#bridgerton text

[geraltcirilla]

I think the Bridgerton fandom needs a little bit more nuance and reading comprehension when dissecting the books and digesting certain actions taken by the characters.

For example, Daphne and Phillip both raped someone in their books. Daphne raped Simon and Phillip raped Marina. This isn’t open for debate because that’s exactly what happened. But here is where the crux lies: When Julia Quinn wrote those scenes, she did not intend them to be rape scenes, and therefore she did not write Daphne nor Phillip as rapists.

As readers it’s our job to criticize the scene and Julie Quinn for writing it, but understand you can’t use that scene to influence the whole character and what they are like. The issue lies with Julia Quinn and what she perceives as consent, and this actually comes up in every single Bridgerton book (with men acting as if they are owed sex), it’s just that Books 1 and 5 have the most egregious example of it.

What’s more is Julia even brings up rape multiple times in her other books, where the men would say “I would never rape a woman”, and you can tell from the context of those scenes Julia views rape as forcefully or violently sexually violating a woman. When the truth is, rape doesn’t need to be forceful nor violent. You can also tell that she doesn’t believe a husband or wife can rape one another, which is actually where Daphne and Phillip’s scenes come into play. Daphne was married to Simon, Phillip was married to Marina, and neither Simon no Marina said the word “no”, so to Julia that means both scenes were consensual.

As readers we need to concede that these scenes were rape, but I also think it’s entirely disingenuous to take it a step further and described Daphne and Phillip as rapists. These characters aren’t real, they’re fiction in novels written by a very real woman who is misunderstanding the very essence of consent and who can and should be educated about it. When I see people flippantly call Daphne and Phillip rapists it’s almost always related to the fact they dislike these characters for other reasons and rapist is an easy and powerful word to use to completely disregard their characters.

This is why I think it’s so important for the show adaption to understand these scenes and completely remove them from the show. They failed miserably with Daphne but given the backlash they received from including that scene, I feel as though it will not be done with Phillip.

[grlfailur3]

possibly the funniest thing in this season of bridgerton is when colin comes to comfort penelope after lady whistledown writes about them and she says something like “oh, it would’ve been suspicious had she not written about it”, like ??? yes, penelope, that is SUCH a normal thing to say to someone who doesn’t even suspect you to be lady whistledown 😭😭😭

[mandno]

the love and dedication Reynolds and Brimsley put into protecting their king and queen, even to the point of fighting with each other i-

[youkaiyume]

UGH Thinking about when all the admiring girls calling Colin Brave for the Hot Air Balloon incident and where he finds such bravery and he is going into his suave retelling until he sees Penelope across the room--and everything fades away and his facade slips because the real reason he did it was because he only thought of saving the woman he loves in that moment. But he then tries to go back to his bravado retelling and say that "courage is within us all." but then falters once again when he says that if "we are honest with ourselves and with our feelings, it is possible to do anything." He's once again looking at Pen--because the honest truth is that his feelings for Pen was what made him the hero. And yet at the same time he feels the hypocrisy of that moment because he still can't be honest with himself enough to find the courage to pursue her.

And to add to the layers, Penelope is also listening to his words and interpreting it as a sign that she needs to be honest about her own feelings for Colin, and that they will never be returned. She needs to take action and secure her own future. So she turns in that moment and resolves to go to Debling. UGH I AM NOT WELL.

[redeclipsee]

some ppl: Colin started to love Penelope after the kiss.

my galaxy brain: It was actually, when she stopped replying his letters!

She 'changed´ first and subconsciously contributed to his identity crisis because he felt lonelier than ever. He was used to his family not replying, but not Pen.

When he comebacks he's already obsessed. Penelope is just minding her own business and here comes Colin Bridgerton whenever and wherever she is, trying to speak to her and just be with her like a lovesick puppy (Penelope minding her own business in her own garden and here comes Colin Bridgerton out of nowhere like 'boo, surprise!'). The moment he learns he fucked up last season, immediately offers his help to make it up to her (which, in my mind is already an unconscious love confession idc). He already feels unsure the minute Pen gets attention even before the kiss!

