The ruined Maid and Cousin Kate Essay Example

The ruined Maid and Cousin Kate Essay How do the poets convey their thoughts and feelings about the plight of women in the nineteenth century? Both poems are based on women who have lost their virtue however the authors have portrayed different Images of what happened to women In the 19th century. In The Ruined Maid Thomas Hardy shows a positive side of how women can get on with life quite well even after losing dignity on the other hand Christina Rosettes author of Cousin Kate shows a totally different outcome that can happen. In the poem The Ruined Maid it is a dialogue of questions and answers teens two characters one which is a country maid and the other character was also a country maid called Amelia but she is ruined (she has lost her dignity) and now works as a prostitute. The dialogue is based about how Amelia used to live in poverty and how she has gained wealth now here is the evidence to prove this You left us in tatters without shoes or socks, and now youve gay bracelets and bright feathers three! This implies that when she was a maid she couldnt afford basic attire whereas now she is rich and can afford to buy anything she wants to. Hardy has made the read to this poem quite like a sing-song whereas the topic of the poem Is actually quite serious. My dear-a raw country girl, such as you be, Cannot quite expect that. You Alan ruined. Said she this evidence Implies that despite being ruined Meal actually seems quite happy even after what has happened to her and Is yet boasting to the other count ry maid making the country maid jealous of her. We will write a custom essay sample on The ruined Maid and Cousin Kate specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The ruined Maid and Cousin Kate specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The ruined Maid and Cousin Kate specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Another technique I have noticed is the repetition of a comment to do with being ruined on the last line of each stanza. Hardys thoughts and feelings throughout the poem seem to be pretty positive as his poem is based on a maid who has lost her virtue dignity and respect and despite all of this she is actually quite happy as she boasts throughout the poem. In contrast the other poem Cousin Kate is in the 1st person of a cottage maid telling her story and it is quite like a ballad really. The persona of this poem Is a cottage maiden who has lost her dignity but with her own choice and with some persuasion from a rich young lord who flatters her, to prove his here Is a quotation below Why did a great lord find me out and praise my flaxen hair this shows that the lord praised her hair which led to more Intense situations and which then the cottage maiden gives in to the rich lord and causes for her the state she is in now. But the rich lord deceives her by then marrying her cousin Kate Nor bought me with his land; this implies that the cousin Kate only marries the rich lord because of his wealth there is also a second evidence supporting this o cousin Kate, my love was true, your love was writ in sand this shows that she compares her cousins love writ in sand which will easily get washed off showing that her love is not true. Rosettes view on women is quite negative as she conveys using her techniques throughout the poem as It shows the other side of what can happen to a women once shes lost her dignity but toward the end It gets quite positive as the cottage maiden says Yet Vive a gift you have not got, and seem not Like to get: this shows that she Is Indicating at her son which Is the Illegitimate child of the rich lord and at the end of the evidence she Implies that her cousin Kate may not be getting. Both poems explore the plight of women after losing their dignity in the 1 9th century. The in both poems there is one character who news the other like in The Ruined Maid it is the country girl who envies Amelia and in the poem Cousin Kate the cottage maiden envies her cousin Kate. Another similarity is that in both poems the women were deceived. The last similarity I have identified is that both of the women turn out to be happy even in the poem Cousin Kate the cottage maiden is actually happy as she has a fair-haired son. The differences in the poems are that they both have different morals such as the moral in The Ruined Maid is that despite anything you can stay happy and that there is always a bright side to be discovered as does Amelia in her life however the poem Cousin Kate it shows how the cottage maiden Just imagines how she could be in place for her cousin and how everything could get better as she shares her moral that you should never give in to something which isnt a good deed. Another difference is that in one poem the ruined person is sad (cousin Kate) and he other she is happy (the Ruined Maid). Overall throughout the nineteenth century the plight of women was very poor as even though they had sex before or outside marriage then so did the men but the men were allowed to marry again and that was it they could gain all there respect back but for a women she could never replace her respect in any shape or form. During the nineteenth century women and men did not get equal rights and adding to all it women could not even inherit their ancestors property if they were not married and if they were married the property loud belong to the husband when it should belong to the woman. In addition once women were ruined they had nowhere to turn to except prostitution as women were not educated and therefore they could not do any Jobs but prostitution. Above all the writers have shown two very different perspectives as to what can happen to women after they got ruined as Thomas Hardy shows a positive perspective and Christina Rosettes shows a negative perspective but overall in both situations the women had no choice whatsoever and they were now valued.