Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Paderborn, language: English, abstract: The following term paper deals with Maria Edgeworths novel The Absentee. Written in 1812, it is the authors third book about Irish life. As all three novels it refers to her own life, this paper begins with a short biography, which reveals this connection. The next section of the paper is about Ireland in the nineteenth century, the setting of The Absentee, which clarifies the historical background. In the following section the novel is summarized briefly. After that, the classification of the novel, gives the reasons, why it is considered a regional novel. One aspect of Irish regional novels is treated in more detail in the chapter that follows: the language of The Absentee. After these chapters, which analyze the novel, it is interpreted. Three different approaches of interpretation are used; the novel as a love story, the novel as a regional novel and the educational aspects in it.