ive creatures. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was astrong character not only in her literature but also in her personal life.After her husband, Edward Wortley Montagu, was appointedAmbassador to Turkey she joined him. She saw something that was ingreat interest to her, inoculation of smallpox. As being a survivor ofsmallpox, when she returned to England she supported, if not lead theway, to inoculation in England. Her writings at this time became thegroundwork for her fame as a writer (Damrosch, 2558). Nevertheless,by going against the traditional form of ballads, she shows that womenwere not going to define themselves by traditional stereotypes or try tofit into an image of what women were supposed to be. Montagu’s ownfrustration directed at an era in literature and time that depicts womenpassively can be felt by the reader by underlying tones of aggressionfrom being held down by societal stereotypes and values. “There ishardly a character in the world more liable to universal ridicule thanthat of a Learned Woman” (Damrosch, 2557). Already at a young ageof twenty Montagu identifies the limitations of women. “Women, shecounseled, should know much but hide their knowledge, lest they loseout on the comforts of love, marriage, and social ease” (Damrosch,2558). By hiding behind her speaker she acknowledges these opinionsand is saves herself from social ridicule.Montagu’s diction further invalidates the point of women’sdepiction by using strong and direct words to convey the speaker’semotions of frustration in trying to find the ideal mate. The speakerconsiders her options in choosing a mate and decides she wantsanother choice: she describes, carefully and elegantly, the qualities sheseeks in a partner. Montagu’s intelligence and skill in argument and inpoetry strongly refutes conventional definitions of women as silly,strictly decorative creatures. The speaker describes the qualities she isse...
