1) **Is Lady Susan the most evil of Austen characters from her six other major works. Which character do you think she most resembles?**

2) **Is Lady Susan a sociopath, a survivor of a rigged system, or a brilliant strategist misjudged by duller minds?**

3) **What is Lady Susan’s relationship to her daughter? What are Lady Susan’s strategy with her daughter to bend her to her will?**

4) **Is Frederica an innocent girl navigating her own path, or does she possess the manipulative instincts to counter her mother?**

5) **Why does Austen depict every male figure—Reginald, Mr Vernon, Sir James Martin, and Mainwaring—as so easily influenced by Lady Susan? What might Austen be suggesting through this?**

6) **What motivates Lady Susan’s preference for Mr. Mainwaring over Reginald De Courcy?**

7) **Despite her moral flaws, what qualities make Lady Susan so captivating to readers?**

8) **How should we interpret Lady Susan’s bond with Mrs. Johnson—female solidarity, or self-reflective mirroring?**

9) **Does Austen’s conclusion punish Lady Susan or reward her?**

Mark Teltscher

We ❤️ Jane Austen

Hobbies & Passions

Book Club

Books and Drinks

Classic Books

Jane Austen

Literature

Reading

Novel Reading

Regency Era

English Country Dance

Austen Villains: Lady Susan

Online event

Share

We ❤️ Jane Austen

Austen Villains: Lady Susan

We ❤️ Jane Austen

Details

Members are also interested in