Key Facts
full title · Rubyfruit Jungle
author · Rita Mae Brown
type of work · Novel
genre · Coming-of-age novel; feminist novel; lesbian novel; bildungsroman;
picaresque; Southern novel; mother/daughter novel
language · English
time and place written · 1972–1973; Washington, D.C.
date of first publication · 1973
publisher · Daughters Press
narrator · Molly Bolt, the protagonist
point of view · The narrator speaks in the first person, and we experience everything
through her subjective recollections, perceptions, and assumptions about events
and other characters.
tone · Humorous; irreverent; bawdy; polemical; candid
tense · Past, with occasional passages in the present tense
setting (time) · The 1950s and the 1960s
setting (place) · Southern Pennsylvania; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; New York
City
narrator · Molly Bolt
major conflict · Molly Bolt struggles against institutional prejudices and other
people's hostility toward her because of her sexuality and liberal views in
order to find her place in society and succeed in life.
rising action · As a seven-year-old, Molly starts an informal business that consists of
charging other elementary school students to look at her friend Broccoli's
penis.
climax · Molly's mother, Carrie, finds out about Molly's “business” and explodes
in rage, calling Molly arrogant and immoral and revealing to Molly that she is a
bastard child.
falling action · Molly lives in defiance of her mother, who desires for Molly to be
ladylike and proper, as well as in defiance of anyone or anything that tries to
keep her from being herself and reaching her goals.
themes · The role of sexuality in the search for the self; the exploitative
nature of capitalism; the oppressive nature of the patriarchal system; nature as
a source of strength
motifs · Humor; names and naming; verb tense change;
role-playing/acting
symbols · The forest; the city; drainpipes; Polina, Paul, and Mr.
Bellantoni
foreshadowing · At the end of Chapter 5, Molly foreshadows that she will see Leota
again later in the novel.
· Molly's encounter with Mr. Beers in Chapter 7 foreshadows her
unpleasant experience with Dean Marne in Chapter 10.
· Molly's thinking about Carrie while she discusses her film aspirations
in Chapter 12 foreshadows the movie she will make about Carrie for her senior
project.
