History

History is an important theme in the novel “Ruby” by Cynthia Bond. History is something that Ephram considers to be just as important as the future, though the future is not necessarily determined by the past. The events of the novel in the present time (1974) are wholly dependent upon the past, while the future is not. Ephram tells Ruby that he is more interested in the woman that she will be, rather than the woman that she has been. Yet, Ephram knows that the woman who Ruby has been is important to who she currently is now. This is underscored by the symbolism of being pushed over a tombstone at the cemetery.

In the present, Ruby is known as a crazy woman who has gotten what she deserved for running away to New York and returning home with a superiority complex. Many of the men in...