Mrs Hall Quotes

Mrs. Hall and Her Obstinate and Tainted High Horse
I think we can all agree that Mrs. Hall is a hard person to get along with much less like. At every turn in Ruth Hall she pins the blame for every misfortune that befalls Harry and Ruth on Ruth. In Mrs. Hall’s opinion, Ruth’s actions, appearances, or something she has done caused Ruth to deserve such a horrible lot and now she is infecting her son with her misfortune. A large part of her demeanor is due to the type of person she is and how she feels about her son and Ruth. The only way Mrs. Hall would like Ruth as a person is if she had never seen or spoken to her in her life. This is evident when she talks about Ruth’s book.
In one scene near the end of Ruth Hall In Chapter 86, Mrs. Hall was talking with one of her neighbors (Mrs. Spear) about Floy’s book (Fern). She loved the book so much so that she paid the unknown writer a compliment saying, “I don’t often

read a book now-a-days; my eyes are not very strong, (blue eyes seldom are, I believe,” said she, fearing least her visitor should suspect old Time had been blurring them;) “but that book, now, just suits me; there is common-sense in it. Whoever wrote that book is a good writer and hope she will give us another just like it” (Fern). She loved the book and was enamored with it until she found out from Mr. Dana (a visitor that stopped by) who wrote it (Fern). She was shocked that the book she so highly valued, and whose author (‘Floy’) was such a good writer, was written by none other than Ruth who she despised. Her friends were shocked by her reaction to the news. They thought that she would be proud of Ruth’s accomplishment, but she instead went off saying, “I don’t admire it,” and that there are, “several things in it, now I think of them, which I consider highly immoral” (Fern). Her guests kept telling her how the book was great and how even people in the “religious press” were infatuated with it (Fern). Mrs. Hall would have none of it. She kept fabricating scenarios as to how Ruth managed to get such high reviews and how the book is just a fad and will not last long. In her eyes, Ruth is a destructive, narcissistic, and horrible person who does not deserve the success she achieved. When she found out that Ruth was the author, she immediately reacted. Her friend thought she would be glad to know that Ruth was successful and could take care of herself, but she was astonished to find how spiteful Mrs. Hall was toward Ruth and for no good reason.
It seems, from what has been said throughout the book, that Mrs.

Hall has always been an unpleasant person. In a previous passage, Ruth said Mrs. Hall is an, “unhappy, miserable old woman” and that she “is more miserable than ever now, because I have earned money to support you and Katy” (Fern). Mrs. Hall would probably have been superior or unpleasant with Ruth if she had met her on the street while shopping somewhere but, when Ruth married Harry, she probably took this action as stealing her only child away. Before they wed, Mrs. Hall had him all to herself and could control what he did while he was under her roof. This might, at one point, have started out as motherly love but became overbearing. It didn’t help matters that Mrs. Hall was also jealous of Ruth. This feeling along with her condescending and impertinent nature caused her to plague Ruth and Harry’s life and torment almost every waking hour of their existence. She acted like Ruth couldn’t do anything right because she believed she couldn’t and that Harry was too good for Ruth to be his

wife.
In the end, Mrs. Hall does not and can not like Ruth because of her perceptions and how firmly she holds to the idea that Ruth is a terrible human being. She is so set on this verdict that she wasn’t upset when her son’s daughter, her very own grandchild, died. You can see all of this on full display when she discovers that Ruth’s efforts have led to her being able to support herself and her kids. She could have been happy knowing that Nettie and Katy would be out of her hair and would never have to lay eyes on Ruth again but she has nothing but spite and loathing for Ruth.