Jane Austen's novel Lady Susan is one of her most decadent Victorian novels that challenges prevailing morality through its protagonist Lady Susan herself. As the epistolary novel progresses, the written exchanges between the characters demonstrate their indignation at Lady Susan's contrariety: her flirtation, her extramarital affair, her machinations, her lies, her hypocrisy and her determined slander upset the family with whom she lives. Over the course of the book, Lady Susan goes on a rampage as her plots thicken and seem to come to fruition for good. Fortunately, in the end, the moral voice of the omniscient author intervenes and does justice to each of the characters. Austen uses Mrs. Vernon's voice as the voice of reason and morality to condemn Lady Susan's behavior and to reason with those who have been blinded by her manipulations. Mrs. Vernon raises the voice of reason in the novel where she refuses to excuse or dilute Lady Susan's excesses. Thanks to her feminine intuition, she is able to reveal Lady Susan's true character, even though many of the characters have their eyes closed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “So Lady Susan is the temptress who manipulates men and uses personal charms” (Byrne). As a consummate temptress, Lady Susan lures willing men into her trap. She uses her feminine wiles, subtlety and manipulative skills to lure men into her trap. Early in the novel, Reginald De Courcy hears that Lady Susan is “the most accomplished coquette in England” and “a very distinguished coquette” (Austen 4). Lady Susan has a deceitful character that her attractive appearance and pleasant manners seduce and delight. Austen describes her as "exceedingly pretty... delicately fair, with fine gray eyes and dark eyelashes,... possessing a rare union of symmetry, brilliance, and grace... her speech was sweet, frank, and even affectionate" (Austen 7) . Here Austen has prepared the physical and social setting for deception because here is a woman who possesses unprecedented beauty but is discovered to be hiding a black heart. This description comes from the pen of Mrs. Vernon who is the first to smell danger when Lady Susan presents herself to her brother Reginald De Courcy. Knowing well the tricks of the coquette's trade, she strives to remove the blindfold from Reginald's eyes. Ironically, Reginald is still trapped by Lady Susan. The Greek myth of the Gorgon/Medusa corresponds to the representation of Lady Susan. According to the tale, in her happy days, Medusa represented the model of beauty among her sisters. However, a curse turns his hair into snakes and his body grows like a scaly snake. Since then, contemplating Medusa causes the observer to be petrified, who literally turns to stone and dies. In the novel, Lady Susan personifies a gorgonic Medusa who charms men; and when they look at her, they become captivated and helpless to resist her beauty and seduction. Sir Reginald De Courcy Sr., aware of Lady Susan's Medusa-like qualities, warns his son, Mr. Reginald De Courcy Jr., of his attachment to her. Suspecting that he has been deceived, Sir De Courcy Sr. advises his son to consider Lady Susan's feminine splendor "without being blinded by her faults" (Austen 9). We observe here the juxtaposition of sight and blindness; beauty and temptation. Two icons that Lady Susan embodies are Eve and Pandora, who present themselves as temptresses. They both throw the world into confusion due to their desire to satisfy their immediate desires for pleasure and ultimately pay a high pricefor their corrupt inclinations. Eve is responsible for tasting the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, and then she persuades her husband, Adam, to eat the fruit. As the sacred text says, they both end up dying as punishment for their transgression; Nevertheless, in this story, an evil serpent is responsible for indulging in forbidden desires. To some extent, this story resembles Medusa in terms of its serpentine presence, sexual seduction, and impending death. Pandora also serves to seduce Epimetheus, her husband, and tricks him into opening the pot that releases a host of evil into the world (Tyrea). Pandora, like Eve, was the epitome of feminine beauty that attracts the eye and the heart. The quest for pleasure is Lady Susan's only joy and reason for being. A skilled puppeteer, she manages to control scenes, dominate conversations, and maneuver the minds of those in her social circle. The reader becomes acquainted with the hedonistic and voluptuous Lady Susan through the first words written in her letter to her brother Mr. Vernon: I can no longer deny myself the pleasure of enjoying your kind invitation. However, Lady Susan escapes the pain that her pleasure costs others. Lady Susan reports to Mrs. Johnson “the exquisite pleasure of subduing an insolent mind…to recognize its superiority” (Austen 7). She preys on men who look down on her for the pure pleasure of the hunt as well as the satisfaction of her own vanity. She appeals to both married and single men, without ever worrying about moral compromises. Mr. Reginald De Courcy hears rumors of Lady Susan's dangerous and unwarranted flirting whereby she "craves more delicious gratification" (Austen 4) than the average person. What is essential for her is her own pleasure. She doesn't even have a motherly heart to cherish and love her daughter Frederica. The first information about his scandalous pursuit of pleasure is news of an extramarital affair that resulted in social embarrassment and a destroyed house. This reference refers to Mr. Mainwaring and his double treatment of his wife, Mrs. Mainwaring and his loving attentions to Lady Susan, who throws herself upon him in her pretentious grief after the death of her husband. Throughout the novel, Lady Susan maintains a correspondence with three men: Mr. Mainwaring, Sir James Martin and Mr. Reginald De Courcy until the latter becomes disillusioned with his illusion. To his son, Mr. Reginald De Courcy Jr., Sir Reginald De Courcy Sr. lays bare Lady Susan's prodigality, levity and adultery: "Her neglect of her husband, her encouragement of other men, her extravagance and his dissipation were so gross and notorious” (Austen 11). The theme of marriage of convenience is found throughout the novel where female characters decide to make a conquest in order to benefit from the fortune of a rich man. Although the Victorian period required a woman to be married, due to her lack of occupation and inability to inherit, Lady Susan goes further in calculating to secure wealthy estates. Sir James Martin and Mr. Reginald De Courcy fall prey to Lady Susan where she aims to live a life of frivolity, ease and wealth. At the end of the novel, Lady Susan uses her scheming to send Frederica to Mr. and Mrs. Vernon while she marries the wealthy Sir Martin. Lady Susan and Frederica argue bitterly over the question of marriage as Lady Susan attempts to force an unwanted union between her daughter and Sir Martin. In this situation, her only interest lies in the inheritance and the financial benefits she hopes to reap. One literary critic remarks that "by ending thus – with an abrupt and deceptive turn towards omniscience and moral authority – Lady Susan exposes>