The poem
"O 'Melia, my dear, this does everything crown! Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town? And whence such fair garments, such prosperi-ty?"-- "O didn't you know I'd been ruined?" said she.
--"You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks, Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks; And now you've gay bracelets and bright feathers three!"-- "Yes: that's how we dress when we're ruined," said she.
--"At home in the barton you said 'thee' and 'thou,' And 'thik oon,' and 'theäs oon,' and 't'other'; but now Your talking quite fits 'ee for high compa-ny!"-- "Some polish is gained with one's ruin," said she.
--"Your hands were like paws then, your face blue and bleak But now I'm bewitched by your delicate cheek, And your little gloves fit as on any la-dy!"-- "We never do work when we're ruined," said she.
--"You used to call home-life a hag-ridden dream, And you'd sigh, and you'd sock; but at present you seem To know not of megrims or melancho-ly!"-- "True. One's pretty lively when ruined," said she.
"--I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown, And a delicate face, and could strut about Town!"-- "My dear--a raw country girl, such as you be, Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she.
In ‘The Ruined Maid’, which Hardy wrote in 1866, Hardy focuses on one woman's recent loss of chastity and how she is perceived by a once close friend who is returning to town. This ‘Maid’ has found herself marring above her status and prostituting herself for riches and prosperity. Rather than feeling ashamed of her actions, she expresses a sense of pride in her self and confidence in her sex, much like a…
Read the whole commentIn ‘The Ruined Maid’, which Hardy wrote in 1866, Hardy focuses on one woman's recent loss of chastity and how she is perceived by a once close friend who is returning to town. This ‘Maid’ has found herself marring above her status and prostituting herself for riches and prosperity. Rather than feeling ashamed of her actions, she expresses a sense of pride in her self and confidence in her sex, much like a suffragettes attitude of the time. In the last line of each stanza, she points out how she is ruined; however, the tone of her various declarations is triumphant. For example, at the end of the third stanza she states, ‘A polish is gained with one's ruin'. This indicates that this ruined woman feels a sense of liberation and independence mirroring events in the late 19th century for women. After Hardy portrayed the idea of the fallen woman in this manner through his poetry, he proceeded to explore this idea within his novels as well.
how how beautiful, like a lark singing within the confines of a winteress day apon a patch of snow...its words have life beyond belief. I feel as though poetry especially this type really makes me motivated to enjoy all of lifes crevices and turns..hehhe
LIke this beautiful poem, i also feel as though i am in love, in love with a man who knows me so well...THis poem is great for any occasion i really enjoy it through and through
this poem makes me feel special i feel so in love and so happy when i read this poem it put a smile on my face
"Aye, we learn to be ironic when we're ruined" says she
It's really interesting! It's like a story written in the form of poetry and it contributes very good lesson. One's ruined won't be able to turn back the time. WHat cAn she saY tHen? JUST telling her friend that she is already ruined. Although the appearance is excellent, it can't renew her. To be ruined is miserable.
Understanding Melia's attitude may differ from a reader to another. However, she seemed to be arrogant for she had no shame in expressing her situation as "ruined". This expression was ironic, for her properous look was contrasted to the fact of the inner damage she caused to herself through prostitution. Yet, it indicates that 'All is not gold that glitters'
This poem has long been a favorite of mine. In playful verse, Hardy manages to make a life of sin seem more attractive than one of virtue. By contrasting Audrey and her grubby country life of drudgery with that of Amelia, the fallen woman with fine clothes and leisure, he suggests that virtue is its own reward. Audrey's parting comment about wishing she could enjoy such a life is countered by Amelia pointing out that she cannot unless she is also ruined. One wonders if Audrey follows in her friends footsteps. Incidently, Elsa Lanchester recorded this poem as a song on her Bawdy Cockney Songs album, some decades ago. It is a delightful ditty.
ummm this is a wicked poemmmmm...
im doing an assingment on it at the moment and i have fallen in love with it.
everytime i read it i undertand it more.
i dont get sick of it.
but umm does someone wanna do my assigment for me?
thanks :]
Although Amelias comments may be percieved as bragging I think that her tone in the poem is not really one of pride and triumph, but more cold and withdrawn and she is simply replying to the other girls questions, as if she is no longer the same happy person she was before she was ruined.
When one is given lined paper must he or she write the other way. When talking about virtue one must understand that Amelia in this poem is merely happy for she has materialistic things which can be too "ruined." Happiness is a bliss and can often be taken away without regard for concerns. For one's body often is never renewed, when clothes are torn we can get new ones somehow and some way,they are ruined temporarily yet mind, body and soul will forever remain the same.
Hardy's Ruined Maid
This short poem is adept at highlighting the fact that the female states of having a 'good reputation' as opposed to that reputation being 'ruined' are not black and white. Different advantages and disadvantages accrue depending on circumstances and time (to illustrate the latter consider how their respective life circumstances may alter when each is an old woman). At its root this poem comments on the vagaries of…
Read the whole commentThis short poem is adept at highlighting the fact that the female states of having a 'good reputation' as opposed to that reputation being 'ruined' are not black and white. Different advantages and disadvantages accrue depending on circumstances and time (to illustrate the latter consider how their respective life circumstances may alter when each is an old woman). At its root this poem comments on the vagaries of fortune in our lives and how assets such as good looks and intelligence play a vital part. As Dickens illustrates so,those who are lovable and kind will tend to make their own good fortune. But here Hardy is content to toy with the apparent contradictions rather than tackle the deeper moral aspects. In his 'Tess' he stops short of these deeper issues too - which always made that work repulsive to me when I read it as a teenager. (contrast this with his handling of Henchard on the Mayor of Casterbridge and one might conclude that Hardy is better at dealing with the male experience than the female).
I am currently writing my dissertation on victorian representations of the fallen woman within victorian literature. I feel that this poem is extremely important in terms of the victorian representations becuase, as many others have commented the fallan woman is not ashamed. It is revolutionary for a victorian writer to be able to write so explicity on the fallen woman without labelling her as sinful. It is fantastic and I love it.