bridget jones's diary by helen fielding

this episode we are taking a dive into the diary that defined a generation! for our April book and the theme "haha that's so funny", we're talking about Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. we spend some time cringing at our own adolescent diary entries and talk feminism, fad diets and try to decide if this novel is a depressing glimpse into the hive mind of the 90s or an optimistic, progressively feminist masterpiece.

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Transcript

Laura 0:01

Hello and welcome to Talk Loop Get Hit, a podcast where we read viral books the internet won't shut up about and rate them lit or shit.

Bridget 0:09

We're your hosts Bridget and Laura, lovers of sad girl fiction and tragic endings, fearers of smart, urban fantasy, and the Who Did This To You troop. Join us as we pick apart all the books the internet loves and embark on a journey to figure out why.

Laura 0:24

By the end of this episode, we promise you will have lost seven pounds, quit smoking for good, and developed a deep resounding inner poise. For the month of March, we are reading Bridget Jones's Diary. It is the classic comedy by Helen Fielding that has inspired sequels, movies, and oh so much discourse. Bridget, hello, hello. Hello, hello. How are you? I am good. Once again, it's been so long since we recorded somehow, and I feel like we have a lot to catch up on.

Bridget 0:50

Yes, we had to postpone our recording for the first time ever, I think, due to ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. Oh, naughty Alfie. Baby's first not so cyclone.

Laura 1:03

Baby's first tropical low.

Bridget 1:05

Yeah, I feel like it would have been very scary for you in Brisbane. I felt scared for you when the wind started picking up. I was like, oh my God. But how did you feel about it?

Laura 1:15

Yeah, I felt scared for me too. Like lots of people were saying it was a real non-event, which I guess it was compared to what some cyclones can be. But I feel like my takeaway was, wow, thank God that wasn't actually a cyclone.

Bridget 1:28

Like I live two hours away from the coast and it was rainy and windy and a bit scary here. So I don't even know how people that live at the beach would have been feeling.

Laura 1:38

Yeah. Or like people who live up north and just endure it every year.

Bridget 1:41

Yeah, they breathe them tough up there.

Laura 1:44

Got the mold spores in their lungs.

Bridget 1:47

We lost power for about a day, and it was actually a blessing in disguise because I was trying to conserve the battery on my phone and I was like, oh, I have to read by candlelight. I'm, you know, in the woods. I have a candlestick. I'm wearing a long nightgown and I've got my book.

Laura 2:05

Yeah, I see the vision.

Bridget 2:07

It was fantastic. What I'm trying to say is, have you read any good books recently?

Laura 2:11

Uh, I've read some really average books. I read Glyph by Allie Smith. Um, and I think this is my last go with Allie Smith. I have tried, I mean, I've talked about it on the podcast before, but I've really tried to get into her writing, and I just think it's a little bit too um inaccessible for me. I don't like it for whatever reason. Glyph was pretty good. It's probably the best Allie Smith I've read, but I just have to admit she's not for me and move on. I read The Alternatives by Queelin Hughes, which is an ARC we received. And again, I think I saw in your review you said on paper it seems like it would be for you, but it was not for you. And I felt exactly the same. It was so boring.

Bridget 2:55

I got to the end and I was still unsure about how many sisters there were.

Laura 2:59

Same.

Bridget 2:59

Like three, four?

Laura 3:01

I think there were four, but I thought there were three for about three-quarters of the book.

Bridget 3:04

I switched to the audiobook about halfway through, and one of them had an American accent, and I was like, when did you pick this up?

Laura 3:12

I know. I thought they were just like your colleagues. Yeah, same. I thought it was a housemaid or something. It had good moments, but overall I sort of felt like I wasn't making any connections with the characters. I read a book called Dearest by Jackie Walters, which was a bit of a spooky story about a woman who's just given birth and strange things keep happening around the house, and her estranged mother shows up and exacerbates things. It was sort of reminding me of Mona Award a little bit. Um, and I didn't have very high expectations of that, but I quite enjoyed it. I read The Party by Tessa Hadley, which was fine. It just kind of felt like it was trying to say something. I saw a review that said it was like a Claire Keegan fan fiction, and I think that's kind of how it read to me as well. Thankfully, I finished it off by reading Lead Us Not by Abby Lay, and I loved this. It was so nostalgic and so familiar. It's a story about a sort of codependent friendship between these two girls in an all-girl Catholic school in Australia. Just sort of set in the suburbs, horny teenagers, figuring out things, trying to sort of gain status, establish relationships, connect with their parents. And I loved it. I would really recommend it. What about you? What did you end up reading?

