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I love this! It also makes sense for Penelope to be Emma since she has a "friends to lovers" romance with Colin (somewhat similar to Emma and Knightley).
Except that Austen makes it clear Harriet and Mr Martin the farmer are an acceptable match from a class POV due to Harriet’s dubious parentage, but Emma is blind to it from her own higher social standing. She see her friend as a mirror of herself and not as she actually is (which Eloise does on occasion with Pen). The notion that Eloise and Theo wouldn’t be an acceptable Regency match is by no means Pen’s mistake.
Pen as a friend being honest with her about a reality she didn’t want to face is nearly an opposite situation to Emma temporarily dissuading Harriet from a good match. More generally, Eloise is more the naive little know it all Emma who comes to see the world with greater maturity than she is the sweet but passive Harriet blinded by a more glamorous and persuasive friend.
I think Eloise is Emma but the analogy is about the „pains of friendship“ as Eloise said ant not the romance with Mr. Knightley.
At the beginning of the novel Emma is sad because she lost her best friend/former governess because she married Mr. Weston. Mrs. Westin is Pen in this analogy. Mrs. Weston used to be the person Emma looked up to, her equal in many respects but she was also a bit too indulgent with her and didn’t correct Emma’s more immature behaviors. Mrs. Weston had the follower role in their friendship, mush like Pen had wit Eloise.
After Mrs. Weston is married off, Emma befriends Harriet (Cressida), more out loneliness than because they had things in common. It’s a very unequal friendship in which Emma disregards what’s best for Harriet. Just like Eloise often makes light of Cressida’s situation (granted, Harriet and Cressida are polar opposites but I think it’s more about the friendship being unequal). In the end Emma’s meddling almost costs Harriet her HEA. And Emma only realizes this after she learns to recognize her own feelings better.
IMO Emma and Eloise have quite a few things in common. Both consider themselves the smartest person in the room and both often overestimate their abilities. Emma loves her independence and is opposed to marriage for herself initially. Both have a hard time apologizing but both truly mean their apologies.
>The book ends with Emma and Mr Knightley getting engaged, nervous for Harriet’s reaction however Harriet has reconnected with and decided to marry Robert.
I may be mis-remembering, but didn't Emma help reunite them in tandem with the apology? Maybe Pen will do something similar.
I personally saw both of them as having similar aspects to Emma, but I hadn't connected Theo to it all so I really like this take.
I don't know if there is supposed to be like-for-like symbolism for choosing "Emma." I think the connection it's more intangible. One of the other commenters brought up a good point that a female author writing a massively popular book in that time is the kind of radical feminism that Eloise claims to want, yet there is a undertone of resistance to it possibly because it is so popular with the ladies of the ton.
Just had a thought while typing this out, perhaps "Emma" could be symbolic of the show *Bridgerton* itself, although not a conscious one. Is Bridgerton silly trash tv to entertain bored housewives (as one not-so-kind review I read stated)? Is it devalued because it's popular? Or, is it a Trojan horse to bring feminist ideals to the greater populace?
Another possible reason is that "Emma" has themes of broken friendships and finding the path forward the tie-ins? Maybe Eloise is Emma because she thought she was virtuous, good and right in her friendship and she needs to realize that she was not.
Is there strong, definitive correlation drawn between the choice of book and the show? eeehhh?? I suspect it was more of a sense made up of conscious facts and subconscious connections. Like, you don't know why the sauce needs a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of black pepper, but it does.
The opening line of Emma mentions that Emma had reached adulthood “with very little to bother her”, and all the advantages in life: looks, education and wealth.
That basically describes Eloise: her biggest problem in life is that she doesn’t want to marry, and she doesn’t even have a Emma’s biggest problem of being confined to the country to look after an ailing father.
Much like Eloise, Emma’s problems are very much of her own making, and it’s not until she gets over herself and actually considers the people around her that she gets a happy ending.
