Ruth (Penguin Classics)

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Sussman, Matthew (March 2022). " "Austen, Gaskell, and the Politics of Domestic Fiction" ". Modern Language Quarterly. 83 (1): 1–26. doi: 10.1215/00267929-9475004 . Retrieved 5 June 2023. A friend of mine noted that Elizabeth Gaskell's novels are so different from each other. I have read North and South, Cranford, Wives and Daughters, and now Ruth, and I agree. I knew Elizabeth Gaskell was a religious person, but I did not expect from her previous novels that Ruth the novel would be so deeply religious. In fact, I think reading this novel would be a challenge in some ways for a reader who did not have some familiarity with the Bible and with the Christian faith. Since I finished the novel a couple days ago, the characters and questions the novel raises have been rolling around in my brain, and I'm eager to try to put words to them.

Ruth Hilton is an orphaned young seamstress who catches the eye of a gentleman, Henry Bellingham, who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. When she loses her job and home, he offers her comfort and shelter, only to cruelly desert her soon after. Nearly dead with grief and shame, Ruth is offered the chance of a new life among people who give her love and respect, even though they are at first unaware of her secret - an illegitimate child. When Henry enters her life again, however, Ruth must make the impossible choice between social acceptance and personal pride. In writing Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell daringly confronted prevailing views about sin and illegitimacy with her compassionate and honest portrait of a 'fallen woman'. Read more Details Henry Bellingham is an aristocratic rake figure. He is Ruth’s secret lover. He later changes his name to Mr Donne.Though reeling from the loss of respectability and income, the Bensons stand by Ruth and Leonard. In spite of Mr. Benson insistence that the family can make due without Ruth’s income, Ruth is determined to work. Unable to get a more respectable, safer job, Ruth becomes a nurse to Eccleston’s poor. Over time, Ruth proves that she is a skilled and talented nurse and eventually regains some semblance of respectability; she becomes a highly sought after nurse for patients across social classes. Her grave is near the Brook Street Chapel, Knutsford. [ citation needed] Reputation and re-evaluation [ edit ] Contrarily, some critics commented that Gaskell presented the character of Ruth as too much as a victim of Bellingham’s advantages. Gaskell filled the story with so many mitigate circumstances that Ruth barely seemed a representative example of a “fallen woman.” Frequently asked questions

NNNWell-regarded work that was first published in 1987. Applies an illuminating feminist critical reading to the major fiction. Opening chapters survey the history of Gaskell’s critical reception, consider her gendered mediation of self and author, and provide historical context to the intersection of class and gender in the Victorian period. Secure in his dominion, Bradshaw challenges the Tory hegemony in the town by fielding his own Liberal candidate for Parliament, wealthy Mr. Donne. Confronted with Donne, Ruth finds that he is actually Bellingham (he has changed his name to gain a legacy), and he eventually discovers who she is. Although Ruth knows that he is a scoundrel, she also recognizes that she will always love him. Again, he pursues her, even proposes to her, but she refuses him and forbids him access to their son. Her course is set; her life is dedicated to her son. Ruth received a mixed critical reception. As a work that dealt frankly with seduction and illegitimacy, it inevitably attracted controversy: Gaskell reported that it was a "prohibited book" in her own household, that friends expressed "deep regret" at its publication, and that two acquaintances burnt their copies. [1] On the other hand, some reviewers complained that Gaskell painted Ruth as too passive a victim of Bellingham's advances, eluding the question of Ruth's own sexual feelings. Gaskell loaded the story down with so many extenuating circumstances that Ruth scarcely seemed a representative example of a "fallen woman." [2] Sorry!, it’s not time to talk about my time, but yours; thus, to all those people who called you out on your actions, people who hated you just because who you are: a woman and a mother… actually, according to them, that is supposed to be your sin… it’s just… not fair, not at all. PHILLIPS, V. (1 August 1978). "Children in Early Victorian England: Infant Feeding in Literature and Society, 1837-1857". Journal of Tropical Pediatrics. 24 (4): 158–166. doi: 10.1093/tropej/24.4.158. PMID 364073.Still, with all the fervor of youth, Ruth has convinced herself that she loves Bellingham. She doesn’t seem to have strong feelings about her “fallen woman” status unless it’s shoved in her face, as when a young boy castigates her in the village in front of his nanny, having heard that Ruth is a “bad woman” from his mother. It occurs to me that her love for Bellingham is probably partly motivated by a desire to self-justify her “sinful” behavior. (Spoiler: he’s not that lovable!) After leaving school at the age of 16, Elizabeth travelled to London to spend time with her Holland cousins. [9] She also spent some time in Newcastle upon Tyne (with the Rev William Turner's family) and from there made the journey to Edinburgh. Her stepmother's brother was the miniature artist William John Thomson, who in 1832 painted a portrait of Elizabeth Gaskell in Manchester (see top right). A bust was sculpted by David Dunbar at the same time. [9] Married life and writing career [ edit ] Elizabeth Gaskell: 1851 portrait by George Richmond There are, however, a wide array of subsidiary characters. They add depth to the story. Through them one sees events through different angles. There are characters that are kind and wise. Others are ordinary. Others amusing. Their presence lightens the story. What some say are at times extremely funny. Listen to this. Faith is speaking to her brother, Thurston, a good, kind dissenting minister. We watch as one little lie gets bigger and bigger. As explanation and excuse Faith tells us this: you will remember the country people's use of the word " unked". I can't find any other word to express the exact feeling of strange unusual desolate discomfort, and I sometimes " potter" and " mither" people by using it. [33] [34] Her novel Wives and Daughters aired on BBC television in 1999. In 2004, a television film miniseries aired on BBC television of her 1854 novel North and South. In 2007, her three part novella Cranford starring Judi Dench aired on BBC television.

Leonard is the illegitimate son of Ruth and Henry Bellingham. In the end, he is taken to Mr Benson.Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell ( née Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of Victorian society, including the very poor. Her first novel, Mary Barton, was published in 1848. Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Brontë, published in 1857, was the first biography of Charlotte Brontë. In this biography, she wrote only of the moral, sophisticated things in Brontë's life; the rest she omitted, deciding certain, more salacious aspects were better kept hidden. Among Gaskell's best known novels are Cranford (1851–1853), North and South (1854–1855), and Wives and Daughters (1864–1866), all of which were adapted for television by the BBC. All of this scholarly and critical activity leaves its trace in the new edition. The first four volumes are devoted to Gaskell’s stories, journalism and novellas, each piece authoritatively introduced with information about its editorial history, sources and connections with other work. The six major works – the five novels and The Life of Charlotte Brontë, each with its own editor – are based on consistent source editions and are accompanied by notes on textual revisions; all have substantive introductions.