the ruined maid - thomas hardy

themes? (3 points)

• wealth

• class separation

• prostitution

importance of ‘o melia’ opening?

names the maid and humanises her

significance and meaning of capitalised ‘Town’?

• represents a place where prostitutes sell themselves

• metaphor for danger

‘prosperi-ty’ significance?

phonetic spelling shows the class divide

‘‘o didn’t you know i’d been ruined?’ said she’’

melia’s reply - sarcastic and short, shows she is othered in society and doesn’t justify herself

themes and ideas in the second stanza (‘you left us in tatters…’)? (3 points)

• shows how hard melia’s life was pre-ruining - justifies her

• shows prostitution is an attempt to survive

• idea that girls won’t have to sell themselves if poverty is solved

repetition of the word ‘ruined’? (2 points)

• shows she is unashamed of her sex work

• or projects defiance to cover shame

‘at home…you said ‘thee and thou’…/ but now / your talking quite fits ‘ee for high-company!’ meaning?

emphasizes changes - meilia now talks in the dialects of her upper-class clients

‘‘some polish is gained with one’s ruin,’ said she.’’

‘polish’ juxtaposes ‘ruin’ - shows she covers the truth and is ashamed of her lower class friend

‘your hands were like paws’ meaning?

simile - shows animalistic survival instinct when she was poor

‘bewitched’ significance?

melia has become evil and does unspeakable things that the country woman judges

‘little gloves’ significance?

metaphor for how melia hides her past and tries to integrate into high society

repetition of exaggerated pronunciations (eg ‘prosperi-ty’, ‘compa-ny)?

refrain, links to the facades in the poem

‘strut about Town’ significance?

mocking melia - suggests false confidence