It is never too late to pursue your goals in life, because life continually presents you opportunities. When Melusina Pierce wrote to Marian Lewes, Marian felt the need to answer the letter, even though she did not usually answer letters. She wanted to reassure Melusina that she is not too old to begin writing, because she experienced difficulties as well when she started. Marian Lewes uses logos to convey her purpose of never giving up on her dreams.
She says, “Besides, the vision of something life might be and that one’s own ignorance and incompleteness have hindered it from being, presses more and more as time advances. ” Her purpose in saying this is to make sure that Peirce doesn’t second-guess herself when she is wondering whether or not to continue with her goal of becoming a writer. Lewes believes that many writers have a lot of potential, but their own ignorance prevents them from taking the risk to start writing.
Because Peirce looks up to Lewes as a role model, this advice comforts her and reassures her that she can still begin writing. In addition, when Lewes is explaining how she grew as a writer, she uses pathos to explain how tough of a situation she was in when she started her career. She tells Peirce, “I have never known perfect health, and I have known what it was to have…very little money, by which these wants could be met. ” Lewes is explaining that it is understandable for Peirce to feel like her goal is impossible to attain, because Lewes was in the same boat when she first started.
Her purpose was to draw the emotional connections of despair in both of them, so that she can inspire Peirce not to give up. The process of writing is one of emotional turmoil. Lewes uses rhetorical strategies, including pathos and logos to connect with Peirce on a personal level and teach her in a descriptive manner about the life of a writer. Even though most of Lewes’ letter was about the downsides of being a writer, she shifted her passage using logos to relate with Peirce concerning problems women face.
Lewes gives Peirce a womanly perspective on the life of a writer to educate and encourage her to pursue her dream. This can be related to women in the early 20th century, who fought for their right to vote. Women never gave up on their campaign to gain suffrage. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest. According to Lewes, it takes the same determination to reach the goal of becoming a writer.
