The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes

The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy

Overview

The Ruined Maid is a dramatic dialogue poem written by Thomas Hardy in 1866. It presents a conversation between two former farm workers who encounter each other in town. One woman, Amelia, has become the mistress of a wealthy man and now enjoys a life of luxury in the city, whilst her unnamed friend continues to endure the harsh conditions of rural agricultural labour. Through their exchange, Hardy offers a sharp critique of Victorian social attitudes, particularly the hypocritical treatment of women and the rigid class divisions of the period. The poem's central irony lies in its title: the woman who is considered 'ruined' by Victorian moral standards appears to live a far more comfortable and desirable life than her 'respectable' counterpart.

Synopsis

Stanza 1

The two women meet unexpectedly in the city. The rural friend expresses surprise upon discovering that Amelia has been ruined, meaning she has become the mistress of a wealthy gentleman. This revelation immediately establishes the contrast between their current circumstances.

Stanza 2

The country woman observes the dramatic improvement in Amelia's appearance. She notes how well dressed her former companion now is, contrasting sharply with her previous life when she wore rags, owned no shoes and was exhausted from manual labour on the farm. Amelia explains that her new position as a mistress provides her with fine clothes and someone to care for her appearance.

Stanza 3

The rural friend points out that Amelia's accent and manner of speaking have changed considerably. She now sounds as though she belongs to the upper classes of society. Amelia acknowledges this transformation, agreeing that she has adopted more sophisticated speech patterns since becoming a mistress.

Stanza 4

The country woman comments on Amelia's improved complexion and the fact that her hands are no longer rough and damaged from fieldwork. They now resemble the hands of an upper-class lady. Amelia responds by explaining that as a mistress, she no longer needs to engage in physical labour.

Stanza 5

The rural friend recalls how Amelia used to express sadness and dissatisfaction with her lowly position in life. Amelia confirms that she is considerably happier now that she occupies the role of mistress to a wealthy man.

Stanza 6

The country woman admits her desire to be like Amelia, to integrate into upper-class society and to experience the comfort and luxury of city life without shame. Amelia's final response suggests that a rural woman like her friend cannot expect such a privileged existence unless she too becomes a mistress.

Context

The Victorian era

England underwent significant transformation during Queen Victoria's reign. Technological advances led to increased factory production and rapid economic growth across European nations. This industrial expansion created substantial wealth, though it predominantly benefited the middle classes rather than working people.

Victorian society maintained extremely strict attitudes towards sexual relationships. Open discussion of sex was considered taboo, leaving many people born into the Victorian age both factually misinformed and emotionally uncomfortable regarding sexual matters. Moral panic surrounding prostitution reached its peak during the 1850s and 1860s. This anxiety partly stemmed from the fact that prostitution represented visible female freedom from traditional social control, as female prostitutes enjoyed a degree of economic and personal independence.

Scientific developments, such as Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, presented serious challenges to established Church authority and traditional religious beliefs. Meanwhile, the new market economy favoured industrial development whilst discouraging agriculture. Consequently, large numbers of farmers and rural workers lost their livelihoods and relocated to cities seeking employment opportunities.

Literary context

The Victorian period (1837-1901) was characterised by carefully censored, morally rigid and exacting literary standards. Hardy passionately opposed these restrictive constraints in both his poetry and his novels.

Victorian-era poetry frequently returned to themes of isolation and loss of innocence, alongside explorations of romantic love and social injustice. Poetry enjoyed high cultural value and widespread popularity during this period. Romantic poets such as William Wordsworth (who died in 1850) remained particularly revered and frequently recited.

Much Victorian poetry possessed a clear moral purpose, designed to oppose and critique the unfair social and political systems operating in England. Another notable characteristic of Victorian poetry was its highly idealistic nature, tackling fundamental issues of love, truth and justice. This idealistic quality appears in The Ruined Maid as Hardy reflects on women's position in society and their dependence upon men.

Hardy

Thomas Hardy is frequently regarded as a Victorian realist writer, examining the social constraints affecting the lives of ordinary people in Victorian Britain. Born in 1840 in Dorset, Hardy died in 1928, meaning he experienced life during the height of Victorian respectability as well as the terrible destruction and devastation of the First World War. These experiences influenced his work, which critics often read as justifiably angry and pessimistic in tone.

