After reading Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s lengthy letter to her daughter, I was able to point out what I believe was her use of rhetoric conventions. Wortley strongly believes that her granddaughter has a far better opportunity in education than her daughter. She shouldn’t be limited to any knowledge or education. It seems in comparison, her daughter didn’t have that opportunity, given her situation. Wortley uses logos. A lot of reasoning and logic is behind her argument. This letter might have originated from an older period because it has been stated that woman has way more time than men and are not able to advance in profession. With that logic, Wortley believes that with that spare time she should be allowed to learn multiple languages. She sees benefits in this, and her reasoning is “Languages are more properly to be called vehicles of learning than learning itself, as may be observed in many schoolmasters.” It is clear that Wortley wants what best for her granddaughter academically.

I also found pathos in her letter. It was upsetting to hear that Wortley herself was voided of education. “I was once extreme fond of my pencil, and it was a great mortification to me when my father turned off my master, having made a considerable progress for the short time I learned.” Having someone that has a fond of education and having that taken away is upsetting.

I don’t find her argument surprising; it is normal to want your loved ones to be the best that they can. It seems effective, but Wortley does not seem so confident that it is. We know her daughter isn’t as educated and at the last line of the letter it Wortley had to acknowledge the length she had to go through to write this long letter and persuade her. “I am afraid you will think this a very long and insignificant letter. I hope the kindness of the design will excuse it, being willing to give you every proof in my power that I am.” This is very telling of the relationship that the mother and daughter have with each other. It could be a  loving relationship, but not without its disagreements. To point out that she might think it is too long for her to comprehend tells me that Wortley is concerned and deeply wants her to take it into consideration. Being a very serious topic to Wortley, the letter sounded formal. I imagine this letter to be private. It seems that the subject matter is very personal to the family. It also possible that Wortley wants the idea of women being more educated to be a more public and widespread view.