Bridget 4:34

I thankfully only had one book that was bad, and that was Trust by Domenico Stannone. Translated from Italian, and I nearly DNF'd it. I'm getting more into that sort of phase of my life. I'm like, I don't want to read this shit anymore. I persisted with this one, and I should not have persisted. It was really, really bad. It was boring. It was about a man and his ex-stud that were in a relationship. They were just really bad together, constantly fighting, constantly breaking up, getting back together. And the girl thought it was a good idea for some reason to tell one another the thing that they have done in their life that they are most ashamed of, and they have never told anybody. And they thought, once we know this about each other, we can never leave, like because we know the worst of each other. And so they tell each other these things. We don't know as the reader. Surprise, surprise, they break up. And so I was reading it and I was like, this guy sucks. Like he goes and gets married, he has a career, he has children, his wife is sort of suffering from postnatal depression and you know, dealing with the loss of her career and having to look after the kids, and I mean her horrible husband. And I nearly gave up, but I was like, no, spoiler alert, no, I want to know the thing that they are most ashamed of. Never found out. Oh God. So I read it for no reason. So don't read that book.

Laura 6:02

You know he wrote that, being like, yeah, they're gonna love that. Yeah.

Bridget 6:06

No, I hated it. It was so bad. But thankfully, I washed the thought of that away with some really, really good ones. I listened to the audiobook of Brutes by Diz Tate, and that was so, so good. It's about a group of 13-year-old girls who are really, really good friends, but good friends that are 13. So they love each other, they hate each other, they bitch about each other, but they also protect each other. And they have these single mothers who are just a little bit trashy, drinking by the pool with their eyeliner from yesterday. And there's this older girl that they're really obsessed with, and she's the preacher's daughter, and she goes missing. So that was great. I read Slaughterhouse 5 after having it be on my TBR for, I mean, probably at least 10 years, and I finally found a really beautiful copy when I was in Melaney. It is really beautiful. Yeah, it's got some nice atomic bombs on the front.

Laura 7:00

Stunning.

Bridget 7:01

I'm still not sure why I liked it so much, but I thought it was a really appropriate time in the world to be reading this anti-war book.

Laura 7:10

Well, you influenced me because I had given my copy to the street library, and when I saw your review, snuck back out, took it back. It's good, and it's only short, too.

Bridget 7:23

I think it's a really accessible classic. Really? Into it. I think I might try to read some more of his writing. I listened to some more really fantastic audiobooks as well. The first one was They're Going to Love You by Meg Howry, which I know you read and loved. When I got to the last maybe half hour, I was at work photocopying, and I was like, at any point, anyone is gonna walk in and just see me sobbing. So I had to turn it off. And I sent you a voice message. You could hear in my voice.

Laura 7:51

Your eyes are gleaming right now.

Bridget 7:52

Seconds away. It was so sad, but I really, really loved that. Another one that I loved that was sort of in the same like literary fiction realm was Old Flame by Molly Prentice. And it was sort of like 2010's hipster heaven. They live in a loft in New York somewhere, and she works in advertising, but she wants to be a writer. And her boyfriend is a photographer, and she's just living the best life, and you know, she goes and gets her ice latte and whatever. She's just trying to grapple with my career. I want to be a writer, but it's not gonna pay the bills. I don't have health insurance. I think I want to be a mother. I'm not sure if I want to be a mother. My boyfriend kind of sucks. I want to go to Italy. I mean, I'm making it sound a bit frivolous. It was very good.

Laura 8:39

It sounds good.

Bridget 8:41

The last fantastic book I read this month was Night School by Lee Child. I'm back on my Jack Reacher bullshit.

Laura 8:48

See it on your shelf there.

Bridget 8:50

So good. I read it across two days, I think. And the second day I took it to work and I left it at work for the weekend. I was distraught. So I had to find a copy online and I was just reading it on my phone. And then I went to BookFest the next day, and I'm like, I'm gonna get so many lead child books. Couldn't find a single one.

Laura 9:07

What the hell?

Bridget 9:08

I don't know if I missed a table.

Laura 9:10

I should have given you my granddad's bookshelf because he actually had a notebook on his bookshelf as well that was like his analog version of Goodreads. And he'd written all of the Jack Reacher titles that he'd read.

Bridget 9:21

Oh. Jack Reacher.

