Song of Solomon

This chapter seems to group the types of women together. There are the kind like Ruth and Hagar, who are weak and need the validation of men, mostly Milkman, and are shown in a darker light than Pilate is. Pilate is the strong woman in the novel who needs no man. She is the one who men actually fear, and that power is what causes her to be cast out and alienated.
The strong tie between them is that they would both do anything for their children.

Ruth is always in the need of someone's protection. When she was a child she needed the protection of her father in an unusual way, then the protection of Pilate when her husband was being abusive during her pregnancy, and the protection of Milkman. While she never asks for the protection, or deserves the abuse, being the kind of woman she is often lands her in that situation. Ruth would do anyhting for her son motivated either by her own selfish motives, or genuine concern for them.

Pilot, unlike Ruth, has never needed anyone. She raises her family by herself and reaches out to help Ruth. The sad irony lies in that her power and independence cause her to be alone and a social outcast, while the weak women are abused and taken advantage of.