As a child in the 1890s, Ruth Benedict lived in a society that made her life challenging. A lack of understanding about hearing loss meant adults accused her of not complying with directions. And limited opportunities for women made it difficult for her widowed mother to earn a living wage.
These challenges prompted Benedict to consider how society was structured to benefit people who fit certain traits and disenfranchise those outside the norm. She became one of the most influential anthropologists of the twentieth century. Scholars still reference her work, and educators continue to assign her books.
Who Was Ruth Benedict?
Benedict was born Ruth Fulton in 1887 in upstate New York. Her father was a surgeon, and Benedict believed he contracted an infectious disease from one of his patients. He died when she was 21 months old, and her younger sister was mere weeks old.
