The Ruined Maid

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination and sexual content.

Stanza 1 sets up the situation and the dialogue that will continue in a similar pattern in all the stanzas. ’Melia’s old friend speaks in the first three lines and ’Melia makes her rejoinder in the last line (except in the last stanza, where ’Melia has two lines rather than one). ’Melia’s line acts as a refrain, since it always repeats the word “ruined.” The name ’Melia is likely an abbreviation of Amelia, reflecting the informal, lower-class diction of the first speaker. 

The first two lines of Stanza 1 convey the surprise the women feel after encountering by chance her old friend or acquaintance in the big city. Line 3 supplies the vital information that the reader must know: ’Melia is dressed in fine clothes and looks as if she must be well-off. Her friend's words make it clear ’Melia has been transformed in some way, as this was not her usual appearance. ’Melia's reply is enigmatic: She uses the term “ruined” (Line 4) to describe herself, but she clearly does not see this as a personal catastrophe or even a disappointment.