The kiss was just the catharsis of his already growing feelings. And even the kiss is interesting because he accepted it, unlike when he couldn't kiss Marina in S1, but he did could kiss Pen. Partly because, unlike Marina, Pen was very honest with him, showing her completely vulnerability and on the other hand, perhaps, a kiss doesn't seem like a great deal now that he was more experience. And partly because the idea sounds rather good than her, so it's a bit of pity and a bit of desire. BUT BOY DID HE PLAY HIMSELF. Colin's feeling had been growing and growing and the kiss was like a running face into a wall; awakening. The connection he had been searching for during his travels he finally found (after he lost it when Pen stopped replying).

But it was not the reason of his feelings turning romantic.

My point is, Colin would have come to realize he loved Penelope romantically even if they hadn't kiss. It was already there, blooming slowly. The kiss just helped him realize sooner, rather than later when it was already too late.

[katnissmellarkkk]

i also find it funny that penelope is supposedly so terrible for writing all the lady whistledown columns that expose people’s secrets and drama, because at least half the time, the person she’s writing about has treated her so badly i’d have made up much, much worse.

[awkward-sultana]

A round of applause for Mr. Finch, who's so hot for his wife he can't even get his pants around his ankles.

[kvtnisseverdeen]

nicola coughlan knowing damn well that she's getting a lot of attention on social media because of bridgerton season 3 and using said attention to post about palestine in between promos is how celebrities should be using their platforms btw

[crispyliza]

Insane sentences I've read so far today:

Kylo Ren didn't want to assume Jenny Nicholson's pronouns

Mozart and Pitbull worked together as peers

[florida3exclamationpoints]

[incorrect-bridgerton-family]

Eloise: Theo made me feel things.

Penelope: What things?

Eloise: Feelings.

Penelope: He made you feel feelings?

Eloise: Yeah.

Penelope: What a bitch.

[geraltcirilla]

I also think we should call out the problematic writing for more popular characters like Anthony who does coerce Kate on their wedding night or Benedict who tries to punish Sophie by threatening her personal safety for denying him unrestricted access to having sex with her.

Anthony is actually an excellent example because we've already received his season, and look at how the season 2 writers completely omitted his coercive language. And not only that, we received a lot of respect on his part to Kate and her boundaries without making their scenes less simmery or sexually charged, which is a great rebuttal for people who claim this misogynistic dialogue is sexy and fun and that the books couldn't be sexy without it.

Case in point:

Kate: What are you doing? Anthony: Say you do not care for me. Tell me you feel nothing, and I will walk away. Kate: I feel...

Also:

Anthony: I will stop. Kate: Do not stop. Anthony: I will stop. Kate: Do not stop.

And regarding Benedict...

I'm actually reading An Offer from a Gentleman right now and this is one of the most difficult books for me to read so far. Despite Daphne and Phillip's books containing rape scenes, those scenes were the only (or one of the few) examples of controlling behavior by these characters. You can easily skip them since they only lasted a single page, and then the characters are back to acting like their normal selves. For Benedict's book in particular, his poor behavior starts halfway through the book and gets increasingly worse. He treats Sophie terrible, like she's an object he owns, and guilt-trips and gaslights her when she tries to defend herself. I finished each previous book in two days, this book is taking me far longer simply because Benedict is pissing me the fuck off and it's so hard to continue on. I find this is the first love story I'm not rooting for and not invested in because of Benedict's outrageously strong toxic masculinity.

But when I look at Benedict from the TV series, I cannot see him doing any of this or treating Sophie like that. Season 2 did a massive rehaul of the book starting from the bee sting scene, and I believe that AOFAG will receive the same treatment and that may be one of the reasons the orders of the seasons were changed.

If we were going to talk about over-all shitty behavior that lasted through most if not all of the book, Anthony and Benedict would certainly be the winners in my opinion.

[verkomy]

no thoughts, just bagginshield regency era au

[aestheteasteria]

How gratifying must it be for writers to see real people thirst over figments of their imagination

[danburys]

anyway, when george hid under the bed and couldn't move, mental illness mood, long live the monarchy or whatever

[pensbridge]

Shoutout to Luke Newton for perfectly portraying a man who has lost his goddamn mind. portraying a man that doesn't even know his own argument as he's pleading, having a facial journey that goes from quickly working out a response -> dialling it back -> and somehow working out his new narrative in mere seconds. props to his very PARTICULAR tone, the levels to his voice, specific inflections, as well as the flip-flopping from this faux persona of swagger to shy Mclonely boy. Honestly, truly, it's so good.