An Examination of Rhetorical Strategies in Wollstonecraft's Letter

This essay provides a detailed analysis of the rhetorical strategies employed by Mary Wollstonecraft in her letter to the Bishop of Talleyrand, focusing on her arguments for women's rights and equality. The essay explores how Wollstonecraft utilizes ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos to persuade her audience and challenge societal norms regarding the traditional roles of women. It examines her appeals to logic and emotion, her critique of the status quo, and her advocacy for education as a fundamental right. The analysis highlights Wollstonecraft's key arguments, including the need for women's intellectual development, the importance of equal responsibility between men and women, and the concept of freedom as a basic human right. The essay references Wollstonecraft's 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' and discusses how her arguments aimed to convince both men and women of the absurdity of traditional gender roles. Furthermore, the essay concludes by emphasizing Wollstonecraft's call for action and the importance of recognizing the inherent capacity of human beings to address societal problems.

Running Head: RHETORICAL STRATEGY USED BY MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
Rhetorical Strategy Used by Mary Wollstonecraft
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1RHETORICAL STRATEGIES USED BY MARY WOLSTONECRAFT
Ethical strategies or as often called modes of persuasion are devices in the rhetoric that
categorize the speakers appeal to the audience (Balogun 175-201). The four rhetorical strategies
are ethos, pathos, logos and kairos (Edlund). A rhetoric strategy is the special approach that is
used by the writer to achieve a purpose or a goal. Ethos is the appeal to the credibility or the
authority of the reader. Pathos is the appeal to the emotion of the audience. Pathos can be in the
form of a metaphor or a simile. Logos is the appeal to the logical side of a person. And kairos is
the time and place that is used by the person while delivering a speech. In this essay, the letter
that Mary Wollstonecraft sends to the bishop of Tallyrand, Perigold, will used to analyze the
rhetorical strategies that have been used by her (Julien).
Mary Wollstonecraft in the letter speaks against the arguments that were given against
the suffrage for women and in favor of the status quo in the European and Western societies
(Coffee 116-135). She in the letter tries to appeal to the logics as well as the emotions in a human
being. She puts forward a set of opposing considerations which together presents a rejects the
outcome and the pseudo-rationalist game that was played by her opponents. Mary Wollstonecraft
questions the traditional role of women and the notions that are attached to being feminine
(Goldman 9-16). Wollstonecraft’s readers are both men and women. She tries to appeal to the
logic of the rationalists. She questions the fact the traditional role of the women need to change
and there are certain logics that she has provided in evidence. She says in order to teach the new
generations about the values and tradition, the women themselves needs to have knowledge
about the things that are happening, if they themselves are not educated then how can it expected
that impart knowledge to the future generations (Coffee 908-924). She wants to radically alter
the view that the society holds towards the women. She wants a society that has an equal share of
responsibility and duties between man and woman. To support this stance of equality the she

2RHETORICAL STRATEGIES USED BY MARY WOLSTONECRAFT
argues that when in a relationship both men and women are equal and they have equal
intellectual capability then none of them would move to other places to find satisfaction.
Husbands would not cheat on their wives and vice-versa. Both men and women need to stay on
the same level of education and knowledge then only this deviant behavior will change. What
she was fighting for is freedom and she believes that freedom from both men and women is
something that every society should have, it is not a luxury, it is a basic need that every
individual deserves, irrespective of their sex and gender, they should be granted freedom.
Wollstonecraft with her book ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ has to convince to
both men and women the absurdity of the traditional role of women, according to her these
absurdities are created by men but most women have to live through this absurd ideas and norms
that are created by the society (Peters 35-56). Her argument is intended for the people who have
the knowledge and rationality to understand the problems that she is talking about but does not
act on it because it will affect the status quo of the society. In her letter Mary Wollstonecraft
writes ‘This elevates human beings above the animals and brutes, distinguishing humans as
capable of willing to take responsible for their actions’ (Wollstonecraft). This mean that the men
and women in her society and every society around the world have the sensibility to act upon the
problems that she has pointed out, this is what differentiates them from the animals are that they
are able to act on what is generally considered wrong. Human beings can take responsibility for
their own action; this is what makes them humans and animals. Through this, Wollstonecraft is
trying to appeal to the logic of human beings. She is trying to convince them that the fate the
women are supposed to have is not something that the society and the men of the society should
decide. Women should be able to decide what they should do and the receiving education should
be their basic right. Wollstonecraft is of the opinion that women are not in control of their

3RHETORICAL STRATEGIES USED BY MARY WOLSTONECRAFT
destiny. In the European society, that Wollstonecraft lived in women are seen as people who are
not capable of reasoning. According to society they have no natural instinct and they should only
be limited to doing domestic work. Wollstonecraft make it clear that they when is asking for
equality and equal rights, it is not about the rights that she wants to enjoy but it is for women in
general. She firmly believes that if men and women are equally educated and both of them are of
the same intellectual capacity then it will help the society to function better and they will be able
to have better relationships.
This essay concludes that Wollstonecraft in her letter to the bishop of Talleyrand, have
talked about the basic rights and freedoms that all women are supposed to enjoy. This letter is
regarding her ‘The Vindication of the Rights of Women’, where she talks about the basic rights
that both men and women should deserve. These rights are not a luxury that she asking for. She
is asking that women should also be educated and education is a basic right of women and they
should be allowed to attain the basic education. Wollstonecraft is of the opinion that education is
important so that the new generation can be educated and the basic ideas could be passed.
Human beings are supposed to have the capacity to take action about the problems they think
that exist in society, because this is what makes them different from the animals. They should
take some actions about the problems that have been pointed out by Wollstonecraft.

4RHETORICAL STRATEGIES USED BY MARY WOLSTONECRAFT
References
Balogun, Julia, et al. "Placing strategy discourse in context: Sociomateriality, sensemaking, and
power." Journal of Management Studies 51.2 (2014): 175-201.
Coffee, Alan MSJ. "Freedom as independence: Mary Wollstonecraft and the grand blessing of
life." Hypatia 29.4 (2014): 908-924.
Coffee, Alan MSJ. "Mary Wollstonecraft, freedom and the enduring power of social
domination." European Journal of Political Theory 12.2 (2013): 116-135.
Edlund, John R. "Ethos, logos, pathos: Three ways to persuade." Retrieved on 29 (2014).
Goldman, Emma. "Mary Wollstonecraft, Her Tragic Life and Her Passionate Struggle for
Freedom." Mary Wollstonecraft. Routledge, 2017. 9-16.
Julien, F. "Charles Maurice of Talleyrand Perigord." Pimido Publications (2015).
Peters, Julie Stone. "“Literature,” the “Rights of Man,” and Narratives of Atrocity: Historical
Backgrounds to the Culture of Testimony." Theoretical perspectives on human rights and
literature. Routledge, 2013. 35-56.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Vani Prakashan, 2016.