The West Indians," she continued, "whom I look upon as the most desirable of the two, as the best of the good, prove to be a Mrs. Griffiths and her family
Austen criticizes the value system of rich people. They believe West Indians are more desirable than a college that prepares students for a clerical profession. This is both racist and ignorant at the same time.
My appetite is very much mended, I assure you, lately. I have been taking some bitters of my own decocting, which have done wonders. Susan never eats, I grant you
In a world where a “much mended” appetite is equal to “never eating”, I think they have read too many dieting pamphlets for their own good. It is especially funny that this comes from Mr. Parker, because usually women are associated with “silly” little eating habits.
Sir Edward's great object in life was to be seductive
Sir Edward is a weird guy who tries hard to seduce women. Austen hypes up the sentence by increasing the reader’s expectations with “great object in life”, prepping the reader for a mind-blowing objective, to be let down by the one word “seductive”. Disappointed but not surprised?
She is thoroughly mean
A major shift here similar to Charlotte’s change in opinion of Edward. Before, Charlotte was excited to talk to Lady Denham and found her agreeable. Now, she clearly states her opinion that she finds her “thoroughly mean.”
Yes, my dear, and it is not the only kind thing I have done by him
Lady Denham boasts about her kind act of giving Sir Edward her dead second husband’s gold watch. She makes it known to Charlotte that she is a kind woman who does kind things. However, Charlotte sees right through her showy personality.
nor can any woman be a fair judge of what a man may be propelled to say, write or do by the sovereign impulses of illimitable ardour
Sir Edward says women can’t understand what a man says because they are too driven by their emotions, even though Charlotte “could not but think him a man of feeling”. He digs himself deeper in a hole with Charlotte by disrespecting women.
She began to think him downright silly
In the quick course of a conversation, Charlotte shifts her opinion of Edward from “Sir Edward was much her superior in air and manner” to this thought. The bluntness of the statement and the abrupt shift in opinion shows how shallow Edward’s personality truly is.