Charrière's Lettres neuchâteloises (1784) refer to a conception of the novel which advocates a genre defined by its true representation of local life as a source of plausibility or realism. Such a style of novel enables the writer to articulate her own vision of what the relation between men and women should or even could be. Charrière's aesthetic ideal of "réalité précieuse" suits her goal as a woman of the Enlightenment, which is to demiystify conventions in order to overcome prejudices.