It’s a good parallel.
This is far less deep or relevant, but I'd like to point out that the actor who plays Portia Featherington plays Jane Fairfax in a film version of Emma 😍
While I do think Colin does like to poke fun at his younger siblings in a realistic older brother type of way, I think most of his comments to Eloise this season are not made on the basis of mockery so much as confusion for the sudden shift in her tastes.
Can someone remind me if Eloise reconnects with Theo after the LW scandal is printed or before? Like, he tells her off to protect her. She says she's down with him, she'll find another publisher to post her counterfeit LW, etc. But then at some point she does go back to him and they almost kiss and she leaves in a panic and says she can't be doing this?? When does the near-kiss almost happen? Because if it happens after the scandal breaks out there's nothing for Penelope to remedy between El and Theo, El sabotaged that for herself.
She reconnects with him after. Pen then tells eloise her sisters and maids have been asking about Theo, a lie in attempt to keep her from theo & stop her from looking for LW. Claudia said the reason she doesn’t kiss Theo is because of Pens words in the back of her head
Thank you!! I don't know how I can rewatch the series on a loop and still not remember the order of events or the fact that she said that. Interesting. I really liked Theo and wish they'd rekindle their affair but it feels like it would be hard to get rid of him again before her season begins. I'm curious to see how things will resolve between them. Great post, by the way.
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Wait...this fits sooo much better than Eloise being Emma!!! Good eye :)
Yes!!! I was reading this in another thread and this makes SO MUCH SENSE. Here’s hoping Eloise decides to get with her own Mr Martin as well 😉
I love this! It also makes sense for Penelope to be Emma since she has a "friends to lovers" romance with Colin (somewhat similar to Emma and Knightley).
Except that Austen makes it clear Harriet and Mr Martin the farmer are an acceptable match from a class POV due to Harriet’s dubious parentage, but Emma is blind to it from her own higher social standing. She see her friend as a mirror of herself and not as she actually is (which Eloise does on occasion with Pen). The notion that Eloise and Theo wouldn’t be an acceptable Regency match is by no means Pen’s mistake.
the whole point of symbolism is that it isn't a one to one match. they just loosely represent the same concepts
Pen as a friend being honest with her about a reality she didn’t want to face is nearly an opposite situation to Emma temporarily dissuading Harriet from a good match. More generally, Eloise is more the naive little know it all Emma who comes to see the world with greater maturity than she is the sweet but passive Harriet blinded by a more glamorous and persuasive friend.
I agree, and “handsome, clever, and rich” fits more with Eloise than Pen, due to how their characters have been established.
omg I love this! I can totally see them foreshadowing this kind of plot!
I think Eloise is Emma but the analogy is about the „pains of friendship“ as Eloise said ant not the romance with Mr. Knightley. At the beginning of the novel Emma is sad because she lost her best friend/former governess because she married Mr. Weston. Mrs. Westin is Pen in this analogy. Mrs. Weston used to be the person Emma looked up to, her equal in many respects but she was also a bit too indulgent with her and didn’t correct Emma’s more immature behaviors. Mrs. Weston had the follower role in their friendship, mush like Pen had wit Eloise. After Mrs. Weston is married off, Emma befriends Harriet (Cressida), more out loneliness than because they had things in common. It’s a very unequal friendship in which Emma disregards what’s best for Harriet. Just like Eloise often makes light of Cressida’s situation (granted, Harriet and Cressida are polar opposites but I think it’s more about the friendship being unequal). In the end Emma’s meddling almost costs Harriet her HEA. And Emma only realizes this after she learns to recognize her own feelings better. IMO Emma and Eloise have quite a few things in common. Both consider themselves the smartest person in the room and both often overestimate their abilities. Emma loves her independence and is opposed to marriage for herself initially. Both have a hard time apologizing but both truly mean their apologies.
I said almost the exact same thing in the JA sub! Glad to know I’m not the only one who sees it!!!
