Title: Bridget Jones's Diary (Goodreads)
Author: Helen Fielding
Series: Bridget Jones #1
Published: Pan Macmillan, 1996
Pages: 310
Genres: Chick Lit
My Copy: Personal Copy
Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)
Bridget Jones’s Diary is the year in the life of a thirty-something single working woman living in London. While she writes about her career, problems, family, friends, and a quest for a romantic relationship she is also on a quest for self improvement. To quit smoking, cut down on drinking, lose weight and develop Inner poise, this novel is a comical look at the modern woman.
First of all, I think of this book as a pseudo feminist novel; while there are plenty of elements in the novel that could be considered a critique of feminism; this is more satire than anything else. Bridget wants to be that kind of woman but she never gets there, she tries to come across as a strong independent working woman who does what she wants when she wants, but when it all comes down to it, what she wants is a man. Interesting enough the strongest feminist is the mother who has legitimate feminist ideals, but not portrayed in a very positive light.
There is this idea that Bridget Jones’s Diary is based on Pride and Prejudice but I have some issues with this and I will try to explore some of my basic thoughts on this. Firstly Bridget is not Elizabeth Bennett; she would like to be, but in the book her personality would be more like Lydia. Her goal is to become more like Lizzie but her relationship with Daniel Cleaver (possible the Wickham of the story) shows us that she is living a life of self gratification. If we are going to compare characters to those in Pride and Prejudice, then Bridget’s mother might start off as a Mrs Bennett but in the end turns into a Lydia as well. Mark Darcy is obviously Mr Darcy and probably the only character that closely resembles the original character. There is also the desire to find a husband (or mate) due to the pressures put on them by their mothers as well as the perception of running out of time. In Lizzie’s case, she was at the age where she needs to seriously consider getting married as it was expected of her and in Bridget’s case it was more to do with her biological clock.
Here is how I think the comparison was made; in the novel Bridget was obsessed with the BBC TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, she considered Lizzie and Darcy the idea of the a great romance and wanted to find her own Mr Darcy. She loves the lake scene with Colin Firth in the wet white shirt (not in the book), so when it come to moment where Bridget realises who’s the right man for her, the book tries to replicate the scene with the description of Mark Darcy coming in dirty and sweaty and her attraction to him at that moment. Obviously since the movie had Colin Firth playing Mark Darcy, they were able to replicate this scene a lot better and this is why the ending was changed.
I don’t know much about Chick Lit so it is hard to talk about the writing and how it compares to other books in this genre but I have some thoughts I want to explore. First of all, this novel is almost like a soliloquy; obviously being a diary she is expecting no one else to read her thoughts, so she can express feelings that she would never consider sharing with others. The diary takes the reader through the year with her, as it happens, not with the wisdom of hindsight or any wisdom at all. The only problem is that it blurs the line between a first person narrative and third; there are parts of the book where it would be obscure to think Bridget was writing down everything happening, minute by minute as it was happening. This is to help add to the comedy of the book but to me it added to the absurdity.
Lastly I want to talk about Bridget Jones; the modern woman, obsessed with romance but still wanting to appear as a strong independent woman. She starts the diary in an effort try to improve herself but it also suggests that she is self-absorbed. What really got me was her negative body image; each day she weighed herself and throughout the course of the entire book the most she ever weighed was 9.6 stone (just over 60kg or 132 pounds) and she considers herself overweight by that? I know she compares herself to people on TV but it’s just ridiculous. Also with the amount of calories, cigarettes and alcohol she drinks, I’m surprised she is so under weight and that is where the satire started to frustrate me.
Overall, I was entertained by this book; as a novel it did have its issues and is riddled with chick lit clichés. As a satirical novel, it worked on some levels but most of the time it had to rely on the chick lit elements to help push it through. I didn’t remember much about the movie, except for the fountain scene and Renée Zellweger putting on weight for the role. Which when comparing it to the book doesn’t make sense but on a personal level, I think it was an improvement; she looked fantastic. Overall the book was quirky but the real surprise for me was the wit and irony used throughout the novel; enough to entertain me.
Bridget Jones is one of the rare books i read after seeing the movie. I was so disappointed in the book, it was so anticlimatic in comparison. I often wonder if i did it the other way around if i would have prefered it.
I think if you remember the movie details while reading this book, it would have a negative effect on the book
[…] 5. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding […]
Nice review. I’m having a brutal time with this book. The movie made Bridget Jones so much more likable and relatable. It was wayyy more light hearted. Instead of being super depressive with a huge weight of negative body image and poor self-esteem, in the movie she was clumsy and silly. I’m reading this book and thinking, “Geez, this poor woman needs counselling.” She definitely has signs of major depression as well as alcoholism (using it to cope). I realize that I’m not supposed to look at a satire so closely, but I work in mental health so I see these perspectives more readily than others. Also, is it just me or is everyone around her a horrible human being? Her mother is incredibly self-absorbed and doesn’t even listen to a word Bridget ever says… How horrible would it be to have a mother who never allows you to be your own person or to have your own voice? And really, she’s not the only character like this! I mean these people are selfish and horrifically entitled… the married friends she has, her mothers older friends, Daniel, etc. Well, to be honest, Daniel is CLASSIC narcissist. These are the kind of people you literally drop because they ONLY have a negative influence on your life. To me, I just find this book sad… the dating stories in this book just show immaturity, a pathetic and remote grasp of basic intimacy skills, commitment phobia in all its forms, etc. If dating is some weird game to you, then A) you are an idiot, B) you need to grow up, and C) you really should never have anything to do with other people until you learn how to have a least a smidge of empathy. The fact that people find this book so relatable that it is funny completely blows my mind. I can’t relate to half of this stuff and think most of these perceptions are completely absurd. END RANT 🙂
Sounds like you had fun ranting 🙂