# Letter II explained — Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

> Chapter companion for Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark by Mary Wollstonecraft.

## What happens

Wollstonecraft describes the town of Gothenburg, its Dutch-built canals, and the commercial society dominated by wealthy merchants. She critiques the excessive hospitality, formal politeness, and heavy dining customs of the Swedes, contrasting them with the natural politeness of the peasantry. The letter ends with a lyrical, romantic reverie on the beauty of the Swedish summer night, offering an escape from social constraints.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Critique and Class

Wollstonecraft critiques the merchant class's materialism, empty formalities, and the contrast between wealthy Swedes and the more genuine peasantry.

### Nature and the Sublime

The chapter concludes with a sublime description of the Swedish night, where nature offers spiritual and emotional release from societal pressures.

### Commerce and Morality

Wollstonecraft observes how commerce enriches merchants but raises the cost of living for others, and links hospitality to indolence rather than virtue.

## Character check-ins

### Mary Wollstonecraft

The narrator and observer, reflecting on Swedish society and seeking solace in nature.

## Key lines

> The more I see of the world, the more I am convinced that civilisation is a blessing not sufficiently estimated by those who have not traced its progress; for it not only refines our enjoyments, but produces a variety which enables us to retain the primitive delicacy of our sensations.

Wollstonecraft argues that civilization, through imagination and the arts, enhances human experience and prevents sensory dullness.

_This passage defends the value of civilization against those who romanticize primitive life._

> I could not help reckoning the peasantry the politest people of Sweden, who, only aiming at pleasing you, never think of being admired for their behaviour.

She finds the Swedish peasants more genuinely polite than the upper classes, because their courtesy is natural and unselfconscious.

_Highlights Wollstonecraft's critique of artificial social forms._

> Eternity is in these moments. Worldly cares melt into the airy stuff that dreams are made of, and reveries, mild and enchanting as the first hopes of love or the recollection of lost enjoyment, carry the hapless wight into futurity.

In the sublime natural setting, she experiences a timeless, dreamlike state that transcends everyday worries.

_Shows the emotional and philosophical relief she finds in nature._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/letters_written_during_a_short_residence_in_swed_se/chapters/letter-ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/letters_written_during_a_short_residence_in_swed_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/letters_written_during_a_short_residence_in_swed_se/chapters