During his lifetime, Hardy was primarily known for his poetry. Only later did his novels gain recognition as significant literary works, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd. Hardy questioned Victorian standards in other works: in The Ruined Maid, Amelia attempts to improve her social standing through a sexual relationship outside marriage; Jude the Obscure similarly explores a couple's serious relationship conducted outside marriage; and Tess of the d'Urbervilles follows the story of a ruined woman.

Dorset

Hardy's rural upbringing in Dorset deeply influenced him. He witnessed and personally experienced the kind of hardship examined in The Ruined Maid. He fictionalised his home county, calling it Wessex, which serves as the setting for many of his novels and poems. Hardy's friend William Barnes shared a similar interest in rural identity and exerted significant influence upon him. Hardy became passionate about denouncing sexual hypocrisy and misogyny, following in the footsteps of other authors such as Mary Wollstonecraft.

Women

The Ruined Maid was published in 1866 when England was flourishing in terms of power and prosperity. However, deep divisions existed between wealthy and poor citizens, as well as between men and women. The poem casts a weary eye upon Victorian women's lives. Femininity was constantly demonised and exploited by men without remorse.

Queen Victoria's rule presented a paradox for women of the time. She was the first queen to hold significant power since Elizabeth I and proved to be a loved and successful ruler. However, societal customs and expectations required her to uphold severe standards of female propriety and feminine behaviour. Her strict mode of feminine decorum was consequently reflected throughout Victorian society.

Any woman known to have engaged in sexual relations outside wedlock or to have given birth faced likely rejection from respectable society. Many women were consequently forced into prostitution. This problem was exacerbated by class divisions and the wealth gap that separated rich from poor.

Hardy's rural character makes clear that countryside life remained harsh whilst wealth generated by the industrial revolution concentrated in cities. It becomes understandable why becoming the mistress of a wealthy urban gentleman might appear desirable to a struggling farm worker, though the ever-present risk exists that he may abandon her.

The title

The title describes the poem's subject matter directly. Initially, we understand the poem concerns someone who is morally questionable according to Victorian standards and who has compromised her virtue. A Victorian reader would be especially conscious of the implications and scandal associated with being a ruined maid.

However, the title becomes ambiguous once the poem has been read. Amelia labels herself as ruined repeatedly throughout the poem, but by its conclusion, readers become aware of how Hardy plays with the definition of ruined. Amelia appears comfortable, clean and well dressed, whereas her rural friend, by implication, represents her opposite. In this regard, the rural woman, although not ruined in Victorian societal terms, is also ruined in a different sense. Most significantly, she is physically ruined and worn out from labour, longing for a different life.

Themes

Doubling

The poem fundamentally concerns doubling and pairing: the two women, their opposing dialects, the contrast between town and country. The country represents the bartons (farms) where women labour in fields, digging potatoes and pulling weeds. The poem makes clear that city dwellers speak in more formal and proper language, whilst rural inhabitants use a less formal dialect.

The town symbolises wealth, culture and education. The context suggests that activities are conducted properly and with good manners within the town, which is emphasised by Amelia's prim and curt tone. The country symbolises dirt, labour and lack of education. Ironically, the town appears less morally pure than the countryside.

In the city, the rural woman has encountered a ruined maid - Amelia, who was once chaste but has been spoilt by urban life. Amelia represents women who have abandoned their former lives and compromised themselves to fit into a society that will never truly accept them. Simultaneously, the country represents a different kind of ruin. The rural woman has been ruined in an alternative way.

Appearance, social conventions and taboos, and truth and deception

Amelia seems to lead a grander life than she did in the countryside, with fair garments, gay bracelets and little gloves, but readers must question the truthfulness of her appearance. As readers, we know Amelia is ruined. She has violated Victorian England's sexual norms and consequently, we know that her newfound riches have come at a price.