Laura 9:24

I feel a little bit confused looking at what I've read so far this year because, you know, Glyph, The Alternatives, Dearest, The Party. I don't know why I've made these choices. Because I think all of them are books where I've thought, oh, I'll just give it a go. It could be good. And I know I do like to be surprised and read a book that is unexpectedly good. The only book on paper that seemed like it was going to be exactly up my alley was Lead Us Not. And it's the only book that delivered. So I don't know why I made these choices. I also had the thought that, oh shit, I've made absolutely zero progress on my 25 for 25. So I have started reading NW by Zadie Smith. Spoiler alert, I'm enjoying it. And I have Tom Lake and Monstrilio. I've never said that out loud. Actually, I think I gave it a crack in a voice message to you the other day. But just know those days are behind me from now on, only reading books that promise to deliver.

Bridget 10:20

I had the same thought, and I read Prophet Song the other day. It's okay. Great cover though. Great cover. Was also a bit eerie to be reading that at the same time as the Cyclone was, you know, whirling around over the Pacific Ocean because it's about like a dystopian future where, you know, there's a government that's controlling and they've lost power and they don't have any food. And I was like, we've lost power and everyone's panicked buying toilet paper. So it was a bit eerie, but I did enjoy it. It just wasn't one of my faves. But I'm also slowly making my way to the bottom of my physical TBR pile. So I'm really just reading the dregs of what I've got left. But I do have some good dregs to be read.

Laura 11:03

That's good.

Bridget 11:04

I'm excited. Looking forward to that. Other than reading, I think we've both had really exciting, jam-packed months. I know I've been to a lot of shows. You've been to a lot of shows. We've been at work. Boo. Boo.

Laura 11:19

Yeah, what have you been seeing?

Bridget 11:20

I went to see Curtis Connor in Brisbane. He's like a YouTube comedian. That was good. I saw Kate Miller Heidkey. She's so funny. Like when she talks in between songs, it's just as interesting as when she's singing. I saw Billie Eilish.

Laura 11:35

I saw buses chock full of girls in shorts and like soccer jerseys.

Bridget 11:40

I also had a little bit of a trip down the nostalgic lane of life. I went to see the Kooks, which was a band that we really loved when we were in high school. And once I got over the shock of seeing how old the lead singer is now, I mean, he's only like 40, I think, but he just doesn't look like a floppy-haired 17-year-old anymore. And that sort of threw me for a few songs before I got over it.

Laura 12:07

How was that gig as well? In the sense that I feel like many of their songs are sort of a bit like a young girl, little girl.

Bridget 12:17

I think they picked their set list pretty well. They they did play some newer songs, and you know, I don't think they're gonna be getting any awards for songwriting anytime soon, but like their first two albums, especially, like just banger after banger, are so good. And they picked those ones really well, and they knew that the crowd wasn't there to hear the new songs, and so they were like, guys, we're gonna play one more, like sorry, one more new song.

Laura 12:38

So they knew, they knew, but the crowd was good. So, in the spirit of reading Bridget Jones's diary, we thought it would be fitting for us to explore some of our own diary entries from primary school through to high school.

Bridget 12:54

I actually had one kindy. Oh shit. My mum wrote it for me, but I thought it would be a nice one to start off with. It's a beautiful Barbie book and has like prompts. There's actually two mentions of you in there, which is so cute. So the first one, the prompt was if I could have any pet, what would it be? I wrote through my mum. If I could have any pet, I would have a dog because I would take him walking with us. I would call it Tim for a boy or Laura for a girl.

Laura 13:25

That's so beautiful that Tim got a mention too.

Bridget 13:28

And the second mention of you was friends love to spend time together. What do you like to do with your friends? I like playing Planeteers, being the power of wind.

Laura 13:38

And that's what we used to do. We always did that. Oh, Captain Planet Forever. Yeah. Oh, that's so nice. The earliest one I have is from 2006. I sort of remember starting them around grade four or five. I just don't have them anymore. And I know I had one of those fluffy high five diaries with the lock, but I don't think I ever really wrote anything in it. Did you have much of a back catalogue between Kindi and Puberty?

Bridget 14:08

I think I have one from every year of primary school, and then I can't find any after grade eight. So I've got like half of the first year of high school, but the others might not exist or they might be in a different place that I didn't look. I'm a bit sad about that because I can't remember high school much other than what we talk about. So it would be good to know what I was doing, but who knows?

Laura 14:33

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was looking for insights from high school and unfortunately I found none. They are so extremely self-absorbed. It's like once I found out about boys, it was game over for any self-reflection. I love that though. Would you like to share a diary entry with us?

