Posted by Ann on August 04, 1997 at 02:43:13:
In reply to Re: Mrs. Johnson = Harriet Smith? posted by Kathy F. on August 03, 1997 at 10:29:09
] ] I don't see how people read so much into Mrs. Johnson's character. From what I read, there is no reason to believe she behaves, or has beliefs, either better or worse than Lady Susan.
] Exactly! LS is her sole guide.
] Mrs. J did whatever LS wanted her to do. Perhaps HS was not smart enough to be devious, but I would still wager that given the wrong associations, HS could learn to be Mrs. J.
] Kathy
________
I don't understand how you come to this conclusion? We know nothing of Mrs. J's life outside of her relationship with Lady Susan. We know nothing of other friends, though it is obvious that she finds ample entertainment without Lady S on hand. She might have lots of confidants, and perhaps many of these are more important to her than Lady S. She might have lots of men on a hook herself, without any guidence needed from Lady Susan. We don't know, and we can't know. The view we get of her is extremely limited and completely filtered through the letters to and from Lady S.
When writing a letter to one friend do you not share jokes and sensibilities that are in tune with that particular friend, but would you not, perhaps, write to a different friend in a different manner? We can not determine Mrs. J's character on the basis of a small handfull of letters all written to the same person. She is not defined well enough to know her. She is an incidental character only.
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