Beginning of Essay
We always look up to people who seem to have “perfect life.” In my opinion, Thomas Hardy, with “The Ruined Maid,” tries to emphasize that we should not judge one’s feelings by his or her appearance and behavior. Far more, sometimes one’s behavior ca ....

Middle of Essay
.... tatters” and so she looks up with jealousy to her friend who has managed to change and to become a part of a higher society “high compa-ny” (11). Far more, there is a reference to not-knowing melancholy, and yet she defends that with “one’s pretty lively when ruined” (20), which contradicts with the melancholy tone of the poem, to some extent. The recall of the conversation between the two girls comes to a climax when the narrator describes her fantasies as being like the other girl, she says, “I wish I had feathers…delicate face and could strut about Town” (21,22). Very quickly her excitement is suppressed by “My dear – a ra ....