The Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth: Summary

Let's take a look at a summary of Ruth's life. In small-town Illinois, Ruth grows up under the dominating force of her mother, May. She feels inadequate compared to her brother Matt, who excels at school. Ruth’s father, Elmer, has been absent for most of her life.

To tell her story, Ruth begins with her mother’s story through a series of letters to her Aunt Sid. The letters reveal that May grew up as the eldest of eight children. From an early age, May was forced to take on most of the household chores and care for her younger siblings. After the deaths of several of her siblings, May developed a dark sense of humor to survive and began to express suicidal thoughts.

When May reached adulthood, she met a handsome young man named Willard Jensen. The pair fall in love, but May is heartbroken when Willard is drafted into WWII and dies. Sometime later, she meets the unremarkable Elmer Grey and settles down with him. The pair have Ruth and Matt, and Elmer leaves the family when Ruth is ten to get a job picking fruit in Texas.

Fig. 1 - Having been written off by teachers and her mother, Ruth finally connects with classic literature while working for Miss Finch

Ruth struggles at school and is placed in a remedial class where she spends most of her time writing to her Aunt Sid. May unfavorably compares Ruth to Matt, which destroys Ruth’s confidence. As Matt wins a place at MIT, Ruth finds a job caring for Miss Finch, a blind old woman who introduces her to classic literature through tapes she owns Ruth is deeply influenced by reading and begins to see the world around her through classic novels and characters.

When Miss Finch becomes senile, Ruth starts a job at the dry cleaners with her mother. Through a friend, Ruth is introduced to Ruby Dahl, the first man to take an interest in her. They arrange to go on a date, which ends when Ruby tries to force himself on Ruth. Despite this incident, Ruth eventually falls for Ruby, and the pair are soon married. Ruby is unwilling to find a job to provide for the pair, so they are forced to move in with May.

While Ruth works, Ruby stays home, constantly bickering with May and spending his money on alcohol and drugs. When Ruth gives birth to a son, Justy, May becomes controlling and refuses to let Ruth interact with the child. As tensions mount at home, Ruth learns she is pregnant with a second child. At the advice of her social worker, she finds a cheap apartment away from May and plans to move in after Christmas.

As the moving day approaches, the atmosphere in the house becomes increasingly tense. One day Justy asks for a cookie, which results in an argument between May and Ruby. May insults Ruby, who then gives Justy a cookie to taunt May. An angry May attacks Ruby. Ruby then grabs a fire poker and proceeds to beat both May and Ruth. Ruth can escape to the front porch but quickly turns back to retrieve Justy. Having killed May, Ruby attacks Ruth while she is carrying Justy. She makes it out of the house and to a neighbor's, where she calls the police.

Ruth recovers from the attack in a hospital close to Aunt Sid. During her recovery, she struggles to understand the trauma she has been through and speaks to several counselors and a preacher to find meaning. Gradually, she understands that she must cut Ruby out of her life entirely and admits that she feels relief at having May’s domineering presence removed from her life. Facing an uncertain future, Ruth considers her Aunt Sid’s suggestion of returning to school.