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Lady De Courcy
Mr. Johnson is Alicia Johnson’s husband. Mr. Johnson has gout, and Alicia and Lady Susan frequently hope for his declining health and eventual death; for his part, he hates Lady Susan and often tries to force Alicia to end their friendship. Mr. Johnson is also Mrs. Manwaring’s guardian, but he cut her off after she married Mr. Manwaring. At the end of the novella, Mrs. Manwaring comes to the Johnsons’ home in search of her husband, who is having an affair with Lady Susan. Because of this visit, Reginald De Courcy (Lady Susan’s fiancé) learns about the affair from Mr. Johnson and breaks off his engagement to Lady Susan. After this, Mr. Johnson convinces Alicia to cut off contact with Lady Susan by threatening to force Alicia to move with him to the countryside.
Mr. Johnson Quotes in Lady Susan
The Lady Susan quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Johnson or refer to Mr. Johnson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Letters 31–41 Quotes
My dear Alicia,
I yield to the necessity which parts us. Under circumstances you could not act otherwise. Our friendship cannot be impaired by it; and in happier times, when your situation is as independent as mine, it will unite us again in the same intimacy as ever. For this I shall impatiently wait; and meanwhile can safely assure you that I never was more at ease, or better satisfied with myself and everything about me, than at the present hour. Your husband I abhor—Reginald I despise—and I am secure of never seeing either again. Have I not reason to rejoice? Manwaring is more devoted to me than ever; and were we at liberty, I doubt if I could resist even matrimony offered by him. This event, if his wife live with you, it may be in your power to hasten.
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Mr. Johnson Character Timeline in Lady Susan
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Johnson appears in Lady Susan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Letters 1–10
...furious with Lady Susan—so furious that Mrs. Manwaring might have tried writing to her guardian, Mr. Johnson (who happens to be Alicia’s husband). It was smart of Mr. Johnson to break with...
(full context)
Lady Susan hopes that Mr. Johnson isn’t still mad at her, since (despite his flaws) other people find him respectable. It’s...
(full context)
Letters 21–30
Luckily, Mr. Johnson will be in Bath recovering from a gout attack, so they can enjoy themselves. She...
(full context)
Letter XXVIII. Alicia writes to Lady Susan, upset: Mr. Johnson heard that Lady Susan would be in London and has now decided to have a...
(full context)
...writing to Alicia, is furious on her friend’s behalf. Alicia shouldn’t have married a man Mr. Johnson ’s age: too old to manipulate, “too young to die.” In other news, Lady Susan...
(full context)
Letters 31–41
...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...
(full context)
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...
(full context)
...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...
(full context)
...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.”
(full context)
