"The Ruined Maid" is Thomas Hardy's bitterly funny critique of Victorian sexual hypocrisy, written in 1866. The poem's speakers are a pair of former neighbors who find themselves in very different circumstances: there's Amelia, who has been "ruined" by becoming a rich man's mistress and now lives a life of luxury in the city, and her unnamed friend, who still toils in the poverty of their rural hometown. Being "ruined," the poem suggests, is (ironically) a big improvement on a life of impoverished misery. But Victorian double-standards about women's sexuality means that Amelia's freedom comes at a cost: she may be wealthier and classier now, but she's forever excluded from respectable society, and reliant for her position on a man whom society lets off scot-free for his part in this ruination.
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The Full Text of “The Ruined Maid”
1"O 'Melia, my dear, this does everything crown!
2Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?
3And whence such fair garments, such prosperi-ty?" —
4"O didn't you know I'd been ruined?" said she.
5— "You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks,
6Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks;
7And now you've gay bracelets and bright feathers three!" —
8"Yes: that's how we dress when we're ruined," said she.
9— "At home in the barton you said thee' and thou,'
10And thik oon,' and theäs oon,' and t'other'; but now
11Your talking quite fits 'ee for high compa-ny!" —
12"Some polish is gained with one's ruin," said she.
13— "Your hands were like paws then, your face blue and bleak
14But now I'm bewitched by your delicate cheek,
15And your little gloves fit as on any la-dy!" —
16"We never do work when we're ruined," said she.
17— "You used to call home-life a hag-ridden dream,
18And you'd sigh, and you'd sock; but at present you seem
19To know not of megrims or melancho-ly!" —
20"True. One's pretty lively when ruined," said she.
21— "I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown,
22And a delicate face, and could strut about Town!" —
23"My dear — a raw country girl, such as you be,
24Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she.
The Full Text of “The Ruined Maid”
1"O 'Melia, my dear, this does everything crown!
2Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?
3And whence such fair garments, such prosperi-ty?" —
4"O didn't you know I'd been ruined?" said she.
5— "You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks,
6Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks;
7And now you've gay bracelets and bright feathers three!" —
8"Yes: that's how we dress when we're ruined," said she.
9— "At home in the barton you said thee' and thou,'
10And thik oon,' and theäs oon,' and t'other'; but now
11Your talking quite fits 'ee for high compa-ny!" —
12"Some polish is gained with one's ruin," said she.
13— "Your hands were like paws then, your face blue and bleak
14But now I'm bewitched by your delicate cheek,
15And your little gloves fit as on any la-dy!" —
16"We never do work when we're ruined," said she.
17— "You used to call home-life a hag-ridden dream,
18And you'd sigh, and you'd sock; but at present you seem
19To know not of megrims or melancho-ly!" —
20"True. One's pretty lively when ruined," said she.
21— "I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown,
22And a delicate face, and could strut about Town!" —
23"My dear — a raw country girl, such as you be,
24Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she.
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“The Ruined Maid” Summary
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“The Ruined Maid” Themes
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Victorian Sexual Hypocrisy
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Ruined Maid”
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Lines 1-4
"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. -
Lines 5-8
— "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. -
Lines 9-12
— "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. -
Lines 13-16
— "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. -
Lines 17-20
— "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. -
Lines 21-24
— "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.
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“The Ruined Maid” Symbols
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Clothing
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Country and Town
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“The Ruined Maid” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Polysyndeton
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Caesura
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Colloquialism
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Refrain
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Irony
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Juxtaposition
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Sibilance
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Metaphor
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“The Ruined Maid” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- "this does everything crown!"
- Whence
- Fair garments
- Prosperity
- Ruined
- Tatters
- Spudding up docks
- Gay
- Barton
- "thee' and thou,' / And thik oon,' and theäs oon,' and t'other'"
- Polish
- Blue and bleak
- Hag-ridden dream
- Sock
- Megrims
- Melancho-ly
- Raw
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Ruined Maid”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Ruined Maid” Speaker
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“The Ruined Maid” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Ruined Maid”
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More “The Ruined Maid” Resources
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External Resources
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More on Hardy's Life and Work — A short biography of Hardy and links to more of his poetry.
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Hardy's Anti-Sexist Writing — A piece in The Atlantic about Hardy's literary pushback against Victorian sexism.
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The Hardy Society — The official website of the Hardy Society, dedicating to promoting "understanding and appreciation of the life and works of the novelist and poet Thomas Hardy."
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A Dramatization of the Poem — Watch a video of the poem being performed as a little play.
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Portrayals of Sexism in Hardy's Writing — A piece about the different faces of Victorian sexism in Hardy's Tess of the D'urbervilles—a famous novel with themes similar to those of "The Ruined Maid."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Thomas Hardy
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