Being introverted is something that can feel daunting in a world where everyone else seems cool, sexy and hyperconfident: Psych-She’s Chloe Evans delves into how she is looking forward to the resurgence of the wallflower in the upcoming series of Bridgerton.
Dearest gentle reader, I can only assume that you, like this author, are eagerly awaiting the return of Bridgerton. Come May, we will all be transported back to the Regency era for a third time, and I just know it will become my entire personality just as it has done in the past (enter, me in the midst of the 2020 lockdown scouring Amazon for Bridgerton-esque corsets and dreaming about the Duke of Hastings).
But, when I watched the trailer for the third instalment, what caught my attention the most was the strap line ‘even a wallflower can bloom’. After two seasons of watching Penelope be undermined by her mother and the rest of The Ton in her beauty, intelligence and abilities to secure a husband, it is safe to say that the only time she truly felt like she belonged was when she was hiding behind her Lady Whistledown mask.
Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) may have had their classic ‘Bridgerton glow up’, showing that they are ready for their shot at protagonist, but we’re all so ready to see our wallflower be swept off her feet. Especially since this season is rumoured to be the steamiest yet- go Polin!
A 2022 study conducted by the University of Florida states that people create emotional attachments with characters by making judgements about their personalities in the same way that they do real people. They also assume that fictional characters share characteristics which are similar to their own, and are more likely to bond with them when this is the case.
I have always admired Penelope’s character and I am desperately looking forward to her development, potentially because I can see my own reflection shining through her.
I was always the friend in the group that was lacking experience in the romance department; I was never even given a second glance by the male species until I was at least 18, when I began to get sick of being the one that was overlooked so I started going out of my way to seek it out .
A ‘wallflower’ is defined by Oxford as ‘a person who has no one to dance with or who feels shy, awkward, or excluded at a party’.
Now, it might be a far cry from a lavish Bridgerton ball, but I’ve had my fair share of experiences where I’ve been at a party and I have found myself sitting on the sofa, nursing a measly plastic cup of wine whilst making a conscious effort to not draw attention to the fact i was sat alone.
God, I’ve also been known to lock myself in the bathroom just to escape the party, and the man that my friends were trying to set me up with so that they could feel like they were leaving me in safe hands while they went galavanting off with whoever they were ‘courting’ that night.
One thing you should know about me is that if you try and set me up with a potential suitor it is instantly not happening. I’m often sure they’re probably lovely, and I may have really got on with them had I bothered to give them the time of day; however just like Penelope Featherington, any confidence I possess seems to leave my body and wait ten steps behind me when I’m placed in front of a man.
A 2021 publication in the Journal of Social Psychology and Personality Science shares research estimating that 70 per cent of romantic relationships begin as a friendship.
We all remember the moment in the first season of ‘Bridgerton’, when Lady Bridgerton advises Daphne that ‘one should marry one’s dearest friend’, and whilst us wallflowers aren’t yet at risk of becoming a ‘spinster’, are we more likely to crave a meaningful connection to someone we are already bonded with over a bad kiss in a dark room?
It’s so refreshing to see a protagonist on our screens who is vulnerable in terms of confidence and self-esteem. We’re tired of seeing the female main character who’s face card never declines and oozes the most charming, witty banter. We want to see the one who’s stumbling over her words so much that she’s awkwardly oversharing, making the man shake his head and fall slowly (but madly) in love with her.
It’s about time there was some representation for those of us who have so much love to give, but take a while to open up and so desperately crave relationships where people admire us for it.
Penelope Featherington, we’re so ready to watch you bloom.
