A section of the novel Ruth Hall
that we had not looked at very closely in class was Ruth's visit to Katy in
chapter 63, where Katy remains at her grandparents' house in a miserable state.
Though a very brief chapter, there are several points raised here such as
Katy's mistreatment and Ruth's unending perseverance, however the one that
caught my eye was at the very end of the chapter, when the doctor remarks about
Ruth "she's fit for nothing but a parlor ornament, never was. No more
business talent in Ruth Ellet, than there is in that chany image of yours on
the mantel-tree, Mis. Hall. That tells the whole story" (166).
The reason I liked that particular statement was because it not only illustrated a generational misogyny regardless of kinship as the doctor manages to not only mistreat Katy in the same scene, but also insult Ruth and his own wife in one go. The doctor is always teasing Mrs. Hall, pointing out that her hair is false or generally telling her she is mistaken. While he doesn't seem to be particularly cruel most of the time, in this part he compares her to Ruth, whom they have made out to be the ultimate bane of their existence. It is completely tasteless and derogatory to his wife to compare her talent to Ruth's, and he makes the comment casually and definitively. Despite the power Mrs. Hall tries to establish over Harry, over Ruth, over Katy and anyone she can get her hands on, her husband can easily put her back in her place with a few words of discouragement. His unkindly-spirited but not necessarily actively evil character actually offsets Mrs. Hall's active destruction to her environment by creating a completely unquestionable power greater than her. This adds to the idea that no matter how much power a woman might try to attain, in that society and especially in that particular home, there will always be a man who can take away that power in an instant if he sees fit.
The reason I liked that particular statement was because it not only illustrated a generational misogyny regardless of kinship as the doctor manages to not only mistreat Katy in the same scene, but also insult Ruth and his own wife in one go. The doctor is always teasing Mrs. Hall, pointing out that her hair is false or generally telling her she is mistaken. While he doesn't seem to be particularly cruel most of the time, in this part he compares her to Ruth, whom they have made out to be the ultimate bane of their existence. It is completely tasteless and derogatory to his wife to compare her talent to Ruth's, and he makes the comment casually and definitively. Despite the power Mrs. Hall tries to establish over Harry, over Ruth, over Katy and anyone she can get her hands on, her husband can easily put her back in her place with a few words of discouragement. His unkindly-spirited but not necessarily actively evil character actually offsets Mrs. Hall's active destruction to her environment by creating a completely unquestionable power greater than her. This adds to the idea that no matter how much power a woman might try to attain, in that society and especially in that particular home, there will always be a man who can take away that power in an instant if he sees fit.
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