Victorian society's social constructs limited her ability to ever gain acceptance in upper-class circles. If her purity has been compromised, her country flair has also been compromised. Her friend constantly compares how Amelia used to be with how she is now: at home in the barton you said thee and thou, your hands were like paws then, but now I'm bewitched by your delicate cheek. Amelia falls into the category of a city woman, as on any la-dy her friend observes, grouping her with members of the upper class in the city. This removes any unique identity she once possessed. This sense of a new, generic (supposedly) upper-class identity is reinforced by her formulaic, curt responses to her friend's enquiries.

Amelia's demeanour can be interpreted as a reversal of typical upper-class ladies' snobbery. This proves ironic as this conversation likely represents one of very few instances where she receives treatment as a lady. In city society, no genuine ladies would accept her as their equal, yet here her rural friend offers admiration. Her contrasting expression towards her rural friend could also suggest a loss of spirit. She appears to possess all she desired - the clothes, leisure and escape from manual labour. Nevertheless, we might conjecture that society shuns her, and consequently her ability to enjoy her newfound pleasures may be severely limited.

Womanhood

Hardy concentrates on items belonging to female clothing: bracelets, feathers, dress, gloves, sweeping gown. Additionally, Hardy employs phrases and terms related to femininity: my dear, delicate cheek, delicate face. Female charms seemingly receive enhancement through wealth. In the countryside, Amelia possessed crude, paw-like hands, whereas after gaining wealth, beautiful clothes and perhaps cosmetics, she has acquired the ability to bewitch others.

Hardy assesses the difficulty and injustices Victorian women experienced. Amelia would rather be ruined than work on the farm unruined, because it provides her with luxuries and a more comfortable existence. Hardy prompts readers to consider their feelings about this choice and whether both women are actually ruined in different ways.

We are led to question the women's positions regarding love and the double standards operating at the time. A woman's love was dismissed as secondary to any man who could treat a woman however he pleased. Readers remain unsure of what the future holds for Amelia. As a mistress, she relies on a wealthy man who will not face punishment should he suddenly decide he no longer requires her services or presence.

The natural world

Hardy examines the hardships endured by country dwellers. This becomes evident through the character of the unnamed woman. The fact that Amelia is named whilst her friend is not alludes to the contrasting status between them. One of the poem's most noticeable aspects is how dichotomy is drawn between the two women - one from the country and one now rooted in town life.

The nameless woman provides readers with glimpses of troubles experienced in the countryside: you left us in tatters, without shoes or socks, alluding to the poverty afflicting country people. This contrasts with Amelia, who represents town life: now you've gay bracelets and bright feather three!

The effect of harsh country life is exacerbated by ways the nameless woman notices changes in her friend. These changes highlight the hardship of workers in the countryside, such as the condition of the woman's hands and skin: your hands were like paws then, now I'm bewitched by your delicate cheek.

The nameless woman, it is implied, possesses all the qualities of a country woman who experiences the hardships of country life and manual labour - qualities that Amelia has left behind. She desires the kind of life that limits these qualities: I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown, and a delicate face. Hardy suggests that the country is harsh and unforgiving, where those in the city appear to live easier lives.

Class, approval and disapproval

Class is defined not only by living in the city or countryside but also by speech patterns. The Victorian period was intensely class driven. Hardy, through voice, speaker and manipulation of sound, explores how class played a central role in individual lives. For example, the use of country dialect exacerbates the differences between the women: at home in the barton you said thee and thou, / And thik oon, and theäs oon, and t'other. The nameless woman points out that Amelia now avoids country dialect, and we presume this is because it would expose her within the town setting as a country woman. Her status as a town woman would be jeopardised if her accent were to reveal her true country origins. Perhaps Amelia fears what people will think of her if she is discovered to be a country lady. She is ashamed of her roots.

Amelia tries very hard to climb the social ladder by dressing and speaking in ways resembling upper-class society. Despite this, readers must question whether her attempts are futile. The nameless woman points out all the things that have changed about her, but these are noticeably aesthetic and external characteristics such as your hands, your face, your talking, your delicate cheek. The final line, you ain't ruined, exposes Amelia's true country roots.

