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Letters 21–30
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lady Susan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gender, Power, and Manipulation
Public Appearance vs. Private Reality
Love and Transaction
Summary
Analysis
Letter XXXI. Lady Susan writes to Alicia, telling her that the plan didn’t work—her letter to Reginald spurred him to come to London rather than keeping him away, and he’ll deliver this letter himself. Admittedly, this does prove how much he loves her. Lady Susan wants Alicia to spend the evening with Reginald—she feigned sick—and flirt with him if necessary. Crucially, Alicia must convince him that his continued stay in London will make Lady Susan miserable for reasons of “propriety, and so forth.” In the meantime, Lady Susan will spend the evening with Mr. Manwaring.
Because Lady Susan’s letter was pretty transparent, it’s not surprising that Reginald came to London. Lady Susan seems to think that he did so because he was lovesick, which she appreciates—she values love if it benefits her. However, it’s equally likely that her excuses made him nervous about the future of their engagement, something that wouldn’t have happened if the two spoke in person. In fact, Lady Susan seems to be losing all her early advantages over Reginald. Telling Alicia to flirt with him is counterproductive, since he fell in love with Lady Susan’s feigned modesty and restraint. If he realizes that her best friend is a shallow flirt, he might rethink the rumors about Lady Susan. It would certainly be difficult to believe that Lady Susan cares about “propriety” if Alicia is delivering the message. It’s entirely possible that Lady Susan is self-sabotaging; it seems like a mistake to spend the night with Mr. Manwaring when Reginald is nearby, and when her engagement with Reginald depends on eventually getting rid of Mr. Manwaring. Lady Susan either believes that she has total control over the situation, or she’s subconsciously trying to find a way out of her engagement—which would end her so-called freedom.
Themes
Letter XXXII. Alicia writes to Lady Susan, distraught. Reginald came to the Johnsons’ at exactly the wrong time: Mrs. Manwaring had come to see Mr. Johnson, and as they spoke, Reginald waited for Alicia. Mrs. Manwaring had come to look for Mr. Manwaring and to ask Mr. Johnson to interfere in the affair between him and Lady Susan—she knew that Mr. Manwaring had seen Lady Susan every day since she’d been in London. Mr. Johnson then spoke with Reginald privately, telling him everything. He’d wanted to talk with Reginald anyway, since he knew that Reginald was attached to Lady Susan. Mrs. Manwaring, uglier than ever, is still at the house, and the three are shut up together.
This situation only happens because Lady Susan never got rid of Mr. Manwaring, which Alicia told her she had to do, and because Lady Susan wrote to Reginald to delay their engagement. If Lady Susan had broken things off with Mr. Manwaring after her engagement to Reginald, Mrs. Manwaring never would have come to the Johnsons’. And if she’d never written to Reginald to delay his visit, he wouldn’t have arrived so soon. Mr. Johnson would still have warned Reginald about Lady Susan’s character at some point, but Reginald never took stock in the rumors before—the only reason he might believe them now is because he saw Mrs. Manwaring in the flesh, and because she revealed the extent of Lady Susan’s affair with her husband. It was Lady Susan’s final bid for control that did her in: stringing two men along at once might have made her feel powerful, but it ended up making her powerless. Of course, Lady Susan had no good options: she would have also been powerless in a marriage to Reginald, though in a different way. Lady Susan and Alicia might make fun of Mrs. Johnson’s “ugly” appearance and blame her for this situation, but in reality, Lady Susan could have avoided it if she’d accepted her own unavoidably powerless situation.
Themes
Letter XXXIII. Lady Susan, replying to Alicia, thinks that the situation is very annoying and unlucky. But Alicia shouldn’t worry—Lady Susan can sort things out with Reginald. Mr. Manwaring just left her lodgings after telling Lady Susan that Mrs. Manwaring was in town. Lady Susan wishes she hadn’t come, but no matter: Reginald will forgive her in the span of a day.
Themes
Letter XXXIV. Reginald writes to Lady Susan to say goodbye—he now knows what kind of person she is. He’s just received information that made him realize how stupid he’d been, and how quickly he needs to leave. She should know what he’s talking about, and he mentions only the name of the Manwarings’ estate, Langford; he got his intel from Mrs. Manwaring directly. He loved Lady Susan but won’t say more about how he’s feeling—she’ll be too smug at his pain, and he knows now that she never loved him.
