Essay Questions

What is the effect of the repetition of the word “ruined” in the final line of each stanza?

With each successive self-description of herself as ruined, ‘Melia’s tone grows increasingly ironic and the already present sarcastic edge is sharpened. The traditional convention in a face-off such as this is one that would put the sarcastic depth of the ironic stance into the person asking the question. If ‘Melia is to be taken at her word, it would seem pretty certain than the person asking the question is well aware of her “ruined” state and the conventional construction of this discourse would be one which endows the high hand to the person who is not ruined. By transferring this attitude to the fallen women, the poet is subverting the historical conventions of society.

What is the effect of the poem’s meter and rhyme structure?

The effect of reading the power—especially if recited—is one which reveals a rhythm often found in children’s verse. This effect goes beyond merely attaining a sing-songy effect, but penetrates deeper to manifest an ironically inappropriately cheerful tone. The topics of discussion in the conversation between ‘Melia and her friend paint a portrait of exploitation and a sense of dehumanization so grossly overbearing that ‘Melia has little choice but to become “ruined” simply to escape a life promising little but misery. While in another context a description of a person having “hands like paws” and a “face blue and bleak” might be entirely applicable to the rhyme and rhythm manifested in this poem, in this case it is the ironic juxtaposition between content and structure that makes the point. The point being that the friend who provides insight into ‘Melia’s backstory is representative of how society at the time was primed and conditioned to view such exploitation of the underclass with a casual attitude which looked upon the misery of others with a childish misunderstanding.

What does the construction of the poem in dialogue form with ‘Melia allowed for the most part just one single line suggest about the attitudes of the “proper” towards the “ruined” members of society?

Framing the narrative in this way allows the exploration of this question in a way that is quite complex. What the encounter is suggesting at its most elemental level, however, is that those who consider themselves “proper” or at least a station above the “ruined” are naturally endowed with a perverse fascination of those whom society has ostracized or castigated one way or another. Even the fact that the poem is still being anthologized and studied rather than joining the list of Hardy poems which cannot make that claim is a demonstration of this aspect of human nature. In the modern vernacular, the friend would represent a member of the television audience tuning in to watch ‘Melia appear on the Jerry Springer Show. Those who have views themselves as morally superior just seem to naturally possess a curiosity about those whose have gone down some morally questionable paths. The tone that the friend takes in describing the harsh past of ‘Melia—some might suggest it approaches being gleeful—strongly hints at undertones in attitudes toward the ruined that make the emotions at play in this encounter far more complex than they may at first appear.