Ruth Grutoff Character Analysis in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

Ruth Grutoff is an American missionary who serves as the nurse and headmistress of the orphanage LuLing works at after Precious Auntie’s death. She is a brave, compassionate woman who puts her life on the line to protect the girls who live at her orphanage. LuLing names her only child, Ruth, after Miss Grutoff. During World War Two, the Japanese remove Miss Grutoff from the orphanage and send her to a prisoner-of-war camp. She survives, but the imprisonment takes a toll on her health and necessitates hospitalization in the U.S. Miss Grutoff arranges for her church to sponsor someone to accompany her on her journey back to the U.S., which is how GaoLing is able to travel to the U.S. Sadly, Miss Grutoff dies shortly after returning to the United States.

Ruth Grutoff Character Timeline in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

The timeline below shows where the character Ruth Grutoff appears in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Pan, the monastery also employees Teacher Wang and Sister Yu. The missionary women’s names are Miss Grutoff and Miss Towler, who is the orphanage’s director. The foreign men who work there are... (full context)

Memory, Culture, and the Past Theme Icon

After LuLing has been at the orphanage for two years, Miss Grutoff hands her a letter—from GaoLing. In the letter, GaoLing reveals that she married the fourth... (full context)

...She becomes convinced that Precious Auntie’s curse enabled the soldiers to take Kai Jing. Meanwhile, Miss Grutoff and Miss Towler refuse to let the girls go outside the compound, having heard stories... (full context)

That evening, the Japanese come for Kai Jing, Dong, and Chau. Miss Grutoff bravely attempts to stop the soldiers from entering the orphanage, but they ignore her. Kai... (full context)

Soon after, Miss Towler dies, as well. Her death profoundly affects Miss Grutoff , who begins to sew American flags to memorialize her. When the Japanese finally come... (full context)

Miss Grutoff tells everyone what she learned from her friends on the ham radio a few days... (full context)

The Japanese return the next day to take Miss Grutoff to a prisoner-of-war camp. Miss Grutoff cries to Teacher Pan not to let the students... (full context)

Three months after the Japanese take Miss Grutoff , Teacher Pan announces that it’s time to leave. The teachers and older students each... (full context)

That afternoon, Sister Yu leaves for the medical school and informs them that Miss Grutoff has been released from the prisoner-of-war camp but is very sick. LuLing, GaoLing, Sister Yu,... (full context)

...month after GaoLing leaves for the U.S., she sends LuLing a letter containing bad news. Miss Grutoff died shortly after they arrived. In addition, she’s discovered that she won’t be able to... (full context)

...who died to protect the Communist Party. GaoLing tells Ruth that LuLing named her after Ruth Grutoff and Sister Yu, which Ruth had never known before. Ruth is touched by how much... (full context)