A friend of Jeanette’s, whom Jeanette describes as her “Good Mother.” A supportive and helpful confidant, Ruth lent Jeanette a cottage to write in when she was just starting out, and she helps and guides Jeanette as she attempts to wade through the paperwork and red tape that stands between her reunion with her birth mother. When Jeanette does find her birth mother, and is scared to go meet her, Ruth urges Jeanette to go through with the meeting. Ruth embodies the text’s thematic arcs about mothers and daughters and the pursuit of happiness.