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

[BishyBarnyBee]

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!

My FIL was a Leonard and he was born in 1939.

Well have just come across another Leonard in another book I am reading Steeple Chasing by Peter Ross as apparently Virginia Woolf’s husband was called Leonard.

Thanks so much @BishyBarnyBee for carrying on posting your summaries from Down Under (and presumably with jetlag!). That's a truly heroic effort.

Yes, suddenly the plot has become nail-biting. It's good to see Ruth not just capitulating to Bellingham-turned-Donne.

The 19th c. Leonard that pops into my mind is Leonard Woolf, husband of Virginia Woolf.

As for other novels about 'fallen women', these are interesting on the French side:

• The Princesse de Cleves, Madame de Lafayette (17th c.). The young and virtuous heroine falls in love with a man who isn't her husband. She takes the unusual measure of telling her husband that she has feelings for someone else. This has been called the first psychological novel in French, and sparked a lot of debate when it was first published (anonymously).
• Dangerous Liaisons, Laclos (18th c.). A famous epistolary novel. One of the major plot strands is the libertine Valmont seducing the virtuous Mme de Tourvel. A very complex and interesting work.
• Indiana, George Sand (19th c.). A young woman, unhappily married, falls in love with someone else (and then someone else again!). It's unclear whether she actually ends up having sex or not, but the novel is still a kind of feminist indictment of unequal marriage. Sand (a pseudonym for a woman writer) had lots of lovers herself in real life, so was in some ways even more daring than her heroine.

I'd be interested in a readalong of any of those @cassandre - I love Dangerous Liaisons but haven't read it for years, & both the others sound well worth reading. (Actually, maybe I have read the George Sand one, but if so it would have been 30+ years ago.)

Me too 😁
Bishy, enjoy your holiday!

Chapter 24

In which Donne makes an offer; Ruth refuses; he makes a better offer; she refuses with contempt; he vows to never annoy her again; she is devastated.

Ruth is convinced that Donne will take Leonard away from her. She considers warning the Bensons but remembers Thurstan's deep anger at her betrayer and knows that he would oppose Donne's election, causing turmoil in their quiet circle. Faith writes that Donne has met Leonard, giving him his watch and chain. Thurstan returns it, furious that Donne tries to bribe them in their own house.

Donne summons her to meet for their child's sake. She is slumped with head bowed when a thought strikes her. She makes an impetuous descent on the level sands - but not far enough for her intent. She catches sight of the little church and sighs out for them to pray for her, then sees Donne moving towards her.

Donne plays on their past happiness, offering a great future for Leonard. She repeatedly rebuffs him, but a deep involuntary sigh, and a little spring in her heart, show us that she is not immune to his pleas. He sees her mood melt when he talks of her tenderly nursing him, and says he will educate Leonard if they can return to those happy days. She tells him she has carried a stain on her soul since their time in Wales.

Encouraged by the fact that she has not reproached him for his conduct, and mistaking her deep penitence for mere social shame, he feels sure he can persuade her. Sher is furious when he says she never loved him. He grasps her arms, saying she must ask him to let go, and she says nothing as her eyes fill with tears. Then the mist parts and she sees a fisherman and tells Donne that this man, known to be a desperate violent man, will protect her. He lets go but threatens her that one word from him will ruin her life. She tells him that if she returns to him she can never teach Leonard God's will, and Donne watches as she walks majestically away.

He follows and offers the highest price of all - he will marry her and take Leonard as his son. He expects to see her face brighten with joy but her head hangs down as she says quietly " I cannot". She tells him she did love him , but can never love him again - the time that scarred her has been nothing to him, and everything she has seen convinces her he is not a man she wants in Leonard's life.

He tells her he will never bother her again and leaves. She climbs up towards the house but collapses in the undergrowth, feeling a desperate desire to see him again. She reproaches herself for speaking so harshly to him, and her heart is haunted by the ghost of their former love. She is so weary she wishes to die, then a blaze of light breaks through her closed lids and the whole western sky is a flame of fire. She is soothed by a sense of God's infinity and finds the courage and strength to go on.

She returns to Eagle Crag and is withdrawn and languid until letters announce the triumphant return of Donne as MP for Eccleston. Jemima summons them home, Ruth learns Leonard is unwell, and she is thrown into a whirlwind of eager, vehement energy. They return to find Leonard alive, but seriously ill.

