The Ruined Maid - Thomas Hardy
A Wry Look at Morality, Class, and ‘Ruined’ Respectability
The Ruined Maid
by Thomas Hardy
"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 melancholy!"
"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.
Thomas Hardy’s “The Ruined Maid” is a satirical dialogue between two young women who encounter each other in town after one has left her rural life behind. The poem is written as a series of witty quatrains in rhyming couplets, each stanza concluding with the refrain that the speaker has been ‘ruined.’
The irony at the heart of the poem is that, to the country girl’s eyes, her old acquaintance—‘Melia—now appears affluent, polished, and joyful, even though she is technically ‘ruined’ in the sense of having lost her chastity and reputation. Hardy contrasts the rural poverty the pair once shared against the apparent material prosperity of someone labeled ‘fallen’ by strict Victorian standards.
While ‘Melia’s new life brings her fine clothes, fashionable speech, and escape from field drudgery, the implication is that she has gained these trappings through a moral compromise. Hardy uses a light, playful tone that belies the serious social commentary underneath: being ‘ruined’ paradoxically elevates ‘Melia’s economic and social standing—at least in terms of dress and demeanor—while relegating her outside the bounds of respectability. The poem thereby critiques the period’s double standards, calling into question the notion that moral worth follows conventional propriety.
The banter between the women spotlights Hardy’s gift for sharp dialogue: each line of admiration from the country girl meets ‘Melia’s matter-of-fact reminder that this is what ‘ruin’ looks like. By the final stanza, the tension between the desire for material betterment and the stigma attached to ‘ruin’ is exposed. The poem ends with a wry punch line, underscoring that while ‘Melia’s transformation offers superficial gains, it comes at a social cost. In just six stanzas, Hardy poignantly highlights the complexities of class, gender, and moral judgment in Victorian society.
Key points
• Hardy uses humor and dialogue to contrast rural poverty with perceived urban ‘success.’
• The repeated refrain of ‘ruin’ underscores Victorian double standards around female chastity.
• The poem exposes how class mobility can come at the cost of societal condemnation.
• Hardy’s satirical tone balances light verse form with pointed social critique.
