Edgeworth and Politics

Given the heated time period at which it was published, it would be ignorant to ignore the political implications of Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent.  Published in 1800, the short novel was released right before the Acts of Union between Ireland and England.  This was a period defined by confusion and division as some declared their opposition while others promoted the union.  As we've seen before, literature was one of the most prominent means for promoting ones position on such political issues as these.  Edgeworth enters into this tradition with Castle Rackrent.  Initially, we are prone to believe that Edgeworth is against the union due to her seeming favoritism to the Irish.  However, deeper analysis of her work reveals somewhat mixed feelings on the Union.  Her position seems to be one of paradoxes- she promotes Irish culture but then ends the novel with the decline of an Irish family.  Given these differing attributes of the novel, i believe that Edgeworth's position is best defined as somewhere in-between Pro-Union and against the Union.  As I noted in my comment on another post about Castle Rackrent, I believe Edgeworth's hope is for a union with England that brings sophistication and education to the Irish.  However, she does not support the disappearance of the Irish people and their culture.  Rather she hopes for some sort of reconciliation between the two extremes.  Interestingly, her view correlates well with her biography.  Edgeworth was born in Oxfordshire, England but then moved to Ireland at a young age.  Later she returned to London for school, but then once again returned home to her father's estate in Ireland.  Edgeworth experienced both Irish and British culture; something that not all Irish people and English people had the opportunity to do. Therefore her view was likely less extreme allowing her the ability to think more rationally about the pros and cons of both societies.  Moreover, her time spent in both places likely enabled her to understand the benefit of union given certain circumstances.