MY thoughts ... (spoiler)

I have read most of the other threads here and what people consider the meaning of the film to be.

Invariably, on this message board it is taken to be a coming into one's own kind of movie. While I don't deny that ... I think it was not mainly meant to be that.

In the scene when they celebrated Lucy's birthday, Raquel was singing along [finally] as one of the family. (Notice how she kept looking around her at the family members).

This brings me to what I think the point of the movie was:
As much as the family tried to make her feel as if she was one of them, she wasn't.

She. was. a. maid. (Ergo the title).

This is why she:
1. Felt that tremendous competitiveness with anyone the family brought in;
2. Pushed the limits of the family (to see how much they would put up with);
3. Kept reminding herself more than others "the kids love me";

What adds to this is that even after twenty years of employment with them they use a bell to call her (camera focused on the bell for a few shots). More importantly, she still ate apart. In fact, at one point the mom (who the viewer thinks is most FOR Raquel) tells Lucas to "close the door", separating Raquel from the family. Lastly, the film's creator's have Lucy asking Raquel "What have they done to you? What have they done to you???" in the shower scene.

I think that the film, more than a "coming into one's own" movie is a commentary on South American society and the sometimes-there hypocrisy that exists with and toward 'the help'. (My great-uncle who lives in Colombia is affluent and I have seen this first-hand).