Ruth is a Victorian novel written by Elizabeth Gaskell and first published in 1853. Ruth can be considered a social problem novel since it explores and critiques the suffering of a virtuous young woman after she is seduced and gives birth to an illegitimate child. It is also an example of a Victorian realist novel since it focuses on relatively ordinary events in the lives of everyday people and often gives detailed descriptions of their physical surroundings. Gaskell uses the plot to explore themes of redemption, hypocrisy, and the deep love between parents and children. This guide references the 2006 Pickering & Chatto edition.

Plot Summary

Ruth Hilton is an orphan; after the death of her parents, she begins to work as an apprentice to a dressmaker named Mrs. Mason. Ruth is very beautiful, so she is selected to attend a ball to assist with alterations to the dresses of the wealthy guests. At the ball, she catches the eye of Henry Bellingham, a wealthy and spoiled young man. Bellingham creates opportunities for him and Ruth to spend time together while convincing her to keep these meetings secret. One day, Mrs. Mason runs into Ruth and Bellingham and becomes convinced that Ruth has begun an illicit relationship. Mrs. Mason fires Ruth and throws her out of the lodgings where she has been living, leaving Ruth completely overwhelmed. Bellingham takes advantage of the situation and persuades her to come to London with him. Ruth becomes his mistress: As a woman in a sexual relationship with a man to whom she is not married, she effectively loses her reputation and respectability.

Bellingham and Ruth go to Wales together, where their relationship becomes strained as Bellingham begins to grow bored. Ruth is also subjected to public shaming because she openly lives as Bellingham’s mistress. Bellingham becomes seriously ill with a fever, and the landlady at the inn where they are staying contacts his mother. Mrs. Bellingham arrives in Wales to care for her son and is disgusted with Ruth. She blames Ruth entirely for the relationship, and as Bellingham recovers, his mother urges him to end the relationship. Bellingham and his mother leave Wales abruptly, abandoning Ruth there with a sum of money. Ruth is devastated by this abandonment and even considers killing herself. However, during her time in Wales, she has struck up a friendship with a fellow traveler named Mr. Benson. Mr. Benson is an Englishman who works as a minister and lives with a physical disability that renders him somewhat frail. Mr. Benson notices Ruth’s distress, pieces together what has happened with Bellingham, and takes her under his protection.

Mr. Benson is not married and lives with his sister Faith. He sends for Faith to come to Wales, and she joins him there to help with Ruth. Faith, Mr. Benson, and Ruth find out that Ruth is pregnant, which is very concerning as illegitimate children were subject to much stigma at the time. Faith and Mr. Benson come up with a plan for Ruth to come and live with them in their hometown of Eccleston; they will claim that she is a distant relation of theirs who has recently been widowed. That way, Ruth and her child can remain socially respectable. They decide that Ruth will adopt a new name, Mrs. Denbigh, so that no one can connect her to her past life. Ruth moves to Eccleston with them and settles into a new life, although the Bensons’ servant, Sally, quickly figures out the truth and initially judges Ruth. Ruth gives birth to a son named Leonard, whom she and everyone in the Benson household love very much, and she vows always to live a good and virtuous life to be worthy of her child.

Once Leonard has gotten a bit older, Ruth begins to think about how she can make an income for herself and her child. The Bensons are good friends with the Bradshaw family, a wealthy and socially influential family in the town. The Bradshaws have four children: Richard, Jemima, and two much younger daughters named Mary and Elizabeth. Mr. Bradshaw has always been impressed by Ruth’s calm and sweet nature and invites her to work as a governess to his two younger daughters. Ruth enjoys a period of happiness and calm and becomes good friends with Jemima Bradshaw. Some time later, Mr. Bradshaw becomes involved in local politics and begins working on getting a candidate named Mr. Donne elected as the local Member of Parliament. Ruth meets Mr. Donne and recognizes him as Bellingham (it is later explained that Bellingham changed his name to secure an inheritance from a wealthy relative). Bellingham badgers Ruth into meeting him alone, even though she tries to avoid him, and asks her to resume their relationship. She refuses and holds firm even after Bellingham learns about Leonard and asks her to marry him. Ruth thinks Bellingham would be a bad influence on his son and wants to prevent them from ever meeting. Bellingham finally gives up in the face of Ruth’s stubbornness.

Meanwhile, Jemima Bradshaw has been vacillating over a potential marriage with her father’s business partner, Mr. Farquhar. She loves Mr. Farquhar but has some misgivings, and her hesitations and inconsistent behavior lead to Mr. Farquhar becoming interested in Ruth. Jemima becomes bitterly jealous of Ruth; one day, she hears gossip about Ruth’s past and realizes that Ruth is the mother of an illegitimate child. Nonetheless, Jemima does not tell anyone. However, Mr. Bradshaw eventually hears the same information and is horrified and disgusted with Ruth. He fires her immediately and cuts off his friendship with the Bensons when he learns that they deceived him. Ruth tells Leonard that he is illegitimate; many of the residents of Eccleston shun her, her son, and the Bensons. Ruth begins to work as a nurse to earn money, primarily caring for impoverished people.

Jemima and Mr. Farquhar get married and start their own family, and they are always very kind to Ruth. Richard Bradshaw is caught embezzling money, and Mr. Bradshaw is furious and deeply ashamed of his son. Even though Mr. Bradshaw wants his son sent to prison, Mr. Farquhar and Mr. Benson are more merciful and arrange for Richard to move to Scotland and find work there. A typhus epidemic breaks out in the town, and Ruth heroically risks her own safety to work in the fever hospital. By now, her courage and hard work have led to most people forgetting about her scandalous past. The local surgeon has even offered to pay for Leonard’s schooling and have him work as his apprentice. By chance, Ruth hears that Mr. Donne has come to town, caught typhus, and is now very sick. She volunteers to nurse him, and he ends up recovering, but Ruth catches the disease and dies. Everyone in the town mourns for her, and Leonard is especially devastated. At the end of the novel, Mr. Bradshaw realizes that he was wrong to condemn Ruth; he shows kindness to Leonard and reconciles with the Benson family.