Symbolism In The Ruined Maid

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Running Away from The Past During the Victorian Era in England, many women left the country to find a life in the city. The majority of them became prostitutes to make it in the city, and they became notorious for being ruined. “The Ruined Maid” tells of a woman named ‘Melia that left the country and became a prostitute, and she has returned to her hometown for a short time. ‘Melia and a country girl she grew up with run into each other and start a conversation. The country girl talks about how ‘Melia use to be and how much she has changed, but ‘Melia explains to her that she is ruined now. In “The Ruined Maid,” Hardy uses ironic word choice, symbolism, and verb tense to show that people can change their appearance but can never change their roots. Hardy uses ironic word choice to show the class difference between the country girl and ‘Melia. The country girl uses a rural dialect which was seen as …show more content…
The author uses past tense verbs to show how ‘Melia was in her old life while she lived in the country. For example, Hardy writes, “‘You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks, / Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks” (5-6). ‘Melia use to be just like the country girl by the clothes she use to wear, and she use to work on the land just like the country girl does now. Hardy also uses present verb tense to show the way ‘Melia lives now in the city by using the verbs, “Dress,” “Talking,” and “Fit” (8, 11-12). The present verbs are able to show that ‘Melia went through a period of change from the time she left the country for the city to the present day. Consequently, her past is still remembered by the people she grew up with even though she tries to hide it by all the changes she went through. She is not able to completely do away with her former life no matter how long the period of time between the past and present
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