Sanditon

The opening chapters of the novel establish the setting of Sanditon. Although the characters do not arrive in Sanditon until the end of this section, Mr. Parker’s constant discussion about the subject, together with the surrounding characters’ reactions, illustrates The Social Effects of Economic Inequality in 19th-century England. Charlotte’s father, Mr. Heywood, is a successful farmer and small landowner, but his modest wealth is tied to his land—he does not have the mobility and capital that allow Mr. Parker to transform an entire town into a business venture. As a result, he looks at Sanditon skeptically, wondering how it will disrupt the social and economic fabric of the surrounding area. Sanditon represents liberalism and modernity—a site of both social and economic innovation, it is also a glaring reminder of the Regency era’s growing class divides. As Mr. Heywood suggests, beachside resorts were an increasingly popular novelty in the era, but they were only available to those who had the money and leisure for pleasure travel. Even Charlotte’s parents are too busy with their farm to consider traveling to the resort, and their decision to allow Charlotte to go is explicitly rooted in a desire for upward mobility—they want her to have opportunities they did not have.

This section also introduces the connection between Leisure, Health, and Vanity. When Mr. Parker sprains his ankle in Chapter 1, his overreaction—demanding to see a surgeon for a minor injury that will heal with a few days of rest—presages the preoccupation with health and illness that characterizes his siblings. Austen critiques the upper class’s obsession with health as a problem for people who have too much time on their hands—an attitude that can be regarded as tragically ironic given that as she wrote this book, Austen herself was suffering from an illness for which she refused to seek treatment until it was too late. In the book, chronic illnesses are invariably presented as imaginary—a problem for those who don’t have enough challenges in their lives and therefore must invent them.

Mr. Parker is irritated about not being in Sanditon because he believes that the air would heal him. He tells his wife that the key to his healing is saline air: “[I]t is exactly a case for the sea. Saline air and immersion will be the very thing. My sensations tell me so already” (66). Mr. Parker’s complete trust in Sanditon’s success as a beach resort is contingent on the power of nature to heal. He tells Mr. Heywood that “never was there a place more palpably designed by nature for the resort of the invalid—the very spot which thousands seem in need of” (67). Mr. Parker’s philanthropic intentions are inextricable from the profit motive: Sanditon is “the very spot which thousands seem in need of,” and he is its impresario and would-be proprietor. Mr. Parker contests that “no person, […] could be really in a state of secure and permanent health without spending at least 6 weeks by the sea every year” (70). This statement betrays two highly questionable assumptions: first, that most of the world’s population will never be truly healthy since they don’t live by the sea and can’t afford six weeks of yearly vacation travel, and second, that “a state of secure and permanent health” is something people should strive for. This latter assumption has fueled consumerist wellness movements from the 19th century to the present day. Illness, injury, and pain are, to varying degrees, part of the human condition. Austen’s choice of words highlights the irony, as health is never “secure and permanent”—that is, one is never both in perfect health and certain to remain that way. Since the beginnings of the modern era, however, people have made money promising others that they can be. In Sanditon, this false promise also illustrates The Social Effects of Economic Inequality. If “secure and permanent health” is humanity’s ideal state, it is an attainable ideal only for those who can afford it.

This section establishes Charlotte Heywood’s main inner conflict. Charlotte prides herself on being reasonable and observant; however, she has difficulty discerning the truth behind what she sees in people. Even though she knows that Mr. Parker tends toward hyperbole, especially when speaking of his beloved Sanditon, she still trusts him completely when he describes the town’s inhabitants and is shocked when she discovers that he did not prepare her well. Mr. Parker is convinced that despite Lady Denham’s greed, she is a “goodnatured woman, a very goodnatured woman,—a very obliging, friendly, neighbor; a cheerful, independent, valuable character. —and her faults may be entirely imputed to her want of education” (72). Mr. Parker blames Lady Denham’s greed and cruelty on her lack of education and continues to make excuses for her behavior. Lady Denham has an exorbitant amount of money, and yet she chooses to see her relatives as vultures rather than trying to help them. Lady Denham uses her kindness toward Clara Brereton as a weapon against anyone who criticizes her or asks her for money, since she is completing one good deed. Lady Denham’s performative generosity, coupled with her private cruelty, illustrates The Corrupting Power of Ambition. Her lifelong pursuit of wealth and status has rendered her unable to empathize with others.