As a child she was tutored and brought up by Frau Mantel, and hence lacked proper knowledge of Iran, as she herself admits in her personal memoirs, stating, "I was a dunce—I knew next to nothing of the geography, the legends of my country, nothing of its history, nothing of Muslim religion."
Semasa kecil, ia berguru dan diasuh oleh Frau Mantel, dan karenanya kurang memiliki pengetahuan tentang Iran, seperti diakuinya dalam buku memoarnya, "Saya bodoh—saya tidak tahu menahu tentang geografi, legenda, sejarah tentang negeri saya, bahkan tentang agama Islam."