What is most fascinating about these letters to a modern reader, who could pick? Since this letter-writer took the time to preserve her thoughts inside familiar, witty prose, and the fact that she let her personality come through so boldly, it yields a book that is at the same time fascinating and infectious. To be sure, there are many parts of the book that feature this, but in the bath scene, we see the true nature of Lady Mary's journey to Turkey, in a single scene.
There is for instance, that moment when she finally yields to her friends. Now, the reader should observe that the nature of the bath was pleasant and enjoyable, and that Lady Mary seems from her description of the baths to be seriously enjoying her time in them, because in those baths the women are totally free to be themselves and to goof around and enjoy their time. When she decides to join them, that is a signal that she is releasing herself to participate in something fun that pushes her beyond the boundaries of her polite, British personality. She is forced to have fun.
This wonder is noticeable throughout the book. She is constantly dazzled, as the reader is no doubt, by the lavish descriptions of Ottoman wealth and royalty. Remember, she is a dignitary's wife, the ambassador Edward Montagu, and therefore, she experienced a full, plenary version of Turkey's culture, at the height of the social hierarchy. To be frank, that experience would probably have been just as dazzling to a normal civilian who isn't privileged with wealth, but to Lady Mary, what is most notable isn't the things or the money—it is the people, and their unique points of view, which inspire her to be more curious and open to new experiences.
