Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

Beautifully and sensitively written, radical in its compassion and redemptive vision, Elizabeth Gaskell's lesser-known novel Ruth shines gently in obscurity, like its titular heroine. Gaskell explores the plight of the fallen woman through the story of young Ruth Hilton.  Orphaned and naive, Ruth is charmed by rake Henry Bellingham, who induces her to run away to Wales with him.  She is ultimately abandoned by her lover  and finds herself with child.  Nearly driven to a desperate act, she is befriended by Dissenting minister Thurston Benson and his sister Faith.  Rather than condemn and ostracize Ruth for her sin, the Bensons treat Ruth with charity and kindness, offering her care and protection.  At the Bensons' behest, Ruth assumes a new surname and a new identity as a young widow. Ruth proves herself a devoted mother.  Admired for her gentle spirit, piety, and maternal love, Ruth becomes an almost Madonna-like figure.    She earns a living by sewing, and takes a position as a governess in a neighboring house.  When her secret finally comes to light, she is shunned by many. Ruth finds work as a nurse during a typhus epidemic, and nurses Henry Bellingham back to health at cost to her own in an act of true self-sacrifice. 

Gaskell's novel is deeply Christian.  She indicts shallow respectability and hypocrisy, instead presenting a vision of truly Christ-like charity, compassion, and sacrifice.  Ruth as a character is layered in Biblical allusions and identities.  Like her Biblical namesake, she is a stranger in a strange land, adopting a new people as her own, and metaphorically gleaning to support herself and her son.  In addition, we see Ruth take on the symbolic roles of Magdalen, Madonna, and Christ.  The ending of the book is not meant to be a tragedy; the Christian story never is. 

The novel contains other interesting characters and subplots.  I really enjoyed how the characters' lives twined together in their little community.  I loved the relationship between Ruth and the Bensons, as they gradually took the place of the family Ruth was so sadly lacking.    Another wonderful thing about the writing is the dramatic tension that is held for much of the book, as Ruth bears the heavy burden of her secret and fears discovery.   In this respect, it reminded me a bit of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, published just five years previously.  Helen Graham hides away with her son in a place far distant from home, under an assumed name, pretending to be a young widow... some obvious parallels to Ruth.  Helen and Ruth have even more in common in their acts of charity towards men who have wronged them.  Both novels deal with social issues surrounding women, both are suspenseful and engaging, and both definitely merit re-reading in the future.