Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

I picked this book out from because I loved North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell and had also read Mary Barton. I will say that Ruth was a much more somber a moralistic tale. I think the fact that Elizabeth Gaskell was the wife of a parson and cared deeply about matters of faith comes through in this book.

Ruth is what in Victorian times would be called a "fallen woman". She makes choices that place her in the company of a man who only seeks to use her. The rest of the story is the story of her redemption and repentance. It was interesting for me to read it as a tale of Christian morality in  Victorian England.

It was interesting for me as well to think about it as an Orthodox Christian. Elizabeth Gaskell was protestant belonging to the church of England but there were many ideas that I could agree with.

In a feminist perspective, this novel would not be seen favorably, but I think feminist should still also read it because it can provide a better understanding of women's experiences in the past being a novel about a Victorian woman by a Victorian woman. That in and of itself being a novel by a woman and about women would be interesting to read.