In “The Ruined Maid,” Thomas Hardy uses dramatic dialogue between two women who once worked together at a farm. The speaker of the story and Amelia were once old friends who use to work together at a farm. As the speaker ran into Amelia in town, she noticed that Amelia was not the same person as she once was on the farm and she was suspicious of her style, the way she presents herself, and prosperity. Amelia made it known from the start that she is not who she once with the continuation of every stanza, that her present self is different from her past self because she is “ruined” which in other words is a prostitute. During the whole poem, Hardy uses dialogue, caesuras, and irony to support his reason of this poem. Hardy’s memo of this poem is to not judge a person because of what their sacrifice had to be to bring them happiness.
In Hardy’s poem is a dramatic dialogue composed of six quatrains. Throughout mostly the stanzas, Hardy uses speech and imagery in the beginning of the first part of the stanza to comparison of the second part: “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 (5-8). The farm worker reminds Amelia of how things used to be back then for her and continue to remark on how things have gotten much better for her now. In addition, an even more noticeable pattern is in the last line of every stanza, Amelia notifies her friend that she has become this way because she is “ruined.” Though her friend is flattering over her, Amelia continually reminds her that it may seem she is doing well, but she is now identified as a prostitute, and even though she may seem like she is better off than her friend she really isn’t because her friend didn’t have premarital sex as Amelia did. As previously mentioned, to not judge one by their style and how they may seem like they are in good circumstances because even though Amelia may show she is doing well, she keeps indicating to her friend that she is ruined and not someone to fawn over.
Hardy uses a rhyme scheme that makes the poem sound like a nursery rhyme. He starts his first stanza with: “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. He rhymes the beginning of the first two lines together and last two lines together. He also reiterates the ‘ee’ sounds by placing dashes in between syllables. With that being said it gives the poem a cheery, melodious tone.
Hardy applies caesuras through the whole poem for significance. Each and every time before Amelia responds, he uses dash to make sure the reader pauses. For instance, “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. The pause presents more of a dramatic tone to the poem, making the reader foresee Amelia’s reply to the farm girl. According to Stanley Renner he believes that the real point of “The Ruined Maid” is that the conditions of prostitutions are better for working-class women than conditions of virtue.
Hardy also applies irony when we comprehend the main character is a prostitute, the speaker pursues to identify her as a success and holds her with such high standards in a way that depicts her jealously. She is either incredibly sincere about how Amelia has developed into the way she is now, or she is so astonished and suspicious to acknowledge the change in her that she is not listening. At any moment the farm girl says something, Amelia makes sure to mention that she is now ‘ruined’ to try and get a point across to her friend that it may not seem as what she portrays. Amelia tries to inform her friend that even though it may seem like she is better off, but how she became to her new self is not something she should be proud of. Rosemarie Morgan believes that the poem is obviously that she is not ruined but ‘Melia appears as the epitome of female success.
Hardy’s exploit of poetry devices and rhyme scenes serve his purpose well. The speaker which is the farm girl notices how much her friend has renewed herself as person since she left the farm. In spite of the fact that Amelia’s how she speaks, how she presents herself and her brand-newfound of prosperity has upgraded vastly this does not define her happiness though. Amelia realizes that money is not everything and it cannot acquisition contentment. The price she had to compensate prevails material wealth. Hardy’s poem can be taken as a lesson everyone could aid from learning to understand that nobody should judge somebody by what they show on the outside because one does not know how much the person had to go through to get where they are.
