The author uses repetition,
comparisons, and responses to anticipated criticism to assert her
qualifications as a writer and celebrate her “serious style.”
In the passage, this proud
female author asserts her qualifications as a writer, dispels myths
about the style of female authors, and defends the capabilities of her gender
with pride.
The author starts by
asserting her gender with pride even though she later acknowledges that this
“avowal” places her at a disadvantage so that she can attack the prejudices
that limit the level of respect and opportunities afforded to female
writers.
The author responds to anticipated criticism that she could
not hide her femininity or succeed as a writer by asserting her
qualifications. She claims that she could “deceive” men because her
“serious style” is similar to that which is “deemed the peculiar strength of
man.” This acknowledgment that she could
hide her gender, reveals that she has great pride in her qualifications. She details the positive qualities of her
writing –“vigor of thought, comprehensiveness of view, fanciful sprightliness”-
that reflect traits common to both male and female writers to convince readers
that she is the most accomplished of both genders. Enumerating her talents guards her from
“poisoned shafts” of criticism that men would use to discount her as a serious
talent.
The author lists in detail all of the tenets of her writing
style in order to assert her qualifications as a gifted writer who is
equal to (better than) men. She claims that she has the ability to “deceive”
readers because her style is like that of men.
She possesses “a vigor of thought, a comprehensiveness of view, and a
terseness of diction” that most people think only men are capable of
producing. However, she celebrates her
own qualifications because she can also include the “fanciful sprightliness”
that is the “peculiar grace of woman.”
The elements of her style that men also possess would already be universally
respected, and the positive language she uses to describe the traits of women
would make them equally respectable.
