We discussed this in class some yesterday, but I think it bears further discussion. Why does Ruth die? This is very different from HOW she dies. Is her death symbolic? Why can Richard Bradshaw--who is also a sinner who actually breaks the law of the land, not just social law--survive? And why does Donne get off so easily? Answer this question in part in the context of the Schor article. Why does she think Ruth dies? Do you agree?
Remember that your summary is not an analysis of the article's argument. Your summary shows that you understand the argument the writer is making, so now you can agree or disagree with it.
As is typical of my posts, I ask lots of questions, but each is not distinct. Rather, the string of questions is meant to clarify a single question (in the case "Why does Ruth die?").
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Schor talks about Ruth's beauty and docility leading to Ruth's death. She makes it seem as if Ruth was too weak to control her fate, but I think otherwise. In my opinion, Ruth dies because she chose to. She lived a hard life and she felt that there was nothing left for her to live for now that her boy was growing up and she was still without the man she loved. Ruth knew the consequences of treating the sick, but she went off and became a nurse anyway. She came back healthy but when she heard about Donne being sick, she took off again. She loved him too much to let him be a “what if.” What if he had died and she never tried to save him? This would bug her for the rest of her life. I think the men get off so easily because they are men. They don’t have the same kind of weight on their shoulders, nor do they care what they have done wrong. Both are egotistical power-hungry men and Ruth is nothing but an insignificant woman who has somehow trespassed in their lives. Seems a bit harsh, but Ruth carries very little importance in their lives except when she does something they find wrong.
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ReplyDeleteRuth dies at the end because it was not likely for a woman who had fallen to live in a Victorian world free from finger pointing. In the end Ruth would not have survived the ridicule that would be before her and because she was not as strong as she pretended to be and she probably would have taken her own life. I would not say that Ruth’s death was symbolic because when she died her death was something that had to happen.
ReplyDeleteRichard Bradshaw survives his immoral ordeal of stealing from Mr. Benson because of the social class that he is ranked up under. Also, because men in the Victorian could commit as many immoral sins as they wanted and the laws of society would never condemn them for it.
In the case of Donne (Mr. Bellingham), he gets off so easily because he is also from a high ranking social class and they are rarely looked down upon. Although, he did a horrible thing to Ruth by leading her own and using her for his own pleasure he still suffered in some small way but it was not enough to impact him and his immoral ways.
Schor believes that Ruth dies because she “does not function to display Gaskell’s sensibility or ‘difference’ in the way the woman functions as Romantic icon” (Schor 177). I would not say that I agree because Ruth was more than sensible when she nursed Donne back to health and when she went among others that where sick. She was also romantic when she innocently fell in love with Donne and even after all she went through she still loved Donne very deeply.
Claudia, I see your point on why Ruth died but based on the article that we read by Schor Ruth died because it was unlikely that fallen women where ever redeemed. I do agree with the fact that men during the Victorian era did get off easily. Even today when a woman is put in that situation she is seen as a fallen woman but a man gets all kinds of praise.
ReplyDeleteWindy... I agree that Bellingham and Bradshaw are privileged in society because of their economic standing and gender. There behavior would not be condoned or even possible if they were female of any social standing or male of a lower class.
ReplyDeleteRuth had to die to as the 'fallen woman' to satisfy society and their need for social order. It is the only outcome that clearly punishes the the woman who has sinned. Victorian women were held to a higher standard or morality and looked to as a moral guide for men in the domestic sphere. Redemption is not possible for a woman of a lower class standing that has an illegitmate child and then lies about it. To bring order back to Ruth's world she must die dispite her purity. Ignorance of sin is does not excuse sin in this novel if you are a woman like Ruth.
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a good point of how women were held up to a high moral standard. I find it interesting that you also said that they are to serve an example for men. Unfortunately for the women, the men don't suffer quite the same punishment that women do when they have committed some kind of sin, usually a sexual one. The women appear to be ignorant of sexual matters but the men know what they are doing and still the women are the ones who are punished for it. I think the men are more in the wrong because they knowingly drag the woman down into the dirt. There is no such thing as a fallen man.