Love

In this poem, romantic liaison is seen as an opportunity for social or economic mobility. Through her implied affair, Amelia gains wealth and polish. Readers do not gain any information about the nature of her relationship, except that it is presumably extramarital. If it were sanctioned by law through marriage, it would also be sanctioned by Victorian society, and therefore she would not be ruined.

A more cynical reader might see Amelia as using an affair to gain wealth or disposable income and may wonder whether she intentionally became ruined. A more sympathetic interpretation suggests she sought to escape poverty and hardship through this relationship, even at the cost of her reputation.

Structure

Form

The poem is composed of six quatrains consisting of two rhyming couplets, following a singsong AABB rhyme scheme. Therefore, the first two lines of each stanza rhyme and so do the last two lines. The last two lines of each stanza all rhyme with each other. The poem is a dialogue, so it makes sense that it is constructed from couplets. In this way, the couplets frequently respond to each other, creating a conversational exchange.

Metre

The metre is not perfect but mostly follows an anapestic trimeter pattern. An anapestic trimeter consists of three anapests or beats, each comprising two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable (da da dum). For example, Who could have supposed I should meet you in town? The start is unstressed followed by stressed. This is not an anapest; it is an iamb (the most common beat in English poetry).

This variation has the effect of drawing readers' attention before they revert to the comfortable metrical lull of the anapestic trimeter. Here, the metre also has the effect of drawing out the rural friend's unusual stresses. Prosperi-ty, compa-ny, la-dy - the rustic pattern of her speech is emphasised by the hyphens.

The anapestic trimeter is quick paced and suits the conversational tone as well as the poem's irony. Similarly, the voice of Amelia is emphasised by the metre. My dear, a raw country girl, such as you be, / Cannot quite expect that. The anapests give readers a strong sense of the formal accent adopted by Amelia as it stresses quite and that with haughtiness.

The metre exacerbates the differences between Amelia and the rural woman. Amelia's speeches are curt and tailored with said she, implying she has even less than a line to say. In contrast, the friend is more loquacious and open, and her speech occupies full lines.

Rhyme scheme

The AABB pattern with the BB rhyme remaining steady throughout creates consistency. The last two lines always rhyme with a long e sound, and every stanza concludes with said she. This lends the poem a lively beat, evoking the rural friend's babbling tone. It also underlines the poem's irony as it allows for the repetition of ruined said she. This draws attention to the fact that Amelia's new wealth is the direct result of her ruin.

Language

Voices

The poem is a dialogue between two women who used to work on a farm. Since the poem is a dialogue with two speakers, there is a clear sense of dichotomy and contrasts between the town and country they represent.

The majority of the poem is spoken by the nameless, rural woman. She still lives in the countryside and is visiting the city. It is clear that she doesn't belong in the city because of her country accent, emphasised by her pronunciation of certain words such as prosperi-ty, compan-ny, la-dy, melancho-ly.

Amelia, in contrast, speaks in a much more formal and restricted manner. She resigns herself to little speech, as opposed to the rural women who babbles on. Her responses uphold Victorian standards for a lady; they are curt and formulaic, ending with been ruined, we're ruined, one's ruin, when ruined and ain't ruined.

The final ain't ruined, however, is unladylike and unexpected. Hardy seems to point out that no matter how much effort is invested in outward appearance, Amelia cannot escape her country roots. Hardy makes readers question whether this is a blessing in disguise for Amelia, who faces the potential of being rejected by upper-class society and forced into prostitution. Possibly, he suggests Amelia's inability to rid herself of her rural roots will save her later on. Surely a life back on the farm would prove less ruining than a life of prostitution.

Hardy's presentation of two different sounding voices presents Victorian England with its large class separation - a distance physically and socially between the country and the city. He makes the point that the differences are extreme, so much so that even dialect insinuates class, status and acceptance.

Colloquialisms

Hardy uses colloquialisms to draw out the differences between the two women:

• spudding up docks = pulling up weeds
• barton = a farm
• And thik oon, and theäs oon, and t'other = this one/these ones/the other
• you'd sock = you'd grumble

Amelia used to talk like her rural friend who tries to remind her of her rural roots. These colloquial terms give the unnamed woman a sense of organicness, greater personality and authenticity in contrast to the formulaic language used by Amelia.

