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June 17, 2008 11:13 AM
HELEN'S HEROINES: Bridget Jones
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.
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Posted by Helen Redfern on June 17, 2008 in Helen's Heroines | Permalink
Comments
I agree! I loved Bridget Jones and as well as identifying with her at the time it was the first 'grown-up' book that made me laugh out loud.
Posted by: Karne | June 17, 2008 8:50 PM
...I've actually spelt my own name wrong. How embarrassed am I? Very.
Posted by: Karen | June 17, 2008 8:51 PM
I must agree that Bridget Jones is indeed one of my very favorite heroines. She was real and funny and dealt with the same career/boyfriend/family issues that I did, so reading her "diaries" was like sharing intimate secrets with a close friend. She is especially dear to me because I discovered her when my best friend was in Paris (and me in LA), so I didn't get my daily dose of girl-talk. Bridget filled in the gaps.
Posted by: Lucie Simone | June 17, 2008 10:58 PM
Anyone else ever been turned off of a heroine because of the actress who portrayed her in the movie? I liked Bridget ok in the book (which I listened to on audio and I think that detracts a bit form the experience, but oh well). I could commiserate with her continual botches and then feeling like an idiot - been there. But I just couldn't handle Renee Zellweger's squinty eyes, pouty lips and general whiney expressions so now it's all just ruined for me.
Posted by: Tami | June 18, 2008 1:27 AM
That's interesting, Tami. I loved the books and enjoyed the films, but then found I couldn't re-read the books because I was picturing Renee Zellweger!
Posted by: Keris | June 18, 2008 8:40 AM
I agree with you Tami and Keris. I was picturing Renee all the while whilst writing this post.
Lucie I love that Bridget was your girl talk whilst your bf was in Paris and you were in LA.
Posted by: Helen | June 18, 2008 9:21 AM
I think Bridget is a heroine because no matter what life throws at her she eventually comes out on top. Sure, she had more then her fair share of heartbreak an hard times, but regardless things always work out in some way.
Posted by: Tarah | June 18, 2008 1:12 PM
I was really not impressed with the columns that Fielding wrote for Bridget Jones's character in 2005-2006. I actually think Fielding might have hated her character so much that she decided to completely ruin Bridget's life (sort of like how Sherlock Holmes' author offed him).
Somehow things had jumped forward more than 5 years from EOR with a) no marriage to Mark Darcy and b) no baby with him (although there was some mention of Bridget and Mark trying to conceive in a very unromantic ways 3 months before they broke up, again), and c) Bridget not learning that Daniel Cleaver was a commitment-phobic man-whore who couldn't be trusted with a gerbil.
It just did not seem like Bridget's "Happy ending" (or Mark's) was destined to be dragged on for so many years. Furthermore, I'm sure Mark would not have flirted with the nurses/ ignored Bridget to watch the world cup/ taken hallucinogenic drugs (or have a psychotic breakdown) all within days of his son's birth.
BJD and EOR seemed to span 2 years, so I don't understand how things are pretty much back to square one almost 10 years later. Even "Knocked-up" had the shlubby guy try to better himself for his baby. I keep hoping that Fielding will write one more column saying that her 2006 entries were all a dream and Bridget really did get her happy ending with Mark. If a third book comes out with this Daniel Cleaver's baby nonsense, the I'll just conclude Fielding hates us all. ;-P
Posted by: Lyn | July 15, 2008 1:55 AM
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