Themes
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Letter XXXV. Lady Susan responds to Reginald, shocked—she can’t even imagine what Mrs. Manwaring could have told him to make him change his mind about her. She’s never hidden anything from him and can’t believe that he once again buys Mrs. Manwaring’s tales of jealousy. She asks him to come see her to explain what’s going on, since the name “Langford” revealed nothing to her. If they have to break their engagement, it would be kinder of him to do so in person—she’s humiliated by his reproach, and she awaits his arrival.
Themes
Letter XXXVI. Reginald writes to Lady Susan, shocked that she even responded and that she’s asking for details. But he gives them anyway: he knows everything about her behavior since her late husband died. Most horribly, he knows that she was seeing and continues to see Mr. Manwaring romantically, that she been writing to him and not his wife, and that he now visits her daily. All the while, Lady Susan was pretending to love Reginald and agreed to marry him. He’s just grateful that he got out of it in time. Reginald owes this clarity to Mrs. Manwaring, who sadly can’t get out of her situation as easily as he can. He says goodbye to Lady Susan a final time: he’s disgusted that he fell for her charms, and that he was weak enough to do so.
Letter XXXVII. Lady Susan responds to Reginald; she won’t write again. She understands that their engagement is no longer “compatible with [his] views,” and she’s glad that he’s following his parents’ advice to break it off after all. He’ll be happy obeying their wishes, and Lady Susan will just have to survive her disappointment.
Themes
Letter XXXVIII. Alicia writes to Lady Susan, sorry for Reginald’s departure but not surprised—he told Mr. Johnson that he was going to leave. Unfortunately, Alicia will have to stop writing to Lady Susan: Mr. Johnson told her that if they stay friends, he’ll force Alicia to move to the countryside with him, and of course Alicia couldn’t suffer through that if there was an alternative. She goes on to tell Lady Susan that Mr. Manwaring and Mrs. Manwaring will soon separate, and that Mrs. Manwaring will come live with the Johnsons again—maybe she’ll die young due to stress.
Themes
Miss Manwaring, meanwhile, has returned to London to get Sir James back; Alicia thinks that Lady Susan should marry him instead. She also wants to tell her that she liked Reginald—he was just as handsome as Mr. Manwaring, as well as open and good-natured. Alicia says goodbye, saddened but sure that Lady Susan couldn’t have prevented anything that happened.
Themes
Literary Devices
Letter XXXIX. In reply, Lady Susan sadly agrees to part with Alicia—someday, once Alicia is as “independent” as Lady Susan is, they might be able to be friends again. For now, though, Lady Susan is completely content: she hates Mr. Johnson and Reginald, and she won’t have to see either again. Plus, Mr. Manwaring remains loyal—if he were able to, Lady Susan would marry him in a heartbeat. Maybe Alicia can stress Mrs. Manwaring to an early death.
Lady Susan now thinks that she couldn’t have gone through with a marriage to Reginald, and she won’t let Frederica marry him, either—her daughter will marry Sir James, no matter who whines about it. Lady Susan is tired of “submitting [her] will” to others; she’s sacrificed enough, and Frederica will pay for it. In closing, Lady Susan hopes that Mr. Johnson’s next gout attack will be “favourable.”
Themes
XL. Lady De Courcy writes to Catherine with great news: Reginald was in London but has now returned, not with tidings of a marriage, but to announce his breakup with Lady Susan. She doesn’t know the specifics yet, but she hopes that Catherine and Charles will come visit, and that they’ll bring Frederica. Once Reginald recovers from his heartbreak (which she thinks will happen soon), they can set him up with Frederica.
Themes
Literary Devices
XLI. Catherine, replying to her mother, is shocked to hear the news about Reginald’s breakup, especially because the day he must have returned home, a cheerful Lady Susan visited Churchill, which Catherine took to mean the two were engaged. She said nothing about a breakup, and when Catherine asked if she’d seen Reginald in London, she only mentioned that they’d missed each other.
Themes
Catherine will be glad to visit home, but sadly, they can’t bring Frederica—Lady Susan came to Churchill specifically to bring her to London, and Catherine was unable to stop her. Charles thinks that Frederica will be treated well, but Catherine disagrees, and she’s sorry to say that Frederica appeared miserable. Catherine took her aside specifically to tell her to write; she wishes that she could look forward to a marriage between Frederica and Reginald as her mother does, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Themes
