In the letter to her daughter, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu uses rhetorical strategies and stylistic devices to convey her views about the role that knowledge played in the lives of women of her time. The letter is filled with Lady Montagu's stale sense of humor and irony, as evidenced by her recounting of the young woman who was courted by a plagiaristic young man, only to be saved by the valuable knowledge of Lady Montagu. She herself believes that knowledge is an essential element that must be a part of every woman's life; however, she sternly warns through her stylistic prose common to the language of the eighteenth century that knowledge- especially from a woman- is not a trait that should be exuded in excessive amounts, particularly in the male-dominated society of her time. She cautions that knowledge in women is for the sole purpose of "amusement of solitude" and "to moderate the passions," and that any more praise to it would be in actuality detrimental to a woman's status. So valuable is knowledge for a woman that Lady Montagu compares it to fame, and actually deems it to be even more valuable. .
This knowledge that Lady Montagu speaks of is not just knowledge of books and words, but the actual true understanding and meanings of these things. A lady may admire a piece of work for its tangible qualities, but true satisfaction comes from the deeper understanding of its entirety. Lady Montagu advises her daughter of these methods by suggesting that she always discusses what Lady Montagu's granddaughter has just read. This ensures that she- the granddaughter- does not mistake "pert folly for wit and humor, or rhyme for poetry." .
The tone of Lady Montagu's letter is varied throughout the passage. She begins in a condescending manner while speaking of her use of knowledge throughout her life, though she eventually leads to the straightforward approach, bereft of deep emotional outbursts.
