"Lady Susan", Jane Austen's novel: summary, main characters, reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

English literature boasts a we alth of genres. The fine writers of England are known all over the world. The works of many of them have become world recognized classics. Until now, the tops of books of all ages and peoples are filled with the creations of English writers.

Meet the author

English writer Jane Austen wrote in the genre of realism, she also liked to use satire in her works and wrote novels about morals. Her books are considered masterpieces all over the world, and every generation reads them with rapture. What is the secret of this writer? The thing is that Jane Austen wrote in an individual manner - she did not seek to please someone and squeeze into certain literary frames. Her books are sincere, simple, deep and psychological novels, in the heroes of which every reader recognizes himself. It is impossible not to mention the original English humor - soft, ironic, which has a touch of good banter.

In addition, this writer has the title of "First Lady" of English literature. Her creations are included in the mandatory course of study in almost allsecondary and higher educational institutions.

About Lady Susan

To begin with, it should be noted that the novel is written in an epistolary style. It tells about a complex story and complex characters. The novel in letters was written at the very beginning of Austen's difficult career. The young girl wrote an amazing story, which is not typical for her then age. Many are struck by the deep psychologism and detailed insight into the character and characteristics of each hero of the story.

Apparently, the writer did not plan to publish a book at all. Jane Austen never offered it to publishers, unlike her other works. A copy of the 1805 novel has been preserved in exactly the version in which the author would most likely have wanted to publish it. This assumption is made by most researchers of Jane Austen's work. This is how the book was published. The novel in letters tells about a bilious widow who achieves her goals by all means. The whole story takes up 41 letters.

Main characters

The novel in letters introduces the reader to very interesting, outstanding characters. Each of them has a certain character trait. The interaction of such ambiguous characters is quite funny to watch. At the same time, Austin carefully approached the display of the internal state of each character. So let's get started.

Starring Lady Susan Vernon, a 35-year-old woman who has lost her husband. This is a hypocritical cunning person who wants to marry her daughter. Main qualitythe future spouse, according to the mother, is a high position in society and we alth. By herself, Susan Vernon is nothing worthwhile, but she is used to getting things done through flattery and flirting in relationships with men. She considers her daughter Frederica dumb, soft and slow, and unable to organize her future life.

Frederica Susanna Vernon is a 16-year-old girl, daughter of Lady Vernon. By nature, she is shy, shy and calm. She is afraid of her mother, who despises her since childhood. Has a secret crush.

Charles Vernon is Lady Susan's brother-in-law.

Reginald de Courcy is Mrs. Vernon's brother, who at the beginning of the story is in love with Lady Susan. After a certain time, the true nature of a hypocritical woman is revealed to him.

Mrs Katherine Vernon is the wife of Charles Vernon. She harbors a burning hatred for Lady Susan from her youth, when she tried to destroy the marital happiness of a young family.

Lady de Courcy is Reginald's mother, who worries about her son because she understands Lady Susan's intentions.

Alicia Johnson is a close friend of Lady Susan, despite the fact that her husband is against communication. It is to her that Susan trusts all her secrets and does not hide her true face.

Storyline of the book

"Lady Susan" - a book that amazes with the intricacy and ingenuity of the plot. Already elderly Susan Vernon lost her husband. Despite this, the woman does not despair, but tries to improve all areas of her life by any means.ways, walking "over the corpses." The family estate, in which the whole family lived, was sold for numerous debts. Because of this, a widowed lady is no longer accepted in decent houses in the area. This circumstance greatly spoils the life of a pretentious lady who is accustomed to attention, flattery and expensive decorations. It is because of this that Lady Susan's main goal in life is to improve her financial situation. One of the possible ways leading to the realization of this plan is the successful marriage of a young daughter.

Suddenly, the widow receives an invitation to visit from her late husband's brother. Lady Susan sees this as an interesting opportunity and immediately agrees. Having looked in advance for the young daughter of a rich lord, the mother abandons her former life, acquaintances, friends and goes to a new place to try her luck. My brother's family lives in the province. The attentive reader understands that the invitation to stay was purely formal, so the relatives are not at all enthusiastic about the newly arrived guests. However, following the rules of good manners, they are received politely and kindly.

The young lord who was looked after by the lady for her daughter is unimaginably stupid. The young and impressionable Frederick is completely uninterested in him, even disgusted. The Lord, in turn, is more interested in the older lady than in the young naive creature. Meanwhile, Lady Susan is visited by her brother - Reginald de Courcy - a rich and well-mannered man. Having learned about the excellent financial condition of a relative, Lady Vernon believes that he can become worthycandidate for the role of the second husband. From that moment on, the lady begins to weave a stunning network of intrigues, into which she entangles absolutely everyone, even her own daughter. However, her cunning is exposed by the end of the book. The true face of the intriguer is revealed to everyone. Struck by such cunning and anger, many turn away from her, good triumphs over evil.

Positive feedback

Jane Austen's book "Lady Susan", reviews of which are very numerous and varied, is considered a classic of world literature. Many readers pay tribute to the author's writing skills.

Mostly positive reviews of the book agree that the book is an excellent, comprehensive source of information about the characters of people. Diverse images of the characters allow you to make a detailed impression of each. However, many of them are so different that they represent an amazing contrast. The most interesting point is that some heroes themselves contain a set of conflicting qualities. It is very interesting to observe what will prevail in a person - good or evil.

Criticism

Criticism of the work is based on the fact that a very trivial fact is put in the plot. The events described were very typical for the heroes of that time. Many women, having lost a husband, did not want to give up the benefits of we alth and the benefits of entering the upper strata of society. Due to the fact that a woman could not actually earn money, she could only receive an impressive inheritance or acquire a rich husband.

A novel in the light of other works by the author

The book "Lady Susan" is one of the first works of Jane Austen. It is amazing how much psychologism the author put into history at the very beginning of her creative activity. In her subsequent works, Austin rarely resorted to portraying such controversial characters. As a rule, she paid more attention to the inner experiences of modest, reasonable heroes who did not seek to occupy a prominent place in society or get a rich husband.

Modern look

Despite the fact that the book was written a long time ago, it remains very relevant. What has not changed is that many women are trying to find a profitable match for themselves through the intricacies of intrigue. Probably, such thoughts and desires will never disappear. It is not even known what motivates women to build such chains - a thirst for money or a desire to diversify life with events and people.