ionary or independent as society haspredetermined standards, inflicted by that same Judeo-Christian ethic,which must be adhered to. Both Ruth and modern women are faced with asimilar predicament: to resolve the conflict between passion andindependence, and responsibility and loyalty as outlined by aJudeo-Christian society.This conflict is resolved for both Ruth and the modern woman by the elimination of awareness of personal desire and the total assimilation into the culture. Whether through nature or nurture, women are able to step outside themselves in an attempt to be objective, objectivity being defined as seeing with the eyes of society which is falsely assumed to be in a natural and unbiased state. Thus, in stepping outside of themselves,women are attempting to see themselves as society sees them. It is for this reason that Ruth is presented as being without personal desire and is a fairly mundane character. This lack of personal desire enables Ruth, and women in general, to join society, accept its ideals, and view themselves in terms of these ideals. Thus the need for the immediate, physical presenceof God in the story of Ruth, as well as in modern society, is eliminated. Womankind has become her own God, her own judge; the Judeo-Christianethic is so deeply ingrained in her that she follows it automatically and the constraints not only come from without, but also from within. Society does not allow for the realization of choice.Ruth's worth, and the worth of womankind, is now stripped down tothat given to them by a male dominated society under the Judeo-Christianethic that it adheres to. So it is, in the story of Ruth, that Ruth gains merit as a worker and member of society only through the influence of her employer, a man, and finally marries him, effectively, willingly sealing her dependence on man, God, and society for a sense of worth. This action isencouraged and somewhat instructed by Naomi. ..When he lies down, takenote o...
