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!

I worried that I might find this difficult to get into because I struggled to focus on the initial description but as soon as we were introduced to the characters, I loved it.

It seems to introduce what I guess will be important themes in the book:

The contrast between the lives of the rich and the poor shown by the young seamstresses working until the early hours to complete the gowns for the hunt ball.

Longbourn (Jo Barker) did something similar. In Pride and Prejudice, we're supposed to admire Elizabeth for striding through the muddy tracks and fields to visit her sick sister. Longbourn showed what it was like for the servants who had to clean the dress afterwards in a time before modern washing machines.

Ruth's need for freedom came out strongly. She sits in the darkest corner because then she can look at the flowers that were painted on the wood. She would rather use the break to look out of the window than to eat or sleep like the other girls.

I wondered if the tree represented Ruth. It used to have space and be surrounded by lawn but now it's hemmed in.

I liked Ruth's honesty. She wanted to observe the hunt ball but spoke up when she believed that the most diligent girls would be chosen and knew that she wasn't one of those.

Jenny seems a good friend. I hope that the cough isn't a portent of what is to come. It reminded me of Helen Burns, the older girl who befriends Jane Eyre at Lowood.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the town and how it had changed. Like a PP, I wanted to go out in the snow with Ruth. The end of the chapter sets up the rest of the story describing how Mrs Mason is sending her to the ball because she is beautiful. Her beauty's going to get her into trouble!!

Interesting idea about the tree and Ruth. I saw it as representing loss of the natural outdoor world for ordinary people like Ruth.

The descriptions stayed with me and I can picture the stately but shabby houses.

The way MG created characters with tiny digs (at humanity as much as individual characters)reminds me of Jane Austen's writing. I loved the bit about a worthy woman promising diligence will lead to reward and MG's comment:'people persuade themselves that what they wish to do is right.'

We are already being asked to contrast the forgivable behaviour of 'worthy' people and that of Ruth who is honest.

Will hopefully keep up and join you all in this.
Loved North and South when I read it a few years ago, not heard of Ruth before, but looking forward to it.
I enjoyed the first chapter. The street description was interesting and can't wait to get to know Ruth better.
I liked how EG included the beautiful flower paintings on the wall in amongst such a gloomy, sad situation that was going on in the room. Great contrast.

The tree as metaphor struck me too. I think it may have passed me by the first time I read the book, back in the 1990s, because I was so caught up in "what happens next" and the main narrative.

I read the thread first but somehow still missed the tree stuff.

As an opening chapter I thought it set the scene well, we met Ruth and I think got well introduced and got to see some of the divisions before anything has really happened.

Jenny seems a good friend. I hope that the cough isn't a portent of what is to come.
I think it might be. Don't get too attached! Interesting first chapter. We learn that Ruth has a strong sense of justice.

My first readalong - looking forward to joining you all.
Interesting first chapter, agree regarding Jenny!

Got a bit distracted and read into chapter 2. It's pretty good so far. Got me thinking about how much social stuff Jane Austen and even Charlotte Brontë just leave out of their stories.

I agree, much of the joy of reading Gaskell's novels is the social history you learn along the way. (Not that they're not good stories too of course.)

I also enjoyed the descriptive opening. I like it when I need to stop to look up the meaning of a word (in chapter one's case it was 'oriel'!).

@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.

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.)

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!

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 ..

@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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 , 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!

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.

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!