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Lady Susan -

The First Ten Letters

Letter 10 - Lady Susan to Mrs Johnson (Alicia)

Lady Susan is apparently not actually interested in getting married. She is not in immediate need of money and if she married Reginald de Courcy she might have to wait a long time before benefitting from the marriage.

Letter 10 - Lady Susan to Mrs Johnson (Alicia)

Reginald de Courcy initially treated Lady Susan with familiarity because of her reputation as a woman "of easy virtue"

What do we learn about Lady Susan?

What do we learn about Lady Susan?

Why is she interested in winning Reginald de Courcy's esteem?

It seems to be a challenge of domination and mastery. It is a test of her power.

"the pleasure of triumphing over a mind prepared to dislike me, and prejudiced against all my past actions."

She has also won a battle of the wits with Mrs Vernon, his sister, because she has proved to her that her powers of persuasion cannot rival those of Lady Susan

Lady Susan's powers are those of "intellect and manner" and with them she renders Mrs Vernon powerless

"I think I may defy her"

She exercises total control over others by persuading them to see her as she wishes them to see her. This requires technique and she masters that technique.

"my desire of dominion was never more decided."

"I have subdued him entirely by sentiment and serious conversation."

She knows that Mrs Vernon has seen through her veneer, but she does not care: "I have never found that the advice of a sister could prevent a young man's being in love if he chose it."

She is persuading Reginald that they have a "kind of platonic friendship." This is a ruse clearly - thinking he is only a friend he will fall in love with her. She, on the other hand, runs no risk.

She tells Alicia that she has strong feelings for Manwaring "if I were not already as much attached to another peson as I can be to any one."

"her husband's inspid talk"

"greatly inferior to our friend at Langford"

"He is less polished, less insinuating than Manwaring and is comparatively deficient in the power of saying those delightful things which put one in good humour with oneself and all the world."

"my sister-in-law's reserve"

Letter 9 - Mrs Johnson (Alicia) to Lady Susan

She advises Lady Susan to marry

Reginald de Courcy: he "may be worth having."

Sir James has called to visit her - he would willingly marry either Lady Susan or Frederica!

She joked about his previous courtship of Maria Manwaring

Manwaring will be jealous if Lady Susan marries Reginald de Courcy

Sir Reginald de Courcy's estate is entailed. Th...

Sir Reginald de Courcy's estate is entailed. That means that his father does not have the right to disinherit him. This threat of inheritance was clearly a powerful tool for parents who could use it to prevent their children from marrying someone or to coerce them into marrying someone chosen for them.

Letter 8 - Mrs Vernon to Lady de Courcy

She tells her mother that Reginald is

prolonging his stay in Churchill

She suspects the motive - that he is fascinated by Lady Susan

Her husband has encouraged Reginald to stay because he loves hunting

Reginald now maintains that Lady Susan is an "altogeth...

Reginald now maintains that Lady Susan is an "altogether wonderful woman."

He has found excuses for her behaviour - her education was neglected and she was married too early

Lady Susan has been very behaving very carefully to make sure that she produces

an effect that contradicts her reputation. As Mrs Vernon says : "I have not detected the smallest impropriety in it."

Sir Reginald de Courcy is not to be told about Mrs Vernon's fears: his health is fragile and worrying news might affect it adversely

Letter 7 - Lady Susan to her friend Alicia (Mrs Johnson)

Alicia offered to spend time with Frederica, but Lady Susan rejects the offer

Letter 7 - Lady Susan to her friend Alicia (Mrs Johnson)

Lady Susan is not always consistent the explanations she offers for her acts. We learn why Frederica has been sent to the school with Miss Summers

How Lady Susan speaks about her daughter

"She is a stupid girl, and has nothing to recommend her."

"But enough of this tiresome girl."

Lady Susan says she does not want Alicia to see Frederica because it would be taking time away from her studies

The real reason why Lady Susan sends Frederica to school

Then she admits that she wants Frederica "to find her situation as unpleasant as possible."

The real reason why Lady Susan sends Frederica to school

She congratulates herself on her strategy as "a very happy mixture of circumspection and tenderness."

She is making Frederica unhappy so that she will "chose" to marry Sir James. She is not forcing her daughter to marry him but wants to "make it her own choice by rendering her life thoroughly uncomfortable till she does accept him."

Lady Susan is quite pleased by the arrival at Churchill of Reginald de Courcy

Lady Susan is quite pleased by the arrival at Churchill ...

Letter n° 6 Mrs Vernon to Mr de Courcy (Reginald)

We learn how beautiful Lady Susan is because Mrs Vernon is not predisposed to her but she admits that she is extremely beautiful and seems much younger than her age (35).

We also learn just how successful Lady Susan is in deceiving people. Mrs Vernon is on her guard, she says herself she is "resentful," but Lady Susan's skills astonish her.

