Housekeeping: An Extension of Class Discussion

One important point touched on today during class discussion, was the question of whether or not Ruth was dead throughout the novel of Housekeeping. If she wasn't dead throughout the novel, then did she die when crossing the bridge, entering the threshold into another world entirely? Maralynne Robinson certaintly does a good job using language to create an eerie, ghostly effect. As Ruth crosses the bridge, she thinks of a hypothetical situation in which Sylvie has a newspaper clipping "pinned to the underside of her right lapel" (Robinson 213) describing her and Ruth's escape. The heading reads, "LAKE CLAIMS TWO" (213). Although this is all supposedly hypothetical, words in the passage such as "vanished" "drifting" and "creaking" evoke an ominous tone, implying that perhaps maybe the lake really did claim two.
I don't believe Maralynne Robinson intended one clear answer for this, as the novel can be interpreted in many, all equally haunting ways.

Perhaps when debating this question, a reader should take into careful consideration the themes of the novel. What I found essential to the question, was the theme of never being able to reach ones destination. This theme embeds quite early in the novel, when we are introduced to Ruth's grandfather. Her grandfather quits his "subterraneous house, walks to the railroad and takes a train West. He tells the ticket agent that he wants to go the mountains" (4). Due to unexpected catastrophe, the train plunges into the depths of the lake... and his death is final and complete. He is never able to reach his final destination.
However the deaths of Ruth and Sylvie are never final. As I mentioned in class discussion, there were times when reading the novel that I thought Sylvie and Ruth had physically died. When Sylvie stood on the bridge as Ruth is secretely watching her, I expected a suicide attempt, as it seemed like the proper final action to take. Even a natural action.
But for the sake of argument, perhaps Sylvie didnt die. There is always the possibility that crossing the bridge is what gave Ruth and Sylvie life. Unlike their grandfather, the fact that the two never reached their destination after crossing the bridge isn't certain. The only thing of certainty is the fact that Ruth and Sylvie were able to put "an end to Houskeeping" (209) by escaping the place where they were ghosts of society. Wherever the bridge leads to, whether other-worldly or not, Sylvie and Ruth's spirits seem to be liberated by crossing.