The Ruined Maid Thomas Hardy 1840-1928

Subject/theme Thomas Hardy’s “The Ruined Maid” outlines the transition from a proper, yet poor country girl to a ruined, yet rich maid, seemingly of higher status. His references to ‘ruin’ are to lost virginity outside of wedlock, something considered a disgrace in the time in which the poem was written, its publication causing controversy. In this way, Hardy approaches the delicate truth behind the life of an average 19th century Dorset girl: the choice between what was considered correct and spending life “spudding up docks” or becoming ruined and being able to gain “polish” and the ability to “strut about town”.

Point of view It is a spoken conversation between two characters – 2 points of view: Melia and her former friend (‘raw country girl’) from Dorset. Melia - a farm girl who has used her sexuality to gain wealth, allowing her to appear a ‘lady’. The change in her appearance and dialect make her seem proud and refined, however there is an underlying sense of shame in the way she repeatedly reminds her friend that she is ‘ruined’. The friend – a farm girl who is first naively awed by Melia’s change, but then seems to envy and disapprove of Melia’s position as her observations become slightly insulting. When we read the poem, we at first feel slightly shocked at how proud Melia is of being a prostitute and then we realize that she is trying to impress the friend. After witnessing the naivety of the friend, we feel slightly sorry for her as she is praising something she does not fully understand which is, in fact, bad. As the poem draws to a close, we realize that Melia does see some shame in being a prostitute, perhaps after discussing the subject with her naïve friend.

Language/imagery Dorset dialect – ‘spudding up docks’- colloquial / Standard English – ‘one’- impersonal pronoun – formal/sophisticated – reflects characters, emphasizing the difference between the two people we are presented with, who originally came from the same place. Contrasts – ‘tatters’ and ‘gay bracelets and bright feathers’/ ‘paws’ and ‘gloves’/ her face ‘blue and bleak’ to ‘delicate cheek’ – emphasizes the visual change in Amelia from how she was before to how the friend sees her now. Alliteration – ‘without shoes or socks’/ ‘face blue and bleak’/ ‘megrims or melancholy’/ ‘feathers, a fine sweeping gown’ – reinforces the hardship or luxury that the country girl observes/comments on, showing us the difference between the two people and how experience influences us. Caesura – ‘My dear –’ (final couplet) breaks the fluidity of the rhythm, suggesting a lack of self-assurance in ‘Melia, perhaps showing her recognition of the personal cost that comes with the apparently beneficial change.

Form & Structure This poem takes the form of a dramatic duologue in the form of a conversation between old friends, once similar, now diverse due to the “ruin” of one. In this, the character of the “raw country girl” can be seen as a mirror of the other’s past. The poem is structured into 6 stanzas, each made up of a pair of rhyming couplets, the first three lines of which are ‘spoken’ by the country girl, the fourth by Amelia, the ruined maid. The exception to this is the final stanza, in which both the third and fourth lines are spoken by Amelia. (Amelia’s lack of dialogue throughout suggests a sense of maturity and sophistication – she doesn’t need to explain herself in detail, allowing her changed appearance to do most of the talking.) The repetition of the words “said she” and references to Melia’s ruin create a light and playful tone for an otherwise utterly serious and controversial topic.

Tone The tone of this poem develops throughout. The first stanza presents a tone of the surprise and joy when old friends meet. However, this contrasts greatly with an accusation in the second stanza “you left us”. Despite this, the tone quickly progresses to admiration and compliments before ending with the portrayal of the country girl’s desire to be the same as her friend with the longing words “I wish”. The tone of this poem is ironic due to the presentation of admiration for the prostitute on the part of the “raw country girl” who in theory would have been considered the more admirable character.. However, Hardy presents an unbiased representation of this setup, telling us that in reality this may not have been the case. There is also a tone of naivety on the part of the country girl, who seems not to understand what it means to be “ruined”. Another theme would be pretence. This becomes apparent when Amelia’s new found eloquence is undone and her Dorset dialect comes through in the final stanza. This leads in to the underlying tone of discomfort and a physical effort to belong, her slip into speaking in her old dialect causing the poem to end on an upsetting note, contrasting with the rest, making us pity the woman making a clear effort to appear happy.

Links ‘The Ruined Maid and The River God’ Theme between both is humour, particularly black humour. Amelia looks impressive but is ironically a prostitute. The river god drowns a woman because he thinks she is pretty and wants to keep her for his own pleasure. Women are both abused/used for a man’s pleasure in both- Amelia is a prostitute and the river god traps the ‘beautiful lady’ to look at her and keep her as he thinks she is so beautiful. There is more to the individual portrayed than we see- Melia looks very impressive as we see from her colleague but she is actually a prostitute.   ’The Ruined Maid’ and ‘The Hunchback In The Park’ Shows the cruelty of life e.g. women being driven to work as prostitutes to earn a living. The Hunchback didn’t particularly want to be a tramp but he was forced to. More to the individual than what we see i.e. ‘Melia is a prostitute but looks impressive and the hunch back is a tramp but we don’t know why, but he may be a nice man. Rejection by society i.e.Amelia is rejected so is driven to prostitution (and becomes an outcast in polite society) and the hunchback is rebuffed by all- even the ‘boys innocent as strawberries’, who reflect how society has now changed as the boys who should be innocent and nice towards others are shouting at the Hunchback, a trait we would not expect without adult influence.