Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews February 10, 2023 February 3, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Ruby is both a role model and a friend for Ada. As a strong-willed, practical woman with keen insight, Ruby initially serves as a foil for the dreamy, intellectual Ada. (A foil is a character that reveals the distinctive traits of another character through contrast.) Ruby’s store of knowledge about the natural world teaches Ada to look outward from herself, and to interact with the surrounding environment. Ruby personifies many of the novel’s themes about living close to nature, moving at pace with its seasons, and establishing a close relationship with the land. However, Ruby’s role grows more substantial as Ada’s character matures. As Ada develops into a strong friend and co-worker, the women’s friendship becomes increasingly sisterly and profound. Just as Ada learns about practical life from Ruby, Ruby in turn learns from Ada, listening to the classic literature the older woman reads aloud and following her lead when it comes to expressing emotion (although emotional honesty does not come easily to Ada either). Resolutely levelheaded and self-sufficient, Ruby begins to let go of past resentment, particularly towards her father, and reclaims her faith in love.
Ruby’s development within the novel, though not as dramatic as Inman’s or Ada’s, is far-reaching and profound. Ruby evolves from a girl into a natural mother figure. The novel charts her transition from someone who could function successfully outside of society as a hermit (she is similar in many ways to the goat-woman) to a woman who appreciates having her whole family living and working beside her. She is a matriarchal figure who keeps her husband and father in check without being too domineering. Ruby becomes the tie that binds her family together.
Please wait while we process your payment