read the chapter but it makes a lot of sense to me.

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 03/01/2024 20:06

It is interesting to wonder what today’s Mrs Gaskell would be doing and where.

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BishyBarnyBee · 03/01/2024 19:33

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 03/01/2024 16:15

I was thinking about the seamstresses working in poverty and through the night and wondering about where we might find them these days. (Are we still swirling about in lovely clothes made in terrible conditions?)

I think it's pretty clear that we are, we've just outsourced the manufacturing to other countries on the whole. Or it's people in this country working zero hours contracts or juggling multiple low paid jobs to survive in poverty. And even if we as individuals try to buy less, buy second hand, buy from sustainable and ethical sources, it probably doesn't help those workers who need the income from their jobs to survive. Capitalism is pretty relentlessly brutal, then and now.

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LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 03/01/2024 16:15

I was thinking about the seamstresses working in poverty and through the night and wondering about where we might find them these days. (Are we still swirling about in lovely clothes made in terrible conditions?)

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 03/01/2024 16:14

I missed that @highlandcoo
"The daily life into which people are born ... forms chains which only one in a hundred has moral strength enough to despise, and to break ... independent individual action ... is superior to all outward conventionalities."

and agree that it is radical - and modern sounding.

Different attitudes to the past and its decorative styles is always interesting.

Barelyonfire · 03/01/2024 13:59

@BishyBarnyBee I'd love to join you all. Making a concerted effort this year to read more widely, and this is a book I wouldn't usually have chosen. I'll be doing it via audiobook to use time wisely.

Thanks for the recap and everyone's interesting thoughts do far.

Despite a pretty poor audiobook narrator, I found myself immediately engaged with the characters. I could picture that dim corner of the room where Ruth is sewing into the small hours, and her weary longing to be outside/somewhere else. The writers musings on the chains that bind us was interesting, with only 1 in a 100 able to break them. I wonder what the percentage would be today.

The seemstress working into the night really reminded me of something I've seen/read recently but having the memory of a goldfish I can't remember what it was. Something quite spooky..

Loooking forward to chapter 2 on the journey home tonight.

highlandcoo · 03/01/2024 00:06

I agree; her scene-setting is excellent. I really liked the description of the houses (and I agree @BishyBarnyBee - I love Georgian architecture!) and particularly the atmosphere evoked by the snow-covered trees and buildings.

EG is sometimes quite explicit in her social commentary and this passage struck me:

"The daily life into which people are born ... forms chains which only one in a hundred has moral strength enough to despise, and to break ... independent individual action ... is superior to all outward conventionalities."

This seems pretty radical for the time!

I noticed the image of the caged bird too; also Ruth's appreciation of beauty and her willingness to stand up for others and be heard. The other girls are described as sullen and indifferent; "they don't care much" - they are beaten down by their circumstances but Ruth - for now - is not.

EG has packed an awful lot into a few pages. I'm intrigued to find out more ..

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BishyBarnyBee · 02/01/2024 22:14

Loving all your comments, so interesting. So many points I hadn't thought of!

I enjoyed the descriptive writing much more than I would expect to - the faded grandeur of the partitioned houses was beautifully described, as was the pull of the winter's night for Ruth. I'm normally quite a greedy reader, I bolt through books devouring the plot, so I think it was good for me to have to slow down and take in the detail to do the summary.

I hadn't spotted the significance of the ominous cough, or thought about this being the other side of the stories of Austin and Bronte. But yes, @LiesDoNotBecomeUs, so good to hear the untold stories of the women and girls.

I did enjoy the historic moan about things not being like they used to be, especially the complaint about the "mean, unrelieved style of the Georgian houses" - which we would now see as historic and rather elegant. I find it very comforting that the ancient Greeks complained about the youth of the day, and the start of this chapter reminded me of that. If older people have always felt that the world was going to hell in a handcart, perhaps there is hope for the future!

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LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 02/01/2024 19:50

I like the focus on the world of women and girls. They don't figure enough in history. (Fewer opportunities to write and less importance to those in charge of history.)

Midnightstar76 · 02/01/2024 19:18

@Livinginthenineteenseventies Oh I do this all the time look up words to find out what they mean and enjoy adding to my knowledge. @cariadlet I also thought am I going to get into the flow of this book but once the characters were introduced I can see I will follow it. I just felt how sad it was that these girls are set off to work all hours under the sun for families they never get to see, guessing it would be an afternoon once a month if that. Those times were so harsh. Thank you for the summary @BishyBarnyBee it has helped me understand it better.