comment on structure

The story is divided into a series of chapters or sections that are named for various women who are characters of the book. The first of these is Ruby, for whom the town in Oklahoma is named. The other chapters are Mavis, Grace, Seneca, Divine, Patricia, Consolata, Lone and Save-Marie. Save-Marie is the only chapter with two sections, with the second focusing back on the events of the fight at the Convent. The length of the chapters varies greatly. For example, Grace is only twenty-four pages in length. Seneca is more than fifty pages.