Allegory in Austen: Is Miss Lambe an allegory for victims of exploitative colonialism? Anonymous College

As a character that is “consigned to eternal narrative silence” (Salih, p336) Sanditon’s Miss Lambe is an object of interest. This interest is furthered by the fact that is “Austen’s only ‘brown’ character” (Salih, p330). Alone, this silence and this ‘browness’, would be curious enough but the combination leads to questions about the eventual fate that Austen might have had for this character; moreover, the meaning that Miss Lambe holds in the text. The character’s presentation and some possible Abolitionist feeling by Austen could suggest that Miss Lambe serves as an allegory for victims of colonial exploitation. However, the extent to which this allegory applies is itself a question. Although some critics have called Austen “deliberately narrow” (Salih, p339) in her engagement with contemporary topics, Salih convincingly asserts that “even the most politically myopic writer would have found it difficult to remain unaware” (p338) of hot topics. Perhaps then, in the figure of Miss Lambe we see Austen’s eventual allegorical confrontation of the issue of colonial relations.

The most obvious supporting factor of this allegory is Miss Lambe’s lack of voice. Throughout Sanditon, “she never utters a word” (Salih, 330); had the...