This passage illustrates how societal norms impressed upon young women of the era are detrimental to their mental health, but also how these women are able to seek comfort in their female friendships. The language in this passage is not cloaked in ironic attitudes- but rather features Eliza’s blunt honesty about how she is being affected by not only the public’s perception of her, but her own inner sadness about Mr. Boyer. This letter, which is sent to Lucy Sumner, Eliza’s best friend, reinforces the importance of strong female bonds at this time. Eliza becomes somewhat of a societal outcast as the public gossips about her. She questions her mother's judgement about her disregarding the ridicule, which Eliza describes as “the world’s dread