I believe Mary Wollstonecraft wrote that letter because of the constant battle between women and men and how there are differences of inequality between both of the sexes, the country she wrote her letter on was France. She wrote that letter to bring light on the injustices women face as well as for their rights not only that she is also bringing light to the issues of national education. After reading the letter the discourse community I think Wollstonecraft belongs to is Activist for Women’s Rights, she makes this clear throughout her letter by presenting the issues women are facing then backing up her claims with evidence. To me, the recipient does not appear to be part of this discourse but I’m not for sure certain just because we do not get to see his thoughts on the issues presented to him, but it is clear that he has some sort of power to do something about it.
Quote 1: “Fighting for the rights of women, my main argument is built on this simple principle: If a woman isnât fitted by education to become a manâs companion, she will stop the progress of knowledge, because truth must be common to all; if it isnât it won’t be able to influence how people in general behave.”
This is one of the moments of Wollstonecraft’s writing that stood out to me because she makes her argument very clear, she presents her main argument with a principle giving her audience an idea of why she’s saying what she’s saying. I feel like this strategy would be useful in my writing because this gives me an idea of how I can present my reasoning for my argument without confusing my audience.
Quote 2: “I address you as a legislator: When men fight for their freedom, fight to be allowed to judge for themselves concerning their own happiness, isnât it inconsistent and unjust to hold women down? I know that you firmly believe you are acting in the manner most likely to promote womenâs happiness; but who made man the exclusive judge ¡of that¡ if a woman shares with him the gift of reason?”
This is the second moment of Wollstonecraft’s writing that stood out to me because although she is fighting for better rights for women she doesn’t present herself as a woman but instead as a legislator which gives her recipient the chance of seeing her as such. She makes it clear that her gender shouldn’t affect what she is fighting for and that the recipient should focus more on what she is arguing instead of shutting her down just because she is a woman. Another strategy I noticed she used was asking a question to the recipient then kind of answering her own question which to me seems like a good strategy and is something that I may be using in my own writing because it’s like planting a small seed into the mind of the audience, you may be persuading or shifting their thoughts on what they are thinking towards what you are presenting to them.
You’re right that the recipient is not of her DC–she wants to convince him to be on the side of women’s rights.
Also, you are correct that she uses two strategies to keep the reader focused and for clarity. Announcing a point or thesis before giving the details. And, asking questions she then answers is a good strategy for keeping the reader focused.