Love, Ruby Lavender

“A look of genuine panic mixed with surprise flew across Melba’s face […] She flew toward the front door of the mercantile, slamming into Miss Mattie as she ran.”

The repetition of the verb “flew” describes Melba’s change of expression and bodily movement toward the door, depicting the speed with which she moves. The choice is notable because its metaphor recalls the chickens that prompt Melba to taunt Ruby. This quote implies that the three chickens symbolize the girls once Dove is introduced.

“Melba acts brave but she’s scared underneath. Just look at how she skedaddled out of here.”

Eula encourages Ruby to consider Melba’s feelings more deeply, demonstrating the difference between what people say and what they do and how people don’t always show their true feelings. Melba presents herself as tough, but her prickly demeanor shatters when she is challenged, revealing the ways she too is scared.

“I’m leaving because I need to, Ruby. I need to do what’s right for me. And for you. I want to see how life does go on, and then I want to come back to you and your mama and my home.”

Eula explains her favorite expression, though Ruby does not understand what she means because she is too upset about Eula leaving and the effect the departure will have on her own life. Eula isn’t trying to forget Garnet or Ruby, nor is she intending to move to Hawaii; instead, she is looking to “go on” with her life and do something other than grieve who she’s lost so that she can focus on who she still has, including Ruby and Evelyn.

“According to Miss Mattie Perkins, ‘My life will be more hectic in the store without her help, but on the other hand, this town could use a breather.’ Miss Ruby Lavender was standing with Miss Mattie and was heard to say, ‘Woe is me.’”

This excerpt from the June 8 Aurora County News Twilight Edition reports on Eula’s departure from Hawaii and her sister-in-law’s and granddaughter’s responses. While Ruby pities herself, Mattie appears glad to see Eula go, implying that Eula’s behavior strains the town in some way. Only much later does Ruby learn that Mattie misses Eula too; for now, Ruby fails to understand why people act the way they do or that Mattie’s gruff, sour exterior hides sweeter feelings.

“Ruby, two people died in that accident—Melba lost her father. Can you imagine how sad she must be?”

In addition to Eula’s efforts, Evelyn also tries to encourage Ruby to empathize with Melba and understand the girl’s feelings. The adults understand that Melba, a child herself, acts the way she does because she is grieving the death of her father. Ruby’s unwillingness to see Melba’s point of view indicates her lack of her character’s emotional maturity—something that continues to develop throughout the book.

“Flowers, flowers, flowers! People, people, people! calling ‘Aloha!’ and putting leis around my neck […] Pretty soon, I had flower necklaces up to my lips! They smelled like heaven.”

Eula’s trip to Hawaii represents an opportunity to prove to herself that “Life does go on” after her husband’s death. The flowers which serve as a motif throughout the novel point to The Persistent Progression of Time. Their perennial beauty and the word “aloha”—which means both hello and goodbye in Hawaiian—shows that ends and beginnings are inherently connected. The abundance of flowers in Hawaii emphasizes Eula’s determination to keep living and embrace her new life rather than exclusively dwelling on who she’s lost.

“We’re all different and we’re all the same.”

Dove says this to Ruby during their first meeting when she explains why she loves anthropology. Dove believes that differences make people interesting, unpredictable, and mysterious to one another while similarities make it possible to understand one another too. The statement demonstrates Dove’s maturity for her age and peacemaking capacity because she has already developed the empathy Melba and Ruby lack.

“Bemmie and Bess tussled over the corn. They sounded like two old women screaming at each other.”

This simile compares the chickens’ noisy squawking to the sound of old women yelling at one another, offering humor to the text. It also suggests how the chickens are symbolic of the people in Halleluia.

“She’d have to find a way to feel better all by herself.”

With her grandmother in Hawaii, Ruby can no longer rely on Eula to raise her spirits, which are quite low after Melba’s accident with the blue paint. Ruby learns to be more emotionally self-sufficient during this time—something Eula recognizes as necessary to her granddaughter’s development because she described her leaving as also being what’s “best” for Ruby.

“Dove unwrapped her Moon Pie. ‘I’d hate to be bald…’ was all she said.”

