While writing a term paper, I came across the sentences "So the Ramages were lost to white society. Lost to everyone but Dr. Cox." ("Ramages" and "Dr. Cox" being names of figures in the story).
I'm not exactly sure what is meant by that. I've tried googling it, but all I could find was the meaning of "to be lost on someone". My two interpretations are:
- The Ramages have succumbed to/affiliated with white society and/or adopted their code/morals/traditions/etc.
- The white society/everyone but Dr. Cox has given up on/disowned the Ramages
For context, the short story is called "Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers" by Jean Rhys, and the Ramages were a white man and his freshly married black wife, so I think either interpretation could make sense. Does anyone have an idea which one makes more sense, or is there an even better 3rd interpretation I've missed? Thanks so much in advance for all the answers :)