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Books Related to Ruth Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - ISBN: 0140434305
superb moving book - Rated
i have read this a couple of times now and it's beautiful. Combines the nasty realities of life with touching sentiment and beautifully crafted characters. Def a woman's book..and so special HIGHLY recommend..in fact highly recommend anything by Elizabeth Gaskell, she's fab also "sylvia's lovers" is amazing if you haven't read. Top banana
Predictable and sobering. (Contains spoiler) - Rated
You could see most of it coming a mile off. The peerless young Ruth was bound to meet her Nemesis in the shape of Mr. Bellingham, and he was bound to abandon her, penniless and pregnant, only to turn up years later in a different guise. The only thing I hadn't anticipated was the tear-jerking end. Although predictable, it made me think. How sorry it made me feel for poor Victorian unfortunates like Ruth, lured unwittingly into a life of sin that she could not have anticipated, and upbraided by society for being an unmarried mother, while her vile seducer becomes a pillar of society. Those modern folk who glibly give birth out of wedlock when marriage these days is so easy should remember how terrible life was when people DIDN'T have a choice to become 'respectable'.
An Underrated Classic - Rated
I came to this novel having just read North and South. As with North and South it takes time for Elizabeth Gaskell to set the scene and develop the central characters. But it is worth sticking with. The last 100 pages will take you on an emotional roller coaster. The central character's inherent goodness and selflessness only serves to highlight the hypocracy of those who claim to be the moral guardians of society. The central character feels so real and you cannot fail to be deeply affected by reading this novel.
Much more than a tragic story of a deceived girl - Rated
It's a shame that my review is the first one. Ruth is a classic, a must-read. Mrs. Gaskell deals in her novel with very serious problem of unmarried motherhood and double standards of judging men and women behavior. Why a wealthy young man who seduced and deserted a poor motherless girl is not to be blamed and not to pay for his guilt? And why a girl who has been too young, too innocent and too ignorant in sexual affairs is to suffer and to be an outcast in society? The heroine leads a virtuous life and does a lot of good after her so-called fall. Nevertheless the end of the book is tragic... Some critics find inconsistencies and exaggerations in the story. May be they are right. The author couldn't always choose the best way of presenting the heroine and circumstances. (Well, Hardy's more famous story of Tess of the DÚrbervilles is not also without faults.) Just imagine difficulties of writing of such book in Victorian society. Innocent as it is, Ruth was a scandal and was considered to be an improper reading for young people. Nowadays I would recommend the novel to any reader. It is interesting, intriguing, full of poetical nature descriptions and typical rural characters, the problem is sharp and up-to-day. Modern girls are neither naive nor ignorant. However... are they really wise in love affaires? Aren't they in danger of becoming voluntary victims of charming but spoiled young men? Read the book and judge for yourself.