For the first time, I really warmed to Ruth in this chapter. He expects her to be grateful and she refuses to be his play thing. She seems passive no longer but prepared to refuse a man’s wishes.

I thought that was a brilliant chapter. Ruth shows that she has become a mature woman. While she lives by a strict rmoral code, I feel she knows her own mind and is in control of her actions. Perhaps you could argue that Thurston and Faith have indoctrinated her into their religious beliefs, but she seems confident and happy in herself and it was very satisfying how she told Bellingham to go and get stuffed.

Thanks Bishy for another great summary 🌟

Wonderful summary again. Thank you. I’m probably alone in wishing she had accepted his proposal. I want the romantic happy ending where he is stunned by her morals and grace and becomes a reformed character and they all live together happily ever after.

Ha @narniabusiness I was hoping for something along those lines too! Incurable romantic

I'm too much of a cynic - I reckon his good behaviour would have lasted about ten minutes after they were married. But then I never agree with those who think Fanny should have married Henry Crawford, again I reckon he'd have been a dreadful husband.

Glad it’s not just me. But I think @Sadik is right and he would turn out to be a dreadful womaniser/gambler/drunkard/ insert your choice of 19thC vice

Ah he's an awful man!

I loved this chapter too. It seemed like a very long summary and I wondered if my brain is still a bit befuddled, but I didn't want to leave anything out.

"Some thoughts impelled her...she...was carried far out on the level sands - but not far enough for her intent"

Is this another suicide attempt? It's not quite explicit but I was pretty sure it was implied. How very desperate she must feel to consider leaving Leonard behind.

I understand why some of us were hoping for a repentant Donne and a happy ending but it never occurred to me as he is just despicable! I was proud of her that she did not take the easy option and marry him for Leonard's sake.He is so entitled and certain of himself, he can only assume Ruth has the same self centred life view as him - so he cannot understand why she is not playing games, reproaching him and manipulating him into marriage.

I also love that we can see how deeply torn she is. She loved this man and is still physically drawn to him. She finds it hard to pull away from his grasp and is overwhelmed by the sense of loss when she thinks she will never see him again. It has taken every inch of her resolve and moral character to resist the easy option of marrying him. But I think her self-preservation has kicked in too, because marriage to a superficial, amoral man, who holds the purse strings and really only wants her for her beaty and perhaps her unavailability, would surely be unbearable?

These all sound great. I've been inspired to download the samples on Kindle to get a sense of how hard they might be to read.

The introduction to the Nancy Mitford translation of The Princess de Cleves is interesting - she wrote it to show the English what French society is like because that's exactly what it is like to this day" (1949). Her translation was praised for its wit, charm and lightness of touch, which sounds promising.

But the others sound great too, and I found the Penguin War and Peace and Madame Bovary were both very readable, so maybe Penguin is a reliable way to go?

After trailing behind you for ages, l have just managed to catch up again. I do wish she had managed to convey to Bellingham how badly he had treated her. He doesn't seem to be aware of the consequences of his actions or possibly doesn't care. I'm curious about the name change too!

@cassandre I remember reading and enjoying the first two of those books at university but I can't remember the details.

Chapter 25 - what are the odds??!

Well, it was bound to happen ... this being a Victorian novel!

Poo Ruth, The net is closing.

"Oh dear!" said Jemima, "Mrs Pearson, there is nothing to conceal; only you must not speak about it."

Oh dear indeed! Poor Ruth.

I agree, these last couple of chapters have been so readable and absorbing. Absolutely rate Ruth for telling him where to go. I’ve read 25-26 too and … well… I’m dying to talk about it but will sit on my hands until Thurs. Loved Jemima battling with herself.

I would be very interested in reading Dangerous Liaisons and Georg Sand has been on my list for ages.

Thanks Bishy as always, I really enjoy the summaries.

I need to know though, why is he going about being called Donne.

Re the why is he called Donne? I think I know the answer but can’t for the life of me remember if it’s because it’s explained in a later chapter (read it all as book due back to the library). If it isn’t explained I will reveal my thoughts at a later date ….,,

I’m wondering if it’s gambling debts related, but will wait to see.

