"The old story...no wedding ring" means that a young woman has fallen in love with a married man or a man who either refuses to or cannot marry her because of their different social standings or some other impediment to their union. Therefore, she may have been abandoned by this man after becoming pregnant, and may also have been abandoned by her family because of having disgraced them.
Within the setting of Victorian England in...
"The old story...no wedding ring" means that a young woman has fallen in love with a married man or a man who either refuses to or cannot marry her because of their different social standings or some other impediment to their union. Therefore, she may have been abandoned by this man after becoming pregnant, and may also have been abandoned by her family because of having disgraced them.
Within the setting of Victorian England in this novel, in the upper class, as it appears the dying mother is, an out-of-wedlock pregnancy would be scandalous. So, it appears this young woman may have been expelled from her home as a result, since she has been found on the streets and brought to the workhouse.
It is not until the last chapters that the identity of Oliver's mother is revealed. She was a woman from a good family who fell in love with a close friend of Mr. Brownlow (who becomes Oliver's benefactor), named Edward Leeford. Leeford was forced by his family into a marriage with a wealthy older woman. When he fell in love with Agnes Fleming, he wanted to leave the country and live with Agnes, but he died in Rome. After her father learned of Agnes's condition, he abandoned the family and changed his name. So, rather than bring her family more disgrace, Agnes left her family. This is the "old story" to which the doctor refers: A "proper" Victorian family disgraced by the daughter's improper conduct and visible adultery.
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