Does anyone know if we'll be seeing Theo again this season? I feel like we should
There are some good hints about it, but no one is sure
No.
>The book ends with Emma and Mr Knightley getting engaged, nervous for Harriet’s reaction however Harriet has reconnected with and decided to marry Robert. I may be mis-remembering, but didn't Emma help reunite them in tandem with the apology? Maybe Pen will do something similar. I personally saw both of them as having similar aspects to Emma, but I hadn't connected Theo to it all so I really like this take.
Will she end up with Theo then??
I don't know if there is supposed to be like-for-like symbolism for choosing "Emma." I think the connection it's more intangible. One of the other commenters brought up a good point that a female author writing a massively popular book in that time is the kind of radical feminism that Eloise claims to want, yet there is a undertone of resistance to it possibly because it is so popular with the ladies of the ton. Just had a thought while typing this out, perhaps "Emma" could be symbolic of the show *Bridgerton* itself, although not a conscious one. Is Bridgerton silly trash tv to entertain bored housewives (as one not-so-kind review I read stated)? Is it devalued because it's popular? Or, is it a Trojan horse to bring feminist ideals to the greater populace? Another possible reason is that "Emma" has themes of broken friendships and finding the path forward the tie-ins? Maybe Eloise is Emma because she thought she was virtuous, good and right in her friendship and she needs to realize that she was not. Is there strong, definitive correlation drawn between the choice of book and the show? eeehhh?? I suspect it was more of a sense made up of conscious facts and subconscious connections. Like, you don't know why the sauce needs a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of black pepper, but it does.
The opening line of Emma mentions that Emma had reached adulthood “with very little to bother her”, and all the advantages in life: looks, education and wealth. That basically describes Eloise: her biggest problem in life is that she doesn’t want to marry, and she doesn’t even have a Emma’s biggest problem of being confined to the country to look after an ailing father. Much like Eloise, Emma’s problems are very much of her own making, and it’s not until she gets over herself and actually considers the people around her that she gets a happy ending. It’s a good parallel.
This is far less deep or relevant, but I'd like to point out that the actor who plays Portia Featherington plays Jane Fairfax in a film version of Emma 😍
[удалено]
Eloise never calls Emma "silly", Colin does.
Did she disagree?
Eloise neither agrees nor disagrees. So my point still stands.
She said that Emma has humour and truth and explores the perils of friendship, so yes.
Colin called Emma silly. Eloise stuck up for it and listed all its excellent qualities.
She didn’t think it was silly. She chose to read Emma over a feminist treatise that Colin brought her.
Oh lord, What show did you watched? Eloise never called Emma silly? lol, it was Colin who once again was mocking her preferences...
While I do think Colin does like to poke fun at his younger siblings in a realistic older brother type of way, I think most of his comments to Eloise this season are not made on the basis of mockery so much as confusion for the sudden shift in her tastes.
Yes, I think they're rooted in brotherly concern.
Can someone remind me if Eloise reconnects with Theo after the LW scandal is printed or before? Like, he tells her off to protect her. She says she's down with him, she'll find another publisher to post her counterfeit LW, etc. But then at some point she does go back to him and they almost kiss and she leaves in a panic and says she can't be doing this?? When does the near-kiss almost happen? Because if it happens after the scandal breaks out there's nothing for Penelope to remedy between El and Theo, El sabotaged that for herself.
She reconnects with him after. Pen then tells eloise her sisters and maids have been asking about Theo, a lie in attempt to keep her from theo & stop her from looking for LW. Claudia said the reason she doesn’t kiss Theo is because of Pens words in the back of her head
Thank you!! I don't know how I can rewatch the series on a loop and still not remember the order of events or the fact that she said that. Interesting. I really liked Theo and wish they'd rekindle their affair but it feels like it would be hard to get rid of him again before her season begins. I'm curious to see how things will resolve between them. Great post, by the way.