Bridget 14:53

I would like to share the vibe of my grade one, grade two diary because endearingly they all follow pretty much the exact same structure. On most pages, it's something like this. This is the 28th of December, 2000. Today is raining. We went shopping and bought my school books for grade two. We watched Toy Story 2. We played hairdressers. It was fun. Pretty much every single page ended with it was fun. Oh, it was so sweet. This is the 29th of December 2000. Today the Telstra man came to fix the phones. We went to the video shop. The lady behind the counter said we were beautiful. But then our outfits got dirty, so we had to change. It was fun. It's very cute. So it made me feel a bit sad. I think what made me feel even sadder was as I got older, I could tell the influences of the media that I was consuming at the time. So when I started reading Total Girl, my narrative voice completely changed. And so I was saying things like my favorite kind of clothes is anything funky. And I was writing in pig Latin, which I think was a big thing in like Saddle Club or Babysits Club or something. Um, you know, you try out your different styles of handwriting. Yes. The hearts for like cutting the art, yeah, curly. Um, I wrote cool, huh? Like I bought a new pink bike. Cool, huh?

Laura 16:29

I did that too.

Bridget 16:30

Yeah, it's quite embarrassing.

Laura 16:32

The influence of the media was oh so heavy in all of my diary entries as well. Before I was obsessed with boys, I was absolutely obsessed with my image. And a diary entry from January in 2006 says, This year I want to lose some weight. It's important to note that I had no idea how to spell lose. I wrote loose every time. Ideas. O W L. Operation Weight Loss. Lunches, Vegemite Sandwich, salads, ham, carrots, apple, water, exercises, stretching, jogging on the spot, girl guides, karate, racing with Matt, play horses, jazz dancing, sit-ups for 30 minutes, netball training, pleasure, play Sims in brackets, two hours. Say no to candy, sweets, chips, hot, and potato, and a second glass of fruit juice.

Bridget 17:27

You know what I love about us is we are and have always been list girlies. Yes. Self-improvement constantly. I'm writing things like exactly like that. Yep. From when I was nine onwards.

Laura 17:40

Yeah, that was something that really struck me about my diary entries, and it made me feel really nice because I think I've always been a resolution setter. I've always been a dreamer. Something that cracked me up was after I got my period. Every time I wrote a packing list, tampons and pads were at the top of every single packing list that I wrote. Like, no, I was just clearly so chuffed. I have another one from that season of life where we were learning about our bodies. It's also from 2006. Today we had HRE. It was so boring. We learned about all the boys' stuff as well. Erections, wet dreams. Ugh, it was pretty bad. Redacted is full of surprises. Today her legs were shaved. Holy beep! I wish I could shave my legs. They are really hairy.

Bridget 18:29

It's so funny that you say that because one of the diary entries said that the girls from my class said it with the girls from your class. And so this is in March 2006. Alicia came, must be the girl's name that taught us. Alicia came and gave us some good advice about boys. Girls are pots and boys are lids. Don't force the wrong match together. That is true. I mean, I could never like redacted or someone. So funny. Obviously, I really liked him, but I was lying to myself. I was constantly like judging people as well, like for doing things that were naughty or being rude in class or something. There's one I wrote, maybe like grade three or grade four, and it said, Today is my brother's birthday. I think it was his sixth birthday. Here's him writing his name. He's a bit wild. He needs to learn how to write in a straight line. Okay, write later when the party's over. And then I wrote later when the party was over. Six-year-olds can be so frustrating. I am telling mummy not to have another party until they can prove that they are going to behave.

Laura 19:38

I was 10. I think you seem like a bit more of a reflective child than me because I had a real tendency to sort of report on the horrific facts of the world and then move on to something extremely flippant and unrelated. So I found one entry that's really funny. And I think what makes it funny is knowing that normally when I started my diary entry, it was like with a very flamboyant greeting, like hello diary, or hello diarino, or hey, hey, hey, or just you know, something that was just a bit silly. And this entry in 2007. Diary. Today is the fifth anniversary of when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. I've decided I want to be an author when I grow up. I love writing. It's my passion.

Bridget 20:25

Yeah, I was pretty reflective and I did dwell on like tragedies quite often. Like there was one that I found that said, I believe Daniel Morcombe is still alive. Rest in peace. I was wrong. I also wrote out my own obituaries for Steve Owen and Peter Brock. We've talked about this on the podcast before, but obviously that really affected me.

Laura 20:58

I told you that I was counting special mentions of something, and I'm actually so excited to have found this. On the 15th of January 2008, my diary entry said this. Holy moly, I just read the best book. It was called Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. The main characters are Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Edward is flawless, perfect, and I am in love. I want to get back to reading Twilight for the second time now. Bye. And then five days later on the 20th, I finished reading Twilight twice, and now New Moon and Eclipse. They were all amazing, and I'm more in love with Edward than ever. I swear. Dot dot dot. If he were real. On the 8th of February, I just read the end of New Moon again. Ha ha ha. I was absolutely balling. Tears were streaming down my face, and I was sobbing like crazy. It was funny. Edward always says stuff that makes me cry. He's just so perfectly romantic and gentle, caring, witty, and old fashioned. I love him. On the 18th of March, I reread The Twilight's. Series again and I cried again. Ha ha ha. Edward's just too perfect. I was never Team Jacob. I agree with all of your points.

