Abstract:

Maria Edgeworth is an Irish writer in 19th century, whose works explore the interpersonal relationship from the perspective of the servants who work in upper-class families. Although the servants in her novels are uneducated, they are sophisticated and good at balancing the power with their masters. Edgeworth reflects the tension between fictional world and real world by elaborating the power struggle between masters and servants. She places the internal conflicts in upper-class society under the upheaval historical background to demonstrate her ambivalence on the decline of old social order facing the inevitable social changes, which further demonstrates her longing for a better world and upset about breaking the old one.

Key words: Maria Edgeworth, social changes, servant image, interpersonal relationship