Sorry, 25 should be here today but we've been in the mountains with no internet. Will get it out ASAP, it's a crucial chapter!

I looked up the name change and apparently it explains towards the end of the book that he changed his name for an inheritance. Obviously it's crucial to the plot as otherwise she would have had warning that he was coming to visit, but I think Gaskell could have explained it earlier as it just hangs as an unsolved question through most of the book.

Chapter 25

In which Leonard recovers, Farquhar's feelings for Ruth become obvious to all, and Jemima is startled out of her misery by the revelation of Ruth's previous identity.

Bradshaw is relieved to have won the election but uneasy about the bribery which played such a key part in it. Jemima and Farquhar are still misunderstanding each other with all their power. He wearies of her petulance and thinks longingly of Ruth's calm, serene soul and body fashioned of angelic grace.

Sally is certain that a dream of green rushes heralds the death of a child but Miss Benson stops her from recounting this to Ruth, who already feels that Leonard's death would be a fit punishment for the state of indifference to all things - earthy and divine - which she has fallen since meeting Donne.

Ruth nurses Leonard with possessive jealousy until Benson persuades her to rest. She dreams of a lonely shore where she struggles to save Leonard from an unseen pursuer. She manages to throw Leonard back to shore but wakes before she sees if he is saved or, like her, is swept into a mysterious something too dreadful to be borne.

Leonard recovers but his illness has aged him from lovely child to handsome boy. Many people have been touched by his illness and it takes time for Ruth to realise that Farquhar has a more personal interest in her. Jemima also realises and her former affection for Ruth turns to dislike, while her mood becomes one of sullen indifference.

When Jemima is persuaded to buy a new bonnet, the dressmaker comments that Mrs Denbigh's beauty reminds her of a young woman she knew in Fordham. Knowing that Ruth has lived there, Jemima listens with mounting agitation as she tries to reconcile the bold, artful, vicious seducer the dressmaker describes with the sweet, gentle, girlish widow she knows. Going over every morsel of evidence, there is no doubt of the identity and Jemima returns home in turmoil.

She realises that this news gives her huge power over Ruth, especially in relation to Farquhar. However, she is honest enough to acknowledge that Ruth's conduct in Eccleston has always been beyond reproach, and she seems to have worked her way through repentance to purity. Jemima almost feels pity for Ruth and decides to take no action, though duty calls her to watch Ruth closely for the sake of the younger Bradshaw girls.

Chapter 26

In which Richard tries to interfere, Jemima watches Ruth like a hawk, Bradshaw confronts Ruth with her past and Jemima is moved to defend her.

Jemima no longer avoids Ruth, but watches her every move with an icy chillness. When her brother Richard visits, he notices Farquhar's interest in Ruth and suggests that it is not too late for Jemima to make the best of her looks and win him back. Richard is struggling to manage his money, and it is in his financial interests for Farquhar and Jemima to marry, but he is also (fleetingly) concerned by his sister's low mood and wan face. Jemima is haunted by Farquhar's evident attachment to Ruth and it takes all her self honesty and conscience to resist the temptation to taunt Ruth with the past.

On a glorious August day, Ruth is reading with the girls when Bradshaw enters the room, purple with suppressed agitation, and orders the girls to leave. Jemima ignores the order as Ruth stands trembling, knowing what is to come.

Bradshaw chokes on his indignation, saying that the one sin he utterly loathes, more than all others, is wantonness. Ruth moans that "I was so young" and Jemima tries to defend her from Bradshaw's fury. He tells her that Ruth must be a warning to her, but she takes Ruth's hand and defies her father. She tells him she has watched Ruth for a whole year since she learned of her past but has not seen one flickering shadow of untruth in word or action.

Bradshaw dismisses Jemima and rages that he was duped into accepting Ruth's bastard. The look on Ruth's face as he uses this word to describe Leonard is described as "the terror on a poor dumb animal's countenance...I pray I may never see it again..." She stands like a wild creature at bay, appealing to God to let the shame fall on her but to keep the innocent Leonard safe.

Jemima stands dumb and pitying as Bradshaw marches Ruth from the house. His parting words, between gritted teeth, are to tell her "If ever you, or your bastard, darken this door again, I will have you both turned out by the Police!"