Lady Susan

Catherine is Lady Susan’s brother-in-law’s wife who strongly dislikes Susan. Susan admits that Catherine “is perfectly well bred, indeed, and has the air of a woman of fashion, but her manners are not such as can persuade me of her being prepossessed in my favour […] she does not like me” (10). Although Catherine acknowledges that Susan is very beautiful, she cannot help but feel as though the outward character Susan portrays is entirely artifice, an astute observation that proves true. Catherine’s dislike for Susan comes to a head when she finally meets Frederica, whom Susan has lamented against; in contrast, Catherine finds Frederica to be utterly charming and is disdainful of Susan’s neglect of her daughter, as Catherine very much attempts to serve as the prototypical maternal figure. Catherine serves as a surrogate mother for Frederica and tries to do things that are in Frederica’s best interest, although some of these manipulations have coincidentally selfish motives as well.

Lady Susan recognizes the similarities between herself and Catherine, which Catherine desperately attempts to veil: Susan remarks that Catherine “dearly loves to be first, and to have all the sense and all the wit of the conversation to herself” (40). Susan suggests that the only reason Catherine likes Frederica is because Frederica is less interesting than Catherine, allowing Catherine to be the center of attention. In reviewing Catherine’s letters, there is an aspect of truth to Susan’s cattiness, as the audience witnesses Catherine attempt to manipulate her brother, Reginald, into falling in love with Frederica primarily to extricate Reginald from Susan’s clutches. Although Catherine believes herself to be the mother figure of the novella, the audience cannot help but to see the similarities between Catherine and Susan, as the two characters serve as foils for one another. The tension between these two as they both vie for superiority and attempt to bend the future to their opposing wills represents the main conflict within the novella.

Frederica is Susan’s 16-year-old daughter. The audience really only understands Frederica through the perspective of either her mother, who thinks of her child as stubborn and stupid—“She is a stupid girl, and has nothing to recommend her” (14)—or Mrs. Vernon, who thinks of her as sweet and shy: “She looks perfectly timid, dejected, and penitent. She is very pretty, though not as handsome as her mother, nor at all like her” (35). Frederica rarely speaks for herself and is subjected to the selfish whims of her mother, although the girl does rebel against her mother by running away. Susan laments Frederica’s determination not to marry the obnoxious Sir James: “Frederica, who was born to be the torment of my life, chose to set herself so violently against the match that I thought it better to lay aside the scheme for the present” (5). Frederica represents the pinnacle of 18th century feminine virtue, in that she exclusively uses other people to fight her battles. She seeks protection from her mother’s machinations through her friendship with Catherine and by pleading her case to Reginald, relying on her appearance as delicate and romantically feminine.

Although she is not as pretty as her mother, the audience cannot help but wonder if Frederica has learned her mother’s tricks; Austen does not allow Frederica to speak for herself except when pleading her case to Reginald, rendering Frederica almost entirely without voice. Despite her lack of voice, one could argue that the situation works out entirely in Frederica’s favor, as her mother ends up marrying her hated suitor and Catherine works to ensure Frederica’s marriage to Reginald, which is exactly what Frederica wants. Both Catherine and Susan admit that Frederica is without accomplishment as she has had very little education, although she apparently likes reading books. Everyone thinks her to be fairly simple; however, the audience seriously doubts this girl’s alleged simplicity as everything works out for her in the end. Rather, she has learned a much more subdued manner of manipulating the women around her, as she realizes their relative power in terms of interiority. Frederica is astute at understanding people’s emotions in ways that her mother is not; whereas her mother eventually fails in her manipulations, one could argue that Frederica wholeheartedly succeeds.

Reginald is Catherine’s younger brother, who has the same name as their father, Lord De Courcy. Reginald is described by Susan as being “a handsome young man, who promises me some amusement. There is something about him […] a sort of sauciness, of familiarity which I shall teach him to correct […] There is exquisite pleasure in subduing an insolent spirit” (15). Reginald is attractive and caring, although he is easily beguiled by Lady Susan. He interests her while also infuriating her because he always wants to account for the motivations behind her actions. She finds him to be a challenge, which she accepts, although she prefers the blatant flattery and obsession of Manwaring. Susan acknowledges Reginald’s obnoxious need to know everything: “There is a sort of ridiculous delicacy about him which requires the fullest explanation of whatever he may have heard to my disadvantage, and is never satisfied until he thinks he has ascertained the beginning and end of everything” (33). Reginald believes he is smarter than everyone else and therefore seeks reasons behind Susan’s behavior.

Despite how intelligent he believes himself to be, he is easily beguiled by Lady Susan and therefore a bit simple. He believes everything he is told, whether by his friends, Lady Susan herself, or eventually Mrs. Manwaring, changing his mind about Susan at will. Reginald represents the exteriority of women’s lives in 18th century England, in which reputation was paramount to social status. His flippancy in terms of regard for her character demonstrates the social vulnerability of women, whose only social capital lay in their perceived virtue, which could change at any time. 

Alicia is Susan’s close friend and partner in crime who is married to an older man. Mr. Johnson believes Susan to be a terrible influence on his wife and tries to prevent their friendship, although Susan seems to be Alicia’s one source of joy in the world. Alicia remembers: “[H]e once forced from me a kind of promise never to invite you to my house. Nothing but my being in the utmost distress for money could have exhorted it from me” (64). Alicia represents the dependence women faced at the hands of their husbands, embodying the lack of freedom associated with marriage. To attain some level of freedom, Alicia must continuously lie to her husband, living vicariously through Susan while she is forced to care for the gout-ridden Mr. Johnson. The couple lives in London or in Town, as they refer to it, but Alicia is not free to manipulate the men of London society as she is shackled to her ailing husband. Susan wishes that Alicia could be free from her husband: “[W]hen your situation is as independent as mine, it will unite us again in the same intimacy as ever” (77). Susan believes that if only Mr. Johnson were to die, the two friends could take London society by storm, causing all sorts of mischief. However, the relative morality of the novella precludes this freedom on the part of its women, and Alicia remains shackled to a husband she despises, waiting for his death.