a plain and simple explanation of the facts
Justine discounts how much eloquence counts in her world, and in this
novel (see, for instance, Letter 4.6
and note). But if a plain, unvarnished recital
of facts cannot exonerate one, the novel asks, in what does truth exist?
Compare Mary Wollstonecraft's
disavowal of eloquence in A Vindication, Introduction, 1.5, 2.14, 3.6, 5.33, 5.52, 5.53, and 6.2.
