I have to say, I've been reluctant to post about Bridget Jones as a heroine. I didn't know how I could spin a chain smoking, wine guzzling, man desperate woman into a someone I looked up to. But, with some thought, I think I may have been missing the point. She has had such an impact on many of our (reading) lives it would be a shame to leave her out.
So why did she have an impact? Well perhaps most importantly, she reminded us of ourselves at that time in our lives. I'm not saying we were all obsessed about calories, slender thighs or alcohol units but there were bits in each diary that we could relate to. Maybe you too have turned up at a party thinking it was fancy dress...and it wasn't. Even if you haven't, that feeling of embarrassment is something every woman has been through.
As I write this I am reminded of a sketch by Harry Enfield (although I could be wrong, I couldn't find anything in a search), where there were a lot of posh people around a dinner table and all the women were saying "I am Bridget Jones" "No, I'm Bridget Jones" and so on. It was mocking the fact that so many women identified with her.
We felt awkward when around a man, we had fat days, we wore big pants to cover out tummies. And maybe, for some of us (in our early twenties), we did stupid things to impress a man or went out our way to please him.
It is quite telling that when Helen Fielding brought her back in 2005 - again as a column in The Independent - it didn't go down as well with Bridget fans. Women felt Bridget had taken a step backwards with some of her choices and not learned anything from the previous two books. Which, to me, demonstrates that Bridget Jones opens up her very honest diaries to us readers where we see her warts and all (as we do ourselves) and cheer as we see her grow and find happiness. A very honest and, some might say, normal heroine.
More Helen's Heroines
