Sanditon

Throughout the course of the unfinished novel, Austen develops the tension between characters who are obsessed with their health and those who are directly affected by the reality of sickness. This tension is closely connected with the class tensions that run through the novel. Charlotte comes from a wealthy farming family, but she is not from the same social class as the Parkers or Lady Denham. This class difference is expressed in her father’s skeptical reaction to the Sanditon resort: A pragmatic man, he regards the beach resort as a passing fad that will distort the local economy and make life harder for working people. Charlotte’s own pragmatic character also signifies her difference from the circles she finds herself in at Sanditon. Her family is well-off, but they have attained financial security through hard work, and as a result, Charlotte has developed an aversion to the flights of fancy that—in different ways—define most of the other characters she meets. With too much leisure, characters in this novel lose the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Edward imagines himself as the hero of Lord Byron’s Don Juan, swept away by romantic passion. Diana Parker imagines herself as a martyr who works tirelessly for the less fortunate despite her crippling illnesses.