ABSTRACT
Maria Edgeworth may have had a number of prejudices, but they did not prevent her from feeling skeptical, puzzled, and unresolved. In novels such as Belinda that expose the corruptions of English society, Edgeworth depicts the English home in the same way that she characterizes the Irish estate: as a site for rebellion and resolution. Edgeworth's comments on the politically weak people of Greece, Spain, and Ireland reflect her views of an oppressed group closer to home-domestic servants. Edgeworth best demonstrates the complexities of class conflict within the home and her vision for accommodating a gradually changing society through the character of Marriott. Marriott interrupts a conversation between Lady Delacour and Belinda, displaying two costumes for a masquerade ball, one that depicts the comic muse and one that depicts the tragic muse. Lady Delacour comments, 'Whilst we are making speeches to one another, poor Marriott is standing in distress, like Garrick, between tragedy and comedy'.
