Mary Wollstonecraft is writing this letter to urge and bring attention to the inequalities in women’s lives. Mary makes the point that women are always pressured to be a certain way and to be ladylike when men don’t do the same in return “If the pure flame of patriotism has reached their hearts, they should work to improve the morals of their fellow-citizens by teaching men not only •to respect modesty in women but •to become modest themselves, as the only way to deserve women’s respect.” She has an issue with the fact that women are meant to act a certain way based on this ideal men created, yet, they have no benefit to acting this way. It is a forced behavior upon women and women can’t even get the same treatment back let alone simple things like education. Men have decided this way is the best way for women but why do men decide this when it’s women’s lives being affected and women don’t get to decide this for men. “I know that you firmly believe you are acting in the manner most likely to promote women’s happiness; but who made man the exclusive judge ·of that· if woman shares with him the gift of reason?” She sees this as a problem because women’s civil and political rights are being violated with these decisions that men keep making for them. Mary’s discourse group is oppressed women in France. The recipient is outside this discourse group because the recipient is, to my understanding, a male.