Ultimately, Ruth is a sympathetic villain. She is a woman doing her best within a system that values her only as a vessel for lineage and property transfer. The tragedy of the Titanic is not just the loss of life, but the destruction of the world that allowed women like Ruth to believe that a gilded cage was the only safety available to them.
Chang posits that hard choices are not burdens to be feared but "godsends." When there is no "right" answer dictated by external reasons, we are given the freedom to create our own reasons. Traditional View Ruth Chang's View Found in the world (objective) Created by the self (subjective) Difficulty Lack of information/intelligence Values are incommensurable (on a par) Outcome Finding the "correct" path Defining who you are About the Speaker ruth klang ted