Dove’s empathy allows her to be friends with both Ruby and Melba because she refrains from judging and seeks to understand the source of their conflict. Thus, after the disastrous operetta tryouts, she sympathizes with Ruby—who indirectly caused the accident—and with Melba, who is now blue-headed and bald. Her ability to put herself in Melba’s shoes, and her willingness to do so in front of Ruby, helps show Ruby what empathy looks like.

“Ruby’s anger pulled her together.”

After Melba’s rock-throwing results in the death of two of Ivy’s chicks, it is Ruby’s anger that allows her to carry on and gives her strength to not fall apart in grief. This suggests how anger can be an easier emotion to manage than grief, especially when one has experienced a painful loss. Recognizing this helps Ruby eventually understand Melba’s anger after the accident.

“Miss Mattie smiled a smile that softened her whole face. It surprised Ruby so much, she smiled back.”

Mattie is the first person with whom Ruby learns to empathize, and it is their interaction after the chicks’ death that shows her the myriad ways people manage their grief. She is shocked to learn that Mattie misses Eula because Mattie’s demeanor is usually gruff; Mattie doesn’t act sad like Ruby does, so Ruby thinks she isn’t. Ruby is even more surprised by Mattie’s gentleness and reassurance after the chicks’ death. Mattie’s warm smile shows Ruby that people’s outward behavior doesn’t always indicate their feelings.

“I’m glad you’re my friend.”

Dove says this to Ruby as they fall asleep in Eula’s bed after Ivy’s third egg hatches. Ruby has been struggling with Dove’s affection for Melba, and Dove’s reassurance of her affection for Ruby assuages Ruby’s feelings of jealousy. This paves the way for her to follow Dove’s lead and become less critical of others.

“There’s just nothing that can make us feel better when someone we love dies, is there?”

After Eula reads the news about Ivy’s two chicks, she writes to Ruby, echoing Mattie’s words and modeling empathy again. This sentiment echoes The Sourness and Sweetness of Life, as love is sweet while the loss of a loved one, including the chicks, is sour. Eula’s words additionally highlight the severity of grief, implying that even Melba and Mattie—who do not show their grief in ways that make sense to Ruby—feel their losses deeply.

“You said you wanted to live away from reminders of Grandpa Garnet for a while. I live with them every day, and I’m all right.”

Ruby writes to Eula, demonstrating how the development of empathy is a process that requires maturity and a lack of selfishness. Ruby wants Eula to come home and believes that, if Ruby can handle the constant reminders of Garnet, her grandmother ought to be able to as well. She cannot yet understand that Eula feels his loss more deeply than she does as his beloved wife, especially because Eula channels her grief into activities like painting her house, liberating chickens, and going to Hawaii; she doesn’t walk around crying or immobilized by her loss, which makes it hard for Ruby to understand how it still impacts her deeply. Ruby does not yet understand The Varied Responses to Grief and Loss.

“A tiny shiver skittered up Ruby’s spine. She closed her eyes and pulled a vision of Grandpa Garnet to mind, their firefly poem, and their nights with Miss Eula in the back meadow, under the stars.”

When Dove tells Ruby about Melba’s stories, like how Mr. Latham used to take her to look at the stars, Ruby gets a chill when she recognizes the similarity between the girls’ relationships with their deceased family members. This marks a significant change in Ruby’s willingness and ability to see other points of view rather than just her own. At this moment, the willingness to empathize with Melba no longer seems impossible to Ruby.

“There’s some things you don’t report on. I bet Margaret Mead didn’t tape everything. Some things are…personal.”

When Ruby confesses her guilt to Dove, she assumes Dove wishes she’d brought her tape recorder. However, Dove says it would be inappropriate for her to record and report on something like this. This shows Dove’s caring and empathetic nature; she would never put personal aspirations above compassion for others. Dove leads by example to both Melba and Ruby.

“‘I mean, if I knew you thought it was your fault and I knew it wasn’t, I would have told you lots earlier, but I didn’t know it. I never for a minute thought it was your fault, and I didn’t think you thought it was your fault…’ Dove’s voice trailed off, and she cocked her head and peered at Ruby.”

