Space for Moral Agency in the Book of Ruth

Abstract

As moral agents, the characters in the book of Ruth operate under pronounced circumstantial constraints. Examining how characters' speeches project a 'self' that 'answers the glance of the other' (Monika Fludernik), and utilizing Michel de Certeau's notion of narrative's spatial syntax, this article examines how geographical, social, and bodily spaces encourage and discourage certain self-identifications and actions and how the crossing of, and tactical behaviors within, these spatial boundaries inform our perceptions of moral agency. Bakhtin's concept of 'event-ness' also contributes to our understanding of how the book's plotting of human behavior invites further moral reflection.