Ruth (BookRags) Summary
Elizabeth Gaskell

Ruth (BookRags) Overview

Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1853 novel, Ruth, tells the story of a fallen woman (a woman who has had premarital sex) and aims to prove to her Victorian readers that, as one character states, “not every woman who has fallen is depraved” (350). As a Victorian Social Problem Novel, Ruth has a clear moral purpose and the goal of telling a story that will elicit sympathy and incite social change. Thematically, Ruth aims to prove to readers that fallen women are victims of their circumstances and deserve a second chance. By following Ruth from her tragic childhood, through the unfortunate and largely unavoidable chain of events that led to her “fall,” and subsequently to her redemption, Gaskell attempts to show readers how even a pure and innocent young woman can be lead astray and many can be redeemed.