The characters in Lady Susan experience and act on various kinds of love, both romantic and familial. Characters’ relationships with one another are what drive the story, which centers around Lady Susan’s potential engagement to Reginald De Courcy and her schemes involving her daughter, Frederica. But in each significant relationship—between lovers, parents and children, or siblings—at least one character always hopes to gain something. By presenting several different relationships between people who should love each other unconditionally, and by instead demonstrating that ulterior motives underlie those relationships, the novella suggests that in 18th-century Britain’s polite society, love is always transactional.
True to her selfish nature, Lady Susan always aims to benefit from love. While she strings along three men—Reginald, Mr. Manwaring, and Sir James—over the course of the story, her interest in them always depends on their devotion to her. She takes pleasure in “subdu[ing] Reginald,” who previously disliked her; brags about how Mr. Manwaring is “devoted” and “distracted by jealousy”; and hopes to coerce Sir James into a marriage with her daughter, Frederica. Sir James presumably agrees to because of his infatuation with Lady Susan (Lady Susan’s friend, Alicia, tells her that Sir James would “marry either” Frederica or Lady Susan). Lady Susan’s interest in Reginald immediately fades after he tries to leave her, concerned about her treatment of Frederica. She quickly changes his mind and forces him back into “devot[ion],” but she “cannot forgive him” and debates whether she should punish him by breaking up with him or by marrying him and “teazing him for ever.” Because Reginald isn’t unconditionally devoted to her, Lady Susan dismisses his love—still, she aims to benefit from it by exacting revenge on him, thereby proving that she can control him. Lady Susan’s inability to love without ulterior motive also applies to her relationship with Frederica. It’s obvious that Lady Susan doesn’t care about Frederica; she refers to her as a “stupid girl” and a “little devil,” and she constantly tries to limit her freedom. But she still tries to benefit from the relationship: her attempt to force Frederica to marry the wealthy Sir James would help Lady Susan’s financial situation. It would also prove that Lady Susan has power over Frederica, who subverts her mother’s authority by running away from boarding school and by asking Reginald to help her break her engagement to Sir James. All of Lady Susan’s supposedly loving relationships are transactional—not even her daughter is exempt.
Unfortunately, Lady Susan’s transactional view of love isn’t unique—even the best examples of love in the novella come with a cost. Catherine Vernon, Lady Susan’s sister-in-law, appears to feel genuine affection for her brother, Reginald—as do Reginald and Catherine’s parents. The family’s attempts to stop Reginald from marrying Lady Susan should seemingly be motivated by that love—but in reality, Catherine’s indirect attempts to stop the engagement, as well as her father’s more direct attempts, have just as much to do with their disapproval of Lady Susan as with Reginald’s happiness. Though Catherine is genuinely concerned about Reginald, her father, Sir Reginald, tells his son that everything would be “at stake” in a marriage to Lady Susan: “[his] happiness, that of [his] parents, and the credit of [his] name.” In other words, while the family might care about Reginald, they’re also concerned with Lady Susan’s impact on their financial and social status, since Lady Susan is a penniless widow with a bad reputation. At first glance, Frederica appears to love Reginald without an ulterior motive, since Frederica’s infatuation doesn’t benefit her—in fact, it actually hurts her, because Lady Susan wants her to marry Sir James, and she herself is romantically involved with Reginald. But even though Frederica doesn’t have an ulterior motive, others adopt ulterior motives on her behalf. For instance, Catherine approves of Frederica’s crush on Reginald not because the match would make Frederica or Reginald happy, but because it would “detach [Reginald] from [Frederica’s] mother”—in other words, their marriage would break up the engagement between Lady Susan and Reginald. This means that, while the marriage might not directly benefit Frederica, it would certainly benefit others. Most importantly, because Reginald hardly notices Frederica, she’d need Catherine’s help to secure him—so Frederica would (and later does) benefit from Catherine’s ulterior motive.
Because love in the novella is always transactional, all of its characters view others’ feelings as malleable. This is what enables Lady Susan to quickly shift Sir James’ attentions from Frederica to herself—allowing her to marry him at the end of the novella—and it’s what enables Reginald’s family to eventually “talk,” “flatter,” and “finesse” him into marrying Frederica. This decidedly unromantic ending implies that, in the world of Lady Susan, there’s no example of pure, constant love—everyone always hopes to selfishly benefit in some way.
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Love and Transaction Quotes in Lady Susan
But I was determined to be discreet, to bear in mind my being only four months a widow, and to be as quiet as possible,—and I have been so; my dear creature, I have admitted no one's attentions but Manwaring's, I have avoided all general flirtation whatever, I have distinguished no creature besides of all the numbers resorting hither, except Sir James Martin, on whom I bestowed a little notice in order to detach him from Miss Manwaring. But if the world could know my motive there, they would honour me. I have been called an unkind mother, but it was the sacred impulse of maternal affection, it was the advantage of my daughter that led me on; and if that daughter were not the greatest simpleton on earth, I might have been rewarded for my exertions as I ought.—Sir James did make proposals to me for Frederica—but 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.
