Literature: Ruth

A week or two ago, I finished reading Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell.  It was written in the 1800's about a very contraversial topic back then.  The story is about a young seamstress, recently orphaned and fairly naive, just a month or two shy of 16 years old, who becomes involved with a wealthy man.  He manipulates situations in order to appease his desire for her, taking advantage of her innocence.  He leaves her, rather coldly, and she learns she is pregnant.  This is covered in the first chapter or two and is the set up for the rest of the novel.  The story goes on about how a minister and his sister takes her into their household, under the guise that she's the widow of a relative.  ** I will refrain from writing anything more about the story line, as it would contain spoilers. **

The interesting part of this story was how Ruth was portrayed and the tribulations she faced both while keeping up this pretense and after.  It reflected her penitence for her youthful actions, even though she was too young at the time to really understand that it was considered a horrible sin in the eyes of the church and society.  It also reflects how this situation also affects her child, the changes he goes through when he learns he was conceived out of wedlock.

It is an excellent book, and I'm tempted to hold onto it for my daughter, as I feel Ruth is a great example of inner grace and strength while remaining gentle and humble.  It's a bit of a slow read at times, but it had me caught fairly quickly regardless.  I cried through the last chapter and a half.  Seriously, the tears would stop rolling as I read it and I couldn't put the book down until I read the last sentence.

Would I recommend it?  To some, yes.  Would I call it a favorite?  Not really, though, as I said before, I am considering keeping it in my home library and possibly rereading it later on.  Heck, this book made me want to take example of Ruth, even down to the religious views... (I'm borderline atheist.)