Bridgerton is a new Netflix period drama. We follow Daphne, the eldest daughter of the powerful and late Viscount Bridgerton’s family as she makes her debut onto Regency London’s competitive marriage market.
The show whilst entertaining has many takeaways – life lessons if you may, that we could all learn from.
1 – Love and other drugs
Love stays complicated. You can love someone with all your heart, but that still does not stop them from destroying it too.
The relationship between The Duke and Daphne is evident to this. At first, they start out as an arrangement between ‘friends’ – but as the season progressed Daphne falls more and more for him, and he seems to be oblivious to this, up until the very end.
Are men oblivious of signals? or does it simply take longer for a man to show that he does indeed reciprocate the same feelings? – this can cause the woman to hurt and confusion.
Love can be amazing, but it can also destroy a person.
Love is an energy exchange, if someone is not giving it equal effort, things can get messy. People marry for lots of different reasons; Wealth, Family, Status, Children, Companionship. Watching Bridgerton, it seems like the objective of the season was all of the above but much more, the desired outcome is a marriage based on love.
Marry someone because you really love them. Marry them because you want to spend your time with them on this crazy ride of life. That is a wonderful ideal, albeit sometimes unrealistic.
That is not the norm for the characters on this show. The ongoing struggle between Daphne and The Duke, even after they marry is evidence that things are not always rosy.
2. Haters are always going to hate.
Lady Whistledown is a prime example of this. From watching the show, it is abundantly clear that she is there to portray a constant social media presence in peoples lives, albeit via letter.
She reminds us that there is always someone, with opinions and scrutiny, and if they so feel the desire, Haters will hate, gossip and slander.
Fast forward to the present day, most of us base our self-worth on likes and Social Media. if you are saying you haven’t ever been affected by this, you are lying.
Lady W teaches us that we cannot always base our worth off of other people and social media trolls. Put quite simply, there is a big wide world out there. Even during a pandemic, there is more to life than the internet.
3 – Double Standards always prevail
Men and Women are treated differently. Bridgerton shows a prime example of this. It was completely acceptable for men to kiss and have sex as much as they liked even outside their marriages. Women are expected to carry themselves with an almost stiffness and not kiss or have sex with anyone before marriage.
During the series, we learn that Daphne has never touched herself, masturbation is healthy and aids in exploring what a person likes. The men are clearly well versed given the double standards experienced in the show. Women are to marry and suddenly know what to do? Crazy!
Double Standards are evident today. it is fine for a man to sleep with as many people as he likes, the same cannot be said for women.
4 – Every Family has its issues
Things are never as they seem in Bridgerton, every family has some type of financial, sexual (cheating husbands much?) or jealousy factor. It is refreshing to see this represented in the show, Family is not perfect.
To carry the name Bridgerton burdened a lot of responsibility. They had to try and uphold the family name, perfect reputation and status within the community. All whilst being the complete opposite. Humans are imperfect naturally, we all have whims, characteristics and wants that take away from the perfect image.
It is true that no matter who you are, you do not know what is going on inside someone’s head. You do not know the ins and outs of someone’s family history.
It is unfair to make assumptions on others without knowing first hand the experience they are going through. We all need to mind our business sometimes.
5 – Trauma has lasting affects on a person
Following my previous point, not everyone has a loving and trusting environment to grow up in, or live in for that matter. This is evident in the show through the depiction of the Duke’s past. How the trauma he experienced during childhood left him hurt and emotionally scarred.
His mother died shortly after his birth, and he was without her growing up, as someone who has experienced only having the 1 parent albeit, under different circumstances, you always wonder what they would be like if they were here, would you be different as a person because of it.
The Duke also experienced an issue with learning and speech, and he did not live to up his fathers ideal of the perfect son, so was cast out. His father was also mentally abusive toward him.
Trauma can affect a person in many different ways. if you or a friend, family member or anything in between are struggling during these unprecedented times, please check out MIND.
MIND is a mental health charity who offer help and support for individuals struggling with Mental Health issues. If you would like to check out more from me, click here.