We learn a lot about Lady Susan in this letter

"She is clever and agreeable, has all that knowledge of the world which makes conversation easy, and talks very well, with a happy command of language, which is too often used I believe to make black appear white".

We learn a lot about Lady Susan in this letter

She is a past mistress in the art of winning people over and deceiving them. She talks with such affection about Frederica that Mrs Vernon has to keep reminding herself of what she knows about Frederica's childhood

Frederica

She was left in Staffordshire while her mother spent her time in London. She was left in the care of servants and a governess who was little better than the servants.

Mrs Vernon has doubts about Lady Susan's version of the reason why she left the Manwarings.

Mrs Vernon has doubts about Lady Susan...

If the environment there didn't suit her as a mourning widow, why did she stay for three months?

She thinks that the Manwarings' style of life perfectly suits Lady Susan. She thinks that maybe "though late," Lady Susan may have been concerned to protect her reputation

She does not suspect that Lady Susan is corresponding with Mr Manwaring. Lady Susan had told Alicia in Letter 5 that she pretended that his letters to her came from his wife and Mrs Vernon believed the story

She does not suspect that Lady Susan is correspondi...

Letter n° 5 - Lady Susan to her friend Alicia (Mrs Johnson)

We learn about all the things Lady Susan did to Mrs Vernon

Letter n° 5 - Lady Susan to her friend Alicia (M...

Lady Susan's charms are not working on Mrs Vernon

Lady Susan tried to prevent her brother-in-law's marriage to Mrs Vernon.

Lady Susan tried to prevent her brother-in-law's marria...

She also prevented him from buying his brother's castle even when they had to sell it. It seems that the idea that his younger brother would take over the castle was unbearable to her pride. She talks about her "husband's dignity" being lessened if his brother bought out the castle.

The reason why she opposed his marriage was that she wanted him to stay on in the castle but as a single man

Manwaring is still in her thoughts. He has been writing to her, and lamenting his cruel fate.

Manwaring is still in her thoughts. He has be...

Letter n° 4 - Reginald de Courcy to his sister Mrs Vernon

Letter n° 4 - Reginald de Courcy to his sister M...

He takes things humourously - he congratulates his sister for t...

He takes things humourously - he congratulates his sister for the fact that she is going to be receiving as a visitor "the most accomplished coquette in England"

He clearly thinks that Lady Susan is a libertine - "engaging at the same time and in the same house the affections of two men who were neither of them at liberty to bestow them. "

He clearly has a very low opinion of Frederica who, according to his friend, is "dull and proud." He judges very promptly because his analysis is severe: "where pride and stupidity unite, there can be no dissimulation worthy notice, and Miss Vernon shall be consigned to unrelenting contempt."

He is amused and looking forward to meeting Lady Susan "what a woman she must be!" "Lady Susan possesses a degree of captivating deceit which must be pleasing to witness and detect."

Letter n° 3 - Mrs Vernon to Lady de Courcy (her mother)

Letter n° 3 - Mrs Vernon to Lady de Courcy (h...

Considers Lady Susan to be "artful and ungenerous"

Thinks her husband is naïve - "disposed as he always is to think the best of every one"

She talks of Lady Susan's "unkindness to her own child." She says Frederica had a "wretched" education.

"Her behaviour to him, independent of her general character, has been so inexcusably artful and ungenerous since our marriage was first in agitation, that no one less amiable and mild than himself could have overlooked it at all."

Letter n° 2 - Lady Susan to Alicia (her friend)

Sir James Martin

Letter n° 2 - Lady Susan to Alicia (her friend)

Mr Manwaring

Has to go to Churchill: "that insupportable spot, a country village."

Sir James Martin

Was courting Miss Manwaring but gave her up when he fell under the charms of Lady Susan

Sir James seems besotted by Lady Susan

He seems to be happy to go along with Lady Susan's plan to have him marry her daughter Frederica

"Manwaring is so uncommonly pleasing"

Mrs Manwaring not pleased

"If that daughter were not the greatest simpleton on earth, I might have been rewarded for my exertions as I ought."

Frederica "was born to be the torment of my life." She "chose to set herself violently against the match."

Letter n° 1 - Lady Susan to Mr Vernon (her brother-in-law)

Note the change of tone!

At the beginning of the letter : "if quite convenient to you..."

at the end:

"I am determined you see, not to be denied admittance..."

In Langford

Letter n° 1 - Lady Susan to Mr Vernon (her brother-in-law)

Langford

Lady Susan's version

Lady Susan's version of the reasons why she wants to come to Churchill

The environment at Langton does not suit her because there is too much cheerfulness and she is a mourning widow

She is sad because she is going to have to separate herself from her dear daughter Frederica

She has long desired to be acquainted with Mrs Vernon

The quiet atmosphere at Churchill would be much more suited to her state of mind

She dearly wishes to get to know the "dear little children" of the Vernons

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