Polysyndeton

And thik oon, and theäs oon, and t'other; but now creates a listing effect and makes the things Amelia has forgotten about herself and her roots in the country seem endless. Her loss of vernacular is merely a symbol of everything else she now lacks because of her disregard for where she really comes from, such as a lack of character as seen in the plain responses and contrast to rural woman's chatter.

Caesura

And whence such fair garments, such prosperi-ty? — / O didn't you know I'd been ruined? said she.

There are many examples of caesura in the poem. Caesura maintains the conversational aspect of the work. Where lines are broken by caesura, greater emphasis is placed on the ideas explored. The question ruined? Said she first brings attention to the idea of ruination. The question mark inflicts a change in tone upon the word, which further heightens its importance.

In the line above, the comma causes a pause which puts more emphasis on the surprise of the speaker. Where and how has Amelia come across such prosperi-ty?

Enjambment

And thik oon, and theäs oon, and t'other; but now / Your talking quite fits 'ee for high compa-ny! —

Enjambment here elongates the emphasis on now, which emphasises the great differences between the city Amelia and the country Amelia.

Assonance

— You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks, / Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks;

Hardy plays extensively with sound in this particular stanza. There are two groups of consonants in the first line: s and z sounds in us and socks, and then tatters and shoes. There are numerous consonants like the t, d, p sounds. The assonance is most prevalent in spudding up, whose heavy sound emphasises the difficulties of country life.

Alliteration

Alliteration gives a sense of the bubbliness and chattery nature of Amelia's friend. Readers are drawn to her and sympathise with her lowly position. Paired with the consistent metre, the alliteration keeps the poem fast paced as the rural woman engages enthusiastically in conversation.

— 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! —

This is contrasted with her final lines which make use of the alliterative Cannot quite. The c sound is harsh and seems to hold anger towards the suggestion that the rural woman may become as fortunate as Amelia.

Refrain and repetition

The repetition of ruined said she at the end of each stanza creates a refrain which readers constantly return to. The idea of ruin is inescapable. The irony is that Amelia seems unashamed of her social status. Instead, being ruined is presented as a means of climbing the social ladder, of being able to live a more luxurious life than in the country.

The repetition makes ruined seem desirable rather than isolating. This is reaffirmed by Amelia in the last stanza where she dismisses her friend, saying she will never be able to achieve the same social status. It is clear Amelia has forgotten her past and lost touch with her origins.

Sibilance

And you'd sigh, and you'd sock; but at present you seem

Sibilance in this instance in the poem notes a change in the rural woman's tone. She seems less impressed than she initially was with Amelia's advancements within society. The subtle sound changes indicate a dislike for the woman she has become, despite the woman's jealousy of Amelia's apparent luxurious life.

Metaphor

— You used to call home-life a hag-ridden dream

The metaphor of life in the country as a hag-ridden dream illustrates the nightmarish nature and harshness of rural labour. Hag-ridden also refers to sleep paralysis, which indicates an inability to escape, to get away from the country. This idea is returned to at the end of the poem with Amelia's slip of the tongue: ain't, which suggests her past is inescapable.

Simile

— Your hands were like paws then

The simile brings to attention what Amelia used to suffer and increases the juxtaposition with her now daintily gloved hands. Like paws suggests the work was brutal and had physical effects on the women's bodies.

Juxtaposition

The poem makes constant use of juxtaposition, opposing the two voices, the statuses of the two women, the town and the country, as well as, more subtly, the difference in society's treatment of men and women.

Irony

The greatest irony is Amelia's refusal to remember her past and her compliance with being a ruined maid. It is deeply ironic that society disdained ruined maids and yet ruination is presented as more desirable than being a chaste, female rural labourer.

Critical views

Stanley Renner in William Acton, the Truth about Prostitution, and Hardy's Not-So-Ruined-Maid

Hardy exploits the great well of moral and sexual feeling bound up with the idealisation of female purity and the shock he could evoke by merely mentioning the word ruin. Renner considers the irony of the poem, how it uses its title The Ruined Maid to counter the obviously not-ruined character of Amelia. She is far removed from the damaged woman we expect from the title.

