From what I have got from this book so far, Ruth doesn't seem to know what is going on most of the time. I can see how she would be troubled by all the deaths in the family. However, even before all of these deaths she seemed to be a loner in her own little world. What do you think?

-- Anonymous, February 10, 2000

Answers

Ruth is a inteligent lady who understands how and why people act the way they do. She shows this when she is dealing with her in-laws, in that she took the abuse without complaint. She shows this agian by not showing up at all of her families homes as the poor widow begging for money in front of the house. She knows what is happening, and even though she is all but abandoned by her family, she keeps from disgracing them out of vengence. She does live in her own world; however, she understands the reality in which she is living.

-- Anonymous, February 11, 2000

I don't think she is scatter-brained, I think she has what I call "Artist mentality". I think that creatively gifted people tent to be more flighty than, say atheletes or intellectuals. Also it is not terribly uncommon for a person to detatch from a new lifestyle or a major change in your daily routine. I can say from experience that it is really hard to take a change when you are not welcome in your new situation. I would say Ruth to be artistic rather than scatter- brained. I think if you put her in a modern situation, she would be perhaps even more so because our society is very unaccepting of new and changing people. I guess not so much in the "real world", but in our educational institutions we are all very stable in who we are around and who we pull away from because they are "not our kind of people". I think that Ruth is responding in her own adaptaion to the way her mother-in-law treats her.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

I don't agree that Ruth doesn't seem to know what is going on most of the time, I just believe that she is very depressed and confused on her situations in life. You have to understand from the beginning as a child she never had a mother to raise her which could have had an affect on her mentality or self-esteem, plus Mrs. Hall for sure doesn't make her feel any better if anything I think she only brought Ruth down in a way. Through it all I believe Ruth has done a good job in trying to maintain her mentality throughout her many hardships.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2000

Ruth was a average woman of the times. In fact, after marriage is when she became less absent-minded and more knowledgeable. During marriage she was comfortable with the life of her husband-being taken care of, not having to worry about the job, financial problems, or other "man" jobs known to the time. After Harry died, she had to become knowledgeable about these things-I feel she came out to be quite the successful woman learning a lot about life. In her writings, she proved her knowledge also.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2000