O didn't you know I'd been ruined?
The poem focuses on the Victorian morality that scrutinized women more harshly than their male counterparts. In the line, Amelia retorts to the speaker’s query regarding her elegant attire and newfound affluence. She wittily answers the speaker about being ruined alluding to the condemnation that the Victorian society placed on mistresses. Moreover the text highlights that a woman not born in wealth or married into wealth cannot acquire riches without being ‘ruined’. The casual manner Amelia responds to the speaker showcases a patriarchal society that judged women who emancipated themselves. The male counterpart in this case is not criticized for having a mistress hence not ‘ruined’ even though the woman is.
— “At home in the barton you said thee' and thou,'
And thik oon,' and theäs oon,' and t'other'; but now
Your talking quite fits 'ee for high compa-ny!” —
“Some polish is gained with one's ruin,” said she.
The exchange between the speaker and Amelia tells they were peers of the same social class in the past. From the first stanza, the reader recognizes the broken dialect used by the speaker in comparison with Amelia’s proper English. In the quoted stanza the speaker acknowledges Amelia’s newfound eloquence that she never exhibited in the past. Therefore, the text demonstrates the upward social mobility that has occurred for Amelia through her ruination. With social stratification as an embedded construct in the Victorian era, the gap between the upper-class and rural lower class was substantial.
My dear — a raw country girl, such as you be,
Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined,
The speaker’s inquiries are driven by her jealousy for Amelia’s prosperity and upward social mobility. However, the acquisition of such affluence requires sacrificing one’s dignity and morals according to Victorian society. Female sexual freedom came at a price as societal expectations and gender roles restricted the woman. Amelia suggests that a rural girl has no chance of acquiring riches because of her set ways and Victorian morality. As a woman, she has to accept ruination and endure public scrutiny in order to enjoy the perks.