I congratulate you and Mr Vernon on being about to receive into your family, the most accomplished coquette in England. As a very distinguished flirt, I have always been taught to consider her; but it has lately fallen in my way to hear some particulars of her conduct at Langford, which prove that she does not confine herself to that sort of honest flirtation which satisfies most people, but aspires to the more delicious gratification of making a whole family miserable. By her behaviour to Mr Manwaring, she gave jealousy and wretchedness to his wife, and by her attentions to a young man previously attached to Mr Manwaring's sister, deprived an amiable girl of her lover.
Now however, we begin to mend; our party is enlarged by Mrs Vernon's brother, a handsome young man, who promises me some amusement. There is something about him that rather interests me, a sort of sauciness, of familiarity which I shall teach him to correct. He is lively and seems clever, and when I have inspired him with greater respect for me than his sister's kind offices have implanted, he may be an agreable flirt. There is exquisite pleasure in subduing an insolent spirit, in making a person pre-determined to dislike, acknowledge one's superiority. I have disconcerted him already by my calm reserve; and it shall be my endeavour to humble the pride of these self-important De Courcies still lower, to convince Mrs Vernon that her sisterly cautions have been bestowed in vain, and to persuade Reginald that she has scandalously belied me.
You must be sensible that as an only son, and the representative of an ancient family, your conduct in life is most interesting to your connections. In the very important concern of marriage especially, there is everything at stake; your own happiness, that of your parents, and the credit of your name. I do not suppose that you would deliberately form an absolute engagement of that nature without acquainting your mother and myself, or at least without being convinced that we should approve of your choice; but I cannot help fearing that you may be drawn in, by the lady who has lately attached you, to a marriage, which the whole of your family, far and near, must highly reprobate.
I cannot help fancying that she is growing partial to my brother. I so very often see her eyes fixed on his face with a remarkable expression of pensive admiration! He is certainly very handsome—and yet more— there is an openness in his manner that must be highly prepossessing, and I am sure she feels it so.
[…]
I want to make him sensible of all this, for we know the power of gratitude on such a heart as his; and could Frederica's artless affection detach him from her mother, we might bless the day which brought her to Churchill.
‘I am not apt to deal in professions, my dear Mrs Vernon, and I never had the convenient talent of affecting sensations foreign to my heart; and therefore I trust you will believe me when I declare that much as I had heard in your praise before I knew you, I had no idea that I should ever love you as I now do; and must farther say that your friendship towards me is more particularly gratifying, because I have reason to believe that some attempts were made to prejudice you against me. I only wish that They – whoever they are – to whom I am indebted for such kind intentions, could see the terms on which we now are together, and understand the real affection we feel for each other! But I will not detain you any longer. God bless you, for your goodness to me and my girl, and continue to you all your present happiness.’
What can one say of such a woman, my dear mother? –such earnestness, such solemnity of expression! and yet I cannot help suspecting the truth of everything she says.
I hope you will excuse this liberty, I am forced upon it by the greatest distress, or I should be ashamed to trouble you. I am very miserable about Sir James Martin, and have no other way in the world of helping myself but by writing to you, for I am forbidden ever speaking to my uncle or aunt on the subject; and this being the case, I am afraid my applying to you will appear no better than equivocation, and as if I attended only to the letter and not the spirit of Mama's commands, but if you do not take my part, and persuade her to break it off, I shall be half-distracted, for I cannot bear him. No human being but you could have any chance of prevailing with her. […] I do not know how to apologize enough for this letter, I know it is taking so great a liberty, I am aware how dreadfully angry it will make Mama, but I must run the risk.
I have for some time been more particularly resolved on the match, from seeing the rapid increase of her affection for Reginald, and from not feeling perfectly secure that a knowledge of that affection might not in the end awaken a return. Contemptible, as a regard founded only on compassion, must make them both, in my eyes, I felt by no means assured that such might not be the consequence. It is true that Reginald had not in any degree grown cool towards me; but yet he had lately mentioned Frederica spontaneously and unnecessarily, and once said something in praise of her person.
Oh! How delightful it was, to watch the variations of his countenance while I spoke, to see the struggle between returning tenderness and the remains of displeasure. There is something agreable in feelings so easily worked on. Not that I would envy him their possession, nor would for the world have such myself, but they are very convenient when one wishes to influence the passions of another. And yet this Reginald, whom a very few words from me softened at once into the utmost submission, and rendered more tractable, more attached, more devoted than ever, would have left me in the first angry swelling of his proud heart, without deigning to seek an explanation! Humbled as he now is, I cannot forgive him such an instance of pride; and am doubtful whether I ought not to punish him, by dismissing him at once after this our reconciliation, or by marrying and teasing him for ever.
Frederica was therefore fixed in the family of her uncle and aunt till such time as Reginald De Courcy could be talked, flattered, and finessed into an affection for her—which, allowing leisure for the conquest of his attachment to her mother, for his abjuring all future attachments and detesting the sex, might be reasonably looked for in the course of a twelvemonth. Three months might have done it in general, but Reginald's feelings were no less lasting than lively.
Whether Lady Susan was, or was not happy in her second choice – I do not see how it can ever be ascertained—for who would take her assurance of it, on either side of the question? The world must judge from probability. She had nothing against her, but her husband, and her conscience.
Sir James may seem to have drawn a harder lot than mere folly merited. I therefore leave him to all the pity that anybody can give him.
