Catherine's letters to Voltaire often served as a means to woo the influential philosopher to her cause. Rather than pursue intellectual subjects, Catherine utilized her letters to flatter and cajole the philosopher. While Voltaire often attempted to initiate the Empress in an intellectual dialogue, Catherine often sidestepped his inquiries.(Wilberger 19) For example, "Voltaire did try to start a discussion…in the case of the [Claude Adrien] Helvetius translation by Golitsuin. In response to Voltaire's comments…Catherine blithely agrees…but confesses she has not read the book yet,".(Wilberger 157) One has the impression that Voltaire would have liked to dwell on literary, philosophic or artistic subjects as he did with his other correspondents. However, Catherine was far more interested in winning the philosopher's approval than in entering a philosophical dialogue.