Her ruination affords her the luxuries and advantages of town life to the jealousy of her friend. Hardy contrasts the idea of ruin with Amelia's character. The irony lies in the fact that her being ruined is her salvation, and a comparison is drawn between what it means to be a ruined girl and a girl in ruin. The distinction between these is made in the characters of the two friends.

Renner states that the poem dramatises virtually point by point Acton's exposure of a society that relished the poetic justice of its view of prostitution - that women rotted in disease and wretchedness for their sexual sins - instead of facing up to the social evils that urged women into prostitution.

Renner makes a point that Hardy shows through his use of the ruined maid and her country friend the temptation there was for women to give up their bodies for male satisfaction, and how this sacrifice may afford them a better lifestyle than what they previously had.

Renner draws upon Hardy's consideration of Amelia's sexual ruination and what this might mean for her and how she goes on to live. Committing sexual acts before marriage in the Victorian period was considered morally wrong and scandalous, but Hardy challenges this view, suggesting that for some women, this was an escape from a worse form of ruin.

A feminist perspective

The feminist perspective would consider the way gender inequality is explored within the poem. For example, the two girls are both in a state of ruin: Amelia because she has resorted to becoming a mistress in order to improve her standards of living, and the unnamed woman because her life in the country is difficult and physically destructive.

The life of the Victorian woman is difficult and demanding, and she is less valued than her male equivalent. Hardy shows her objectification in the way Amelia changes her appearance in order to be accepted by a male suitor and taken as a mistress.

Hardy further explores how the female aesthetic labour has become central to the Victorian idea of womanhood and what makes a person a lady. The women are oppressed in their gender roles and unable to escape and be self-sufficient. The nameless woman wishes she could give up her life in the country like Amelia, but she knows that she will have to ruin herself sexually in order to be able to live a more luxurious lifestyle. This brings into question feminine morals and what a woman is willing to do in order to climb the social ladder to live a better life.

We cannot blame Amelia for her ruination and for wanting to be part of a society which allows for an easier way of life. It is the patriarchal society within which the women live that forces them into the roles they are unhappy with.

Comparisons

At an Inn and The Ruined Maid

Gender and sexuality

It is important to think about how Hardy presents gender and sexuality in his poems and where the narrator's sympathies lie. Although The Ruined Maid challenges some ideas about the way women are defined by Victorian culture, the fact he writes from a male perspective means that many of society's ideas are endorsed even when they seem to be challenged. This is seen in the stereotypical representation of the women in The Ruined Maid, the way they uphold ideals of femininity, and Amelia is presented as the woman with the more desirable life - a life more accented by the ideals of femininity and proper society.

In At an Inn, Hardy's speaker is unable to mask his desires to progress the relationship with his companion despite his awareness of moral and societal restrictions, implied in after hours. A woman and a man should not have been together in a pub if they were not together.

Women in Hardy are predominantly weak, and men are much stronger. In The Ruined Maid, we are presented with a strong rural woman who appears to work just as hard as the men in the country. However, she is susceptible to the ideals of femininity, fashion and life in high society. Amelia's haughtiness and care for adornment perhaps make her seem fickle and preoccupied with matters of appearance and social status; these are stereotypical female traits.

Similarly, in At an Inn, the speaker's companion is yoked to the expectations of society and acts accordingly. Like the unnamed rural woman, the companion has no name and additionally, no voice. At an Inn is dominated by masculine thought and desire.

Love and loss

At an Inn presents the tragedy of the irretrievable loss of opportunity. When the couple have access to each other, they appear to be in love, but when the situation changes and they are separated by land and sea, they find themselves actually in love. The conflict for the narrator is the exasperation of considering what could have been and what he has lost because opportunity has come and passed him by. He is left, in the final stanza, grappling with a love he cannot hold onto.

In The Ruined Maid, Amelia takes the opportunity to climb the social ladder, but her persistence to elevate her status means that she has forgotten where she has come from. She has lost insight and the clarity of mind that her rural upbringing afforded her. This is made most obvious when she chastises her old friend for her aspirations to enter high society. Amelia has also lost her virginity and innocence (so prized in the Victorian era), and not for love but for social acceptance.

