The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Johnson, Sadeqa. The House of Eve. Simon & Schuster, February 7, 2023. Kindle.

In the historical fiction novel The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson, Ruby Pearsall and Eleanor Quarles Pride are similar in that they are ambitious and smart. Also, both have had their lives interrupted by unintended pregnancies. Ruby herself is the product of an unintended pregnancy. Her mother, Inez, was only 15 years old when Ruby was born, the consequence of sex before marriage. The father refused to acknowledge his role in the pregnancy. Ruby was left with Inez's mother because Inez was unable to care for her.

When Ruby discovered she was pregnant, she feared she would have to give up the scholarship she worked so hard for and her dreams of becoming an ophthalmologist. Eleanor’s parents also were poor, but they worked hard to send their daughter to college to make a better life for herself. Eleanor worked two jobs to support herself through college and was devastated when she learned she was pregnant. Her story turned out favorably as the father of the baby, a man from a rich family who was studying to be a doctor, proposed marriage to her.

Even though Ruby knew that a relationship between her and Simon “Shimmy” Shapiro, a White Jew, would never work, she could not help but be seduced by him because he admired her talent and it was easy to talk to him. Ruby broke off the relationship with Shimmy, but he drew her back to him. When Ruby discovered she was pregnant, her Aunt Marie tried to get her an illegal abortion. However, the clinic had shut down because a girl had died following the procedure. Ruby and her aunt tried a variety of home remedies, but none of them worked.

When Shimmy learned that Ruby was pregnant, he proposed to her, but marriage between a Black and a Jew was illegal. Shimmy’s mother discovered the two together and insisted that Ruby go to the House of Magdalene, a place where Ruby’s baby would be delivered and then sold to a wealthy couple unable to have children. Ruby agreed because she believed it would be best for her and her baby.

Meanwhile, Eleanor miscarried her baby even before she and William had a chance to be married. Eleanor believed William would break off the relationship, but he insisted he still wanted her to be his wife. One year later, Eleanor was pregnant again. She was feeling confident because she was past the stage where most miscarriages took place. At a doctor’s appointment, the doctor discovered that the baby was not moving and had no heartbeat. Eleanor was devastated.

While Eleanor was in the hospital recovering from the birth of her stillborn baby, she was visited by Mother Margaret, a nun who told her about the House of Magdalene. Mother Margaret told Eleanor that she and William were eligible to adopt a baby born to one of the unwed mothers. She made it appear that the girls happily gave up their babies to give them a better life. Eleanor agreed to the adoption because her doctor told her it would be too dangerous for her to try to have another child.

During Ruby’s time in the House of Magdalene, Ruby learned that life there was not as it had been advertised. The girls were made to do hard labor and constantly reminded of their sinfulness. The girls were not allowed to change their minds about giving their babies up for adoption. One girl tried to change her mind and was abused to the point that she attempted suicide. The Black girls were forced to deliver their babies with no pain medicine and no comfort. Ruby’s labor was initiated early because the baby intended for William and Eleanor was born with a facial defect. Ruby was allowed to nurse the baby for a week, after which the girl was cruelly taken from her.

In the Epilogue set 13 years after Ruby gave her baby up for adoption, Willa complained to Eleanor because she was already developing a woman’s figure while her mother was thin with few curves. Since Willa was so uncomfortable with the way she looked, she refused to go to lunch with her mother and father. William, her father, was the assistant chief of staff at the hospital where Ruby had just been hired as an ophthalmologist. Eleanor met Ruby briefly in her husband’s office before a lunch date. Ruby seemed to recognize that William and Eleanor were the ones who adopted her baby.