The Ruined Maid Essay

Thomas Hardy’s poem, “The Ruined Maid”, is a poem that tells the story of two women who happen to reconcile after a lengthy amount of time. The two stop to talk and the underprivileged woman of the two compliments Melia, the other woman, telling her how fancy and dignified she looks compared to before when they both resembled “raw country gals”. Both women compare their lives and they assure the other that they are not ruined. The two women have a different definition of the word, but they are both ruined in one way or another.
To begin with, speaker one, who is a poor worker, is ruined in the sense that she will remain in the same lowly position all her life. She probably doesn’t have much of an education which is why she is reduced to working on a farm. Speaker one seems to be rather naïve, since she does not realize in what it means for Melia to be ruined and what sacrifices Melia has made. She only focuses on what Melia has gained, not what she has lost. By the end of the poem, one can assume speaker one is a little less innocent and a bit more aware of the reality of life, especially for women in that time period.
During the Victorian Era, which is the time period this poem takes place, a woman that is ruined is one that is …show more content…
It’s safe to say they would rather have each other’s life. Melia believes one must experience true ruin to gain anything in life. The last two lines in the poem, "My dear - raw country girl, such as you be, Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she are especially significant in understanding Melia’s point of view. Up to now Melia has spoken in perfect speech, but when she says “ain’t” she breaks the cycle. This shows that Melia still holds on to a shred of her past life. No matter how far we excel in life, we can never forget our history and