Social conventions and taboos

Women are often victims of love and society. For example, in At an Inn, the restrictions of society prevent the pair from progressing their relationship further. If we are to interpret the poem from an autobiographical standpoint, both Hardy and Florence were married, which prohibits any formation of affections. An unmarried woman and an unmarried man seen together in public raised eyebrows and was borderline socially unacceptable. The speaker in the poem seems frustrated by the limit he must abide by, as he wants more than friendship from his companion.

The Ruined Maid criticises social conventions more overtly through the deeply ironic discussion between the two women. Social convention means that Amelia is ruined; despite her apparent success in climbing the social ladder, she risks being rejected by respectable society as a woman who has engaged in sexual activity outside marriage. The unnamed woman is ruined physically by her position as a labourer in the country.

Tragic mistakes

Tragic errors are central to tragedies and usually made by protagonists. In At an Inn, the speaker seems to imply that he has made the mistake of letting opportunity pass. What once appeared true but was not, is in fact a reality, but he did not act swiftly enough for the conclusions he so badly desires now.

The tragic mistake in The Ruined Maid is obviously that Amelia has sacrificed her purity and her innocence for social acceptance into the upper class, when the reality is that she will never be accepted, certainly not now that she has acted in such a scandalous way. The tragedy lies in her ignorance of the situation and also in the womens' impression that life as a mistress is a most desirable life, more desirable than modest and honest farm work.

Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae and The Ruined Maid

Romantic love of many kinds

Both poems consider a form of love that is less romantic. In the case of Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae, the speaker desires physical satisfaction found in the act of love making. On the other hand, The Ruined Maid uses a relationship as a form of social gain. Both poems explore the idea of prostitution. Where Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae, in its decadent mode, describes the speaker's sexual interaction with a bought red mouth, The Ruined Maid forgoes any explicit sexual language, but Hardy, in his repeated use of ruin, strongly implies Amelia's sexual endeavours have enabled her new luxurious lifestyle.

These poems consider a less emotionally charged form of love, ignoring the romantic ideals of love presented in many other poems in the collection, to lay bare the way in which relationships and love can be manipulated for means other than emotional satisfaction.

Love and loss

In Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae, the speaker's loss is evident as he is unable to rid Cynara from his mind and finds that despite engagement with other women, gorging himself on food and wine and enjoying a lavish lifestyle, he is still unsatisfied and unhappy. Loss is grotesque; it forces the speaker to go to extremes in order to attempt to overcome his loss and pain.

The loss in The Ruined Maid is in great contrast to this form of loss. The poem explores how Amelia has left her previous, more morally sound (according to Victorian standards) life behind in order to live a more lavish lifestyle. We see that in this process she has left behind a whole community of people and her friend, who remains unnamed. This is evident in the way the two interact and the friends point out the ways in which Amelia has changed, ostracising herself.

We question whether her aspirations for material things and a comfortable life are worth the loss in friendship and potential for other forms of love within the country community, as it stays in the back of the reader's mind that her position as a mistress is unstable and on the terms of the wealthy man she works to satisfy.

Social conventions and taboos

Social conventions are challenged in both Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae and The Ruined Maid as they engage with topics that were not openly discussed by Victorian or late-Victorian society. Prostitution was taboo in the Victorian period because of its perceived scandalous and immoral nature.

Approval and disapproval

The question of approval, in both cases, is up to the reader. They must ask themselves whether they think Amelia's actions are justified. In the same way, they must also ask whether the speaker in Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae is right in his justification of faithfulness when he engages in sexual affairs with another woman when he is so emotionally tied to Cynara.

The general contextual consensus was that such activities (of both Amelia and the speaker in Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae) were wrong. As contemporary readers, we may bring a modern and potentially more forgiving perspective. Possibly, this is simpler in the case of Amelia, where we, in the 21st century, are more accommodating to the female case and may understand a woman's desire to escape hard labour even if that involves engaging in an emotionally unsavoury relationship. We may, however, condemn the behaviour of the speaker in Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae and disapprove of his professions of faithfulness.

Remember!