After finishing the story of Mary, who was well-educated and then reading Letters and Essays, The importance of education is very important. In Mary’s troubles, she still had her mind to figure things out. When she had to find a way to pay for her lodging and needs in London, she used her talent of drawing, she worked as a tutor to children, she was ingenious in finding ways to afford her bills. That is until Sir Peter figures out where she was and decided to stick his nose into the situation. How many times did that guy show up? Too many! I don’t think that he ever really got the idea that he was not wanted by Mary. Or could it be that he just wanted to make sure that Mary did not become respected? After raping her and then spreading it all over London, he had ruined her life already!
A love of books is what Mary Hays is wanting for young minds. I get the impression from her letters and essays that it doesn’t really matter what type of books, just books which share information valuable to the world. If a young mind is not indulged when they are young, after growing up and having children of their own, “How shall she train them to virtues, to which she herself is a stranger or to any kind of merit of which she has no idea?” (pp.237-238). Without education, it is hard to continue passing knowledge on to future generations. Learned information gives creativity and self-confidence. Society benefits from education also. Societies with high rates of education completion have lower crime, better overall health, and civic involvement. A good education makes an individual develop personally, socially as well as economically.
Literature Rocks 