The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy and Cousin Kate by Christina Rosetti Es

The Ruined Maid by doubting Thomas Hardy and cousin-german Kate by Christina Rosetti The numberss that I studied are The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy and Cousin Kate by Christina Rosetti. The Ruined Maid was published in 1901, and Cousin Kate in 1879. These verse forms were two indite in straightlaced times, and they both reflect the attitudes towards women at the time. At the beginning of the Victorian period womens powers were extremely limited they could not reign their own money and were very much under the control of men. Among the fewer respectable jobs available to women were teaching and taking in embroidery, but these were seedy paid. The attitude towards women at this time was extremely patronizing. Women had not yet been attached suffrage As they could not vote, they had little power and little choice. In the light of these attitudes the poems will be analysed to show how they reflect the Victorian women of the time. The poem The Ruined Maid is about a woman who used to be a country maiden, who was tired of digging potatoes and spudding up docks, so has become a prostitute. This poem satirizes the Victorian view of prostitutes as doomed and injureed women, and suggests that they may in fact be happy and refined. Melia, The Ruined Maid in the poem, has met an old jock in town and now that she has become ruined she seems to be far better sullen than she was before. Melia left her home in tatters, without shoes or socks and now she has gay bracelets and bright feathers. Since her ruin Melia has also improved her language. At home in the barton you said thee and thou and thik oon and thes oon and tother but now your ... ... in society. This tone is conveyed by the use of haughty language such as, my dear, wearing fair garments, such prosperity, she has gay bracelets and a delicate cheek and is pretty lively now that she is ruined. In Cousin Kate, Kate has exclusively of the material th ings that The Ruined Maid wants, but in The Ruined Maid, Melia has all of the material things that the country maiden wants. The poem that best represents the women of the time is Cousin Kate which, coincidentally, is written by a woman. Although Thomas Hardy is more understanding and courteous towards women in his novels, this poem, The Ruined Maid, displays a totally different attitude towards Victorian women. Of the two poems I prefer Cousin Kate because it is a more typical and existent portrayal of the life of a ruined maid.