CLASS AND CHARACTER: EVOLVING PORTRAYALS OF SERVANTS IN EARLY 20TH-CENTURY ENGLISH NOVELS.

Abstract

This thesis explores the changing representation of domestic servants in English literature during the early twentieth century, a period marked by profound social, political, and economic transformation. Drawing on a range of novels from the Edwardian era through the interwar years, the study examines how servant characters evolved from silent background figures upholding class hierarchies to more complex and humanized individuals reflecting shifting cultural attitudes. Through close textual analysis of works by authors such as E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, and Evelyn Waugh, this research highlights the interplay between literature and society in redefining the role and identity of servants. It also investigates how issues of class, gender, and power are negotiated through servant-master relationships in fiction. By situating literary portrayals within their historical context, the thesis argues that early 20th-century English novels not only mirrored but also contributed to changing perceptions of domestic service and class structures in Britain.