The present subject matter is an investigation and interpretation of a biblical book in the light of Jungian psychology. I hope to show its findings to be pertinent to the theme of the fate and role of the feminine. It is no disparagement of the Holy Writ to read it with psychological understanding.
Many biblical texts reveal unsuspected dimensions when approached with modern psychological insight.
One such text is the Book of Ruth, which has engaged the interest of laymen and scholars throughout the ages right up to the present. Reading the Book of Ruth in this light, and in its original context, reveals a process remarkably appropriate to the modern view of the place of woman, and of the feminine principle itself. In the numerous commentaries, the only point on which all agree is the beauty of the story and of its literary style. True as this may be, it is certain that the book was not included in the Canon merely because of its literary merit. Some scholars, find more or less apparent mythological motifs in the story, and deny it any historical validity.