After Dove tells Ruby that the accident wasn’t her fault because Garnet never planned to stay overnight in Raleigh, she promises she would’ve said something sooner if she knew Ruby blamed herself. Ironically, Ruby’s secret—which she may have kept to protect herself from greater emotional pain—prolonged her suffering rather than minimizing it. Had she been more honest with Dove earlier on, Dove could have shared the information that exonerated Ruby and allowed her to move forward.

“‘I don’t know what he was thinking…’ Dove’s eyes lit up. ‘Or what Melba’s daddy was thinking.’ Ruby grabbed tight to this new thought.”

After learning that Garnet had no intention of staying in a hotel on the night of the accident, Ruby finally realizes that one cannot know what another person is thinking. She doesn’t know for sure what Garnet thought that night, and Dove points out that neither Ruby nor Melba knows what Mr. Latham thought either. This is an important step in Ruby’s development of empathy and her ability to let go of her guilt. Because she never gave voice to this feeling, others like Dove were unaware it existed. At this moment, she decides to let it go.

“Ruby […] tried to think about what to do next. Get up? Run away? Spit on Melba? Nothing seemed quite right.”

After Ruby is relieved of her guilt, she’s not sure how to treat Melba. Ruby’s actions ruined Melba’s hair, and Melba’s actions killed two chicks; they are both responsible for things they didn’t mean to happen. Now that Ruby is becoming more adept at understanding others’ emotions—and recognizing that she can never entirely know how another person feels—Ruby isn’t sure how to act around Melba. Dove’s stories have initiated Ruby’s empathy for Melba, but she is still fighting against it, preferring anger, which is easier than grieving or accepting responsibility. Now that she understands the anger is misplaced, Ruby cannot bring herself to spit on Melba or behave meanly toward her.

“‘You know what I wonder about?’ Melba asked […] ‘I wonder if my daddy was scared that night […] I wonder if he was awake. And if he was, did he think about me? I wonder about that.’”

Melba’s experience with grief, pain, and confusion is relatable to Ruby. Melba’s feelings also reveal her “sweet” side, as Ruby is used to seeing only Melba’s “sour” anger and bitterness toward her. Melba’s acceptance of responsibility for the chicks’ deaths prompts her to be more honest with Ruby. This contributes to Ruby’s understanding of The Varied Responses to Grief and Loss that make people behave in different ways. Through this experience, Ruby learns that no one response to grief and loss is “correct.” Rather, people have responses that differ from one another and it is important to empathize regardless of these differences.

“She couldn’t concentrate. ‘Peony…people…pep…pepper…pepper-and-salt…’ She sighed. ‘Pepper-and-salt’ made her think ‘sweet and sour,’ which made her think ‘lemon drops,’ which made her think about her grandpa, which made her think about the lake and the bridge and Melba.”

This moment shows Ruby’s thought process and how her developing understanding of The Sourness and Sweetness of Life contributes to her growing empathy for Melba. She cannot stop thinking about what Melba said on the bridge—specifically, how Melba’s admission reveals her worries and hopes and how similar they are to Ruby’s. The fact that this moment takes place on a bridge, a structure that links two distinct places, symbolizes how Ruby and Melba must meet in the middle. Melba opens up to Ruby in a way she never has before. Relieved of her guilt, Ruby is newly receptive to Melba’s confession and acknowledges the role she played in the accident that ruined Melba’s hair.

“Ruby could see how being onstage, in front of her public, restored Melba, made her happier than just about anything, made her forget her troubles. It was how Ruby felt when she was with Miss Eula…happier than just about anything.”

Ruby consciously empathizes with Melba now, no longer fighting against her awareness of Melba’s humanity and their similarities. She sees that what makes Melba happiest is performing, and she recognizes that Melba feels the same joy in this that Ruby experiences with Eula. Ruby’s new willingness to see Melba as a full person, not just an antagonist, humanizes Melba and allows Ruby to relate to her. It is this newfound empathy that allows Ruby to help Melba when she freezes on stage and forgets her lines.