A rhetorical analysis of the letter Marian Even Lewes sent to Melusina Fay Pierce. Essay written in 50 minutes as practice for the 2020 AP Language and Composition Exam. Prompt attached below. Marian Even Lewes, who wrote under the alias George Elliot, took a great deal of care into crafting a response to Melusina Fay Pierce on being a writer. She ensures she encourages Melusina throughout the letter while also providing her with advice from her experience. Through her precise language, Marian is able to walk the line between being authoritative and caring, expressing her development as a writer to Melusina. Marian is quick to establish a friendly tone and ensure Melusina does not have unrealistic expectations of her gift for writing. Admitting “my consciousness is not of the triumphant kind” eases Melusina into the idea that Marian is no perfect human. Marian quickly steps off of her pedestal, showing a great deal of character and ensuring Melusina is aware she is speaking to the true Marian, free of falsehoods or gimmicks. Later she adds she was “too proud and ambitious to write” because she believed she did not possess the skills to be great and despised mediocrity. Using words such as “proud” and “ambitious,” which often have a positive connotation, in such a negative manner once again takes the flattery Marian receives and distorts it. The difference is, in this case, Marian is distorting Melusina’s vision of her into a truthful depiction, ensuring she is seen as a regular person. By creating this realistic depiction, Marian lowers herself to a position where she is able to provide Melusina with realistic advice while being assured she will not be discouraged to follow it. Creating a comradery between herself and Melusina is achieved by focusing on what the women have in common, and highlighting on their shared struggles. The most successful example of this is when Marian shares she knows of “the longing you feel to do something more than domestic duties while yet you are held fast by womanly necessities.” In the 1860s women were commonly seen as nothing more than housewives, responsible for maintaining the household and bearing children. Marian extends her hand to Melusina from within this chasm of her dual identity, what she must do, and what she longs to do. It is also possible many did not know Marian Evan Lewes was writing under the alias George Eliot until around this time, or possibly even at a later date, and in that sense, Marian is truthfully coming clean and even exposing herself. Marian forges a friendship between herself and Melusina by appealing to their shared dissonance within, ensuring her message comes across. Woven throughout her letter is the reason Marian is writing it at all: offering her position on how writers and their writing develops. Marian uses a few particular metaphors to highlight the strangeness of the craft, such as when she says “the sense of the work has been produced withing one, like offspring… what is left of oneself is only a poor husk.” She explains she believes writing is not something you can work on, but something that must want to come out of you. She does not shy away from the fact that she avoided writing herself for the longest time, imploring Melusina to not “regret that you have not yet written anything” assuring her that her time will come. Marian sporadically offers her beliefs on the growth of writers over time so that she does not discourage Melusina from pursuing the craft. Throughout the letter, Marian ensures she establishes herself as an experienced friend with Melusina’s best interests at heart. Her carefully considered word choice is evident throughout, highlighting advice and personal experience while also sharing the consequences and downsides of writing. Marian explains to Melusina that writers grow their work inside of them and it is released when the work itself is ready, pushing this idea that Melusina is capable and simply waiting for the right time to write. Taking this approach frames Marian’s guidance in a constructive and helpful light.
May 2020, 11th Grade
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