When Ruth first comes to Eccleston, she has long, flowing, and beautiful hair; Sally is immediately suspicious of the story that Ruth is a young widow and manifests her suspicion by insisting on cutting Ruth’s hair and requiring her to wear an unflattering and uncomfortable widow’s cap. As Sally grumbles, “whether widows wear wedding-rings or not, they shall have their hair cut off” (107. Ruth’s hair symbolizes her innocence and purity, and cutting and concealing it symbolizes how she has permanently lost those things. The cutting of the hair also symbolizes how concealment and deception will be a permanent part of Ruth’s life henceforth; just as how she will cover up her hair, she will have to cover up parts of her past and identity.

Before her relationship with Bellingham, Ruth was free and at one with nature, reflecting her loose hair that did not have to be controlled and constrained. As an adult woman who will soon be a mother, all her actions and choices must be controlled, disciplined, and aligned with social norms and expectations. While cutting her hair symbolizes Ruth moving from youthful innocence to an adult world of secrecy and shame, the episode also allows Gaskell to hint at Ruth’s virtuous inner nature.