Housekeeping

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson is a book about choice, loss, transience and blurred boundaries. Through literary criticisms, we see three different opinions on the novel, which helps the reader to think more deeply about the novel. When reading these criticisms, it is easy to relate to one article more than the others. After reading three articles by Ravits, Kaivola and Smyth, I agree with Kaivola’s point on the novel, Housekeeping.
In Extending the American Range: Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping, Martha Ravits discusses that Ruth fits within a larger, already accepted grand scheme of literature. The already accepted literature consists of males being the protagonists, having a problem and solving it, therefore becoming the hero. Ravits compares Ruth’s family history to characters such as Huck Finn, Isaac McCaslin and Ishmael. These characters "undertook the struggle for maturity by choosing surrogate fathers" (Ravits 648) while Ruth is a girl who must ultimately choose a...