Genre
Political pamphlet
Setting and Context
The setting is 18th Century Europe
Narrator and Point of View
This text is written from Mary Wollstonecraft's perspective.
Tone and Mood
The tone is political, reasoned and sometimes humorous.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Mary Wollstonecraft is the protagonist, and she is writing in response to Edmund Burke.
Major Conflict
The conflict in this text is political, between Mary Wollstonecraft and Edmund Burke.
Climax
The climax is Wollstonecraft's conclusion.
Foreshadowing
With her ironic opening aimed at Burke, Wollstonecraft foreshadows her criticism of him throughout the text.
Understatement
Wollstonecraft argues that Burke understates the Queen of France in his descriptions.
Allusions
Mary Wollstonecraft alludes to Edmund Burke and Marie Antoinette in this text.
Imagery
Wollstonecraft uses negative imagery to describe aristocratic men. For example, she said that their position in life turns them into a "monster."
Paradox
In her criticism of Burke, Wollstonecraft points out that his work is often contradictory and paradoxical.
Parallelism
Wollstonecraft parallels her own liberal and radical beliefs with Burke's conservatism.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A