Thursday Thoughts: Sidney Parker

This week’s Thursday thought revolves around Sanditon’s resident brooding ‘hero’, Sidney Parker. The first season take on Jane Austen’s last, unfinished work, is one of my favorite binges ( yes, I have the book too! ) and you can find it on OPB. Do yourself a favor and save this for after Bridgerton S3 ends.

Sidney is one of my favorite Austen characters. I love Darcy and Knightly, but with Sidney, Austen truly said ‘hold my beer.’ The deep transformation we see him go through shows us a new kind of character from her that breaks from the norms of the predictable, aloof, but stable gentleman.

Sidney is traveled. He fights, drinks, gambles, and takes a firm stand against slavery. His cynicism puts Darcy to shame, and the devastating rejection he deals with at a young age has him feeling he has nothing to lose. He is self-loathing, unforgiving, and quick to judge, but like most of Austen’s characters, we should forgive the first impression – as Charlotte eventually does.

Just as Knightly lectures Emma, Sidney lectures Charlotte, but where Knightly is predictable Sidney is multi-dimensional. He is free-spirited, confident, and strong. Underneath all the roughness he is vulnerable, and the depth of his emotions is unmatched. When Charlotte accuses him of being insensible of feeling his insecurities become all too obvious. By holding him accountable, Charlotte helps him break down the walls he put up around himself and Sidney shows he’s mature enough to let her to see this side of him.

The ball moment is the peak of Sidney’s growth. He finally lets Charlotte in and trusts her. He tells her he doesn’t want to dance with anyone else, he wants her. Holding her close, they only have eyes for each other, and it’s obvious how badly they’ve fallen. In this moment, Sidney permits himself to feel again and it scares him, but it’s clear he feels Charlotte is worth the risk.

I won’t give it all away, but Sidney’s character development is 🤌🏼🤌🏼 and I can only aspire to character arcs as complex and textured as his 🤍

xoxo, Katie