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Ruth
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Ruth - Week 2
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Can anyone tell me what it means to play “Ducks and Drakes?” I’ve heard the term referenced but didn’t realize it was an actual game.
P. S. I want to shake Mrs. Bellingham and her son until their teeth rattle.
Mod
I want them to pay more than fifty pounds. (Which is now down to zero pounds.)
Renee, I absolutely agree with you about the shaking of Mrs. Bellingham and her awful son. I'm not surprised that he deserted Ruth, but to show such cowardice is completely despicable.I like Thurston and Faith Benson and hope that they continue to help Ruth. Even grumpy old Sally is also helping her with the gift of the wedding ring and the widow's caps and will probably come to love Ruth's baby as well. One thing that worries me is Gaskell's comment when Faith first proposes the idea of passing Ruth off as a widow: "Here was a way of evading the trails for the poor little unborn child, of which Mr. Benson had never thought. It was the decision - the pivot, on which the fate of years moved; and he turned it the wrong way." Sounds very ominous.
As always, I am enjoying Gaskell's delightful descriptions of the countryside and how deftly she uses it to set a mood.
Mod
Right. I understood the reasoning for not taking it, but I felt that practicality should have taken precedent over scruples in this case.
And I have to admit I was a bit worried at this point that the novel might turn out to be dull because of the Bensons. While saintly people are good to have in one's life, they often make boring book characters. But then I liked Adam Bede (which had other aspects that this novel reminded me of).
lol. I’m completely in love with the Bensons but I know what you mean! Although Gaskell’s background gives her insight into the clergy and the clerical life, both for good and ill. Especially under duress.
Renee wrote: "Can anyone tell me what it means to play “Ducks and Drakes?” I’ve heard the term referenced but didn’t realize it was an actual game."I played ducks and drakes as a child. The game involved finding flat stones that you could skim across the top of water, the flatter and wider the better. You skimmed it low across the water and counted the number of times the stone hit the water before it sank. The winner was the person who achieved the most touches on the water with any of their stones.
For me, these chapters were dominated by Ruth’s anguish and despair over the realisation that her beautiful dream was over. I loved the symbolism of the fast flowing stream which at first thrilled Ruth with its natural energy but then became a means to end the terrible situation she found herself having to face. Her abandonment by her weak willed lover and the scorn heaped upon her by his mother and most of the visitors/inhabitants of the tiny Welsh hamlet was nothing new, and seems to be a continuing phenomenon. How many vulnerable, abused and abandoned ‘lovers’ are even today treated in the same way, including being paid hush money by the rich and powerful?
I could not help comparing the fast flowing stream with the shearing of Ruth’s beautiful ‘flowing’ locks of hair, as if her assumed widowhood signalled the end of her life as an alluring beauty. Of course her pregnancy set her on a different path to the one she had trod before, becoming her sole reason for existence. The fact that she had been so willing to give her love to others should support her through the difficult time of motherhood at such a young age.
I enjoyed reading about the loving ‘battle’ between the Benson brother and sister regarding what to do about Ruth. Both had periods of dominance and both had times when they submitted to the will of the other. It revealed how much they revered each other.
Elizabeth Gaskell even felt it right to inject some humour into the novel with the introduction of Sally. It did help to provide some balance at a time when Ruth’s darkest days were upon her. My favourite quote was this one, when Sally first set her eyes on Ruth.
’ “Who’s yon?”
Mr. Benson was silent, and walked a step onwards. Miss Benson said boldly out–
“The lady I named in my note, Sally–Mrs. Denbigh, a distant relation.”
“Ay, but you said hoo was a widow. Is this chit a widow?”
“Yes, this is Mrs. Denbigh,” answered Miss Benson.
“If I’d been her mother, I’d ha’ given her a lollypop instead on a husband. Hoo looks fitter for it.”
However, Sally’s practical, down-to-earth knowledge might prove indispensable to both Ruth and the Bensons if they are to maintain Ruth’s disguise as a widow.
I am very much enjoying this story so far. Like Lori, I am usually wary of overly-good characters like the Benson siblings as they eventually become yawn or even wince-inducing. Sassy Sally is a nice addition to the interelationship triangle as all three characters' motivations and relationship dynamics are enhanced by Thurston's disfigurement and its possible origin along with their relative religious adherence. All of this adds layers to their characters that makes them still interesting to read about.This book has me thinking of George Eliot's Silas Marner, which I would like to re-read, as it looks like the Bensons may get to one-up Silas and help raise 2 generations of children at one time.
Mod
Good point, Trev, about how these things continue to happen.
This weekend is going to be busy, so I'll go ahead and post the Week 3 thread now in case I can't tomorrow.
How do the other lodgers react to Ruth?
What do you think of Bellingham and his mother? What did you think of the way Bellingham separated from Ruth?
In your opinion, what (if any) role does Ruth’s beauty play in the way people react to her?
What do you think of the Bensons, Sally, and their home?
Based on Mr. Benson’s reaction to the suggestion of Ruth taking the name Mrs. Denbigh, I suspect some mystery around the Bensons’ mother. What do you think it might be, if any?
Note: The “penitentiary” Lady Bellingham refers to is a Magdalen hospital, also called a Magdalen asylum or laundry. If you want to know more about them, there’s a good video on Bailey Sarian’s YouTube channel (part of her Dark History series) called “Thousands of Women Died in These Secret Asylums.” About the first 13 minutes are relevant to the kind of place referenced in the book; the rest of the video deals with their history specifically in Ireland, where they were taken over by the Catholic Church after Irish independence. You may remember Sinead O’Connor speaking about them.