What Is The Tone Of Abigail Adams Letter To Her Husband

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In a Letter to Her Husband, Abigail Adams writes to her husband, the infamous John Adams to express her feelings on the decisions he was making during the Revolutionary War. Though this letter is to her husband she is also writing to anyone in America fighting for independence, trying to persuade her audience that women’s rights also needed to be advocated. The most obvious method Abigail Adams uses is her diction. The letter is from 1776, so the language people penned at the time sounded very different than that of today. However, it is still very possible to understand the writing. At the beginning of her letter she uses the phrase “domestic pleasures”. She is talking about why she has not written her husband in a while and is subtly making …show more content…

The tone of Mrs. Adams letter is that of a well-educated lady writing a letter to her husband. There are hints of upset but she keeps it very professional. At the end of the letter she talks of her children and how hard life is for them without their father. Mr. Adams absence is taking a toll on her family, yet she realizes his work is very important. She may be upset with her husband, but she does still miss him. She talks of the “tedious absence” and her longing for an evening. Mrs. Adams does not particularly enjoy being a housewife, but now she has to be both parents in her husband's absence. She sounds tired and lonely underneath the fire of her small rant about her husband’s proclamations. It is clear that through all these struggles they are still a loving team. Seeing as Mrs. Adams was one of the first people to speak up for the rights of ladies, yet she still loves and respects her husband is very pivotal for the long fight following her time for women’s …show more content…

Adams letter is her use of the rhetorical question, “Shall we not be despised by foreign powers hesitating so long at a word?” This letter was wrote in 1776, when the States were very new. There was not much they would be able to do in the face of an attack from any of the other older, stronger, united countries. Abigail Adams is asking her husband to consider the thought of other nations. However, as it is a rhetorical question it is not meant for him to answer her. The purpose of this question was to make Mr. John Adams think about the matter she had brought up in her question. Would other countries attack the states if they didn’t go about things correctly with Britain? Mrs. Adams wants to remind her husband his decisions impact many other people, even more so than just the place they are, or the place they are breaking away from. He is in a very important position. In fact it is a position he could advocate for the ladies, no doubt why Mrs. Adams is writing to him about these issues and not another