Bridget 22:12

I am kind of glad that I couldn't find any high school ones because as I was getting older, the entries were becoming more and more excruciating. When I was in, I think, grade five, I decided to start a band with my friends. Along with the media that I was like reading or consuming, I can also tell what music I was listening to at the time. And so I've always been a singer-songwriter, big fan. And so I started with Delta Gudrum and then I moved on to Avril Levine and then The Veronicas and then arrived at Taylor Swift in 2007, never looked back. 2004 was like right at my peak of Avril Levine. It was, I think, just after her second album was released. And obviously, I was very inspired. And so this is an entry from the 12th of November 2004. Let's get to the point about our band. We're called Poison Angels. Cool, huh? I came up with her name. We've written two songs, Talk to the Hand and Homework Sucks. I am working on one called Took Him Away. And my friends are working on one called I Love Him. I think I'll write Took Him Away now. And then I just started writing the song. So this is this is my new song. He was pretty, cute and all. He was silly, funny and all. He used to be mine. Then she came and the chorus took him away. She took him away from me. Can I help but say he was mine before you came and took him away? First two. I can't bear it. I'm so lonely. I love you still. Even though you're hers now, I wish she hadn't come and repeat the chorus. And then this is the bridge. You used to be mine. Yeah, I know. But can I at least say goodbye and give you one last kiss? Dot dot dot. Goodbye. Also, just like to mention one last kiss would have to be the first kiss as well. Like there was no one.

Laura 24:13

Yeah.

Bridget 24:14

I think this is just like a mix of many, like Avril Levine songs, probably a few Felter Gudrun ones. Yeah, just doing my best, you know, trying to write my feelings out and a dog eat dog world.

Laura 24:30

This is probably one of my most excruciating ones I could find. I had this real idea of myself as this sort of social outcast, like a real misfit. And at the start of this entry, I'm really going off because dad's come into my room apparently and said you need to keep your door open. And I'm not happy about it. It says, In my room, I can write, sing, act, dance, and there's nobody to judge me. I'm completely my own person. I'm different. Maybe a little too different, wilder, eccentric, kind of pensive. If I just suppress that, I'll be okay. Even at school, I feel like I can't be me. I like I don't understand when I ever felt like I couldn't be me at school. We did embarrassing shit at school too. Like we were. I don't think I was holding back. I don't think so either.

Bridget 25:23

We dressed up as old men.

Laura 25:26

I think that's enough self-reflection for now. We should probably get into actually talking about Bridget Jones' diary. So, Bridget Jones, would you like to share with me your initial thoughts, expectations, hopes, and dreams for reading this book?

Bridget 25:42

I can't remember when I first read this or watched the movie. I definitely watched the movie before I read the book. I think we watched it quite a few times when I was young, like when it was first released. And I was talking to my mum and she reminded me that we used to watch it on New Year's Eve. I can't really separate the book and the movie because of that. But I know that I did log the book on Goodreads for the first time in 2022. I could have read it before then, I'm really not sure. So, because of that, I don't really have any initial thoughts because I've watched the movie quite a bit. I've read the book quite recently. So I sort of knew what we were in for.

Laura 26:19

How about you? I don't think I've ever read this. And I'm sure I've watched the movie at some point, but it's not something I've seen more than once. So I feel like I didn't have very strong feelings about it. I have to say, I probably was leaning towards not being very interested in reading it because I think my expectation was that it would be quite outdated and just sort of unfunny, maybe a little bit whiny. Generally, I think if lots of people find something funny, then it's normally not very funny at all. So I just wasn't very interested. We're mere minutes into our discussion, and we've already had a few mentions of the movie. So I think now is the right time to say that our bonus chapter for this month will be on the Bridget Jones' diary movie. And we're gonna try our best to separate the two.

Bridget 27:07

If so far you've made it through life blissfully unaware of the contents of Bridget Jones's diary and want to keep it that way, then this is your sign to pause the episode and hit subscribe so you can come back and find us when the time is right. This episode will contain spoilers, so if you'd like to avoid them, you've been warned.

Laura 27:24

In our episode this month, we may be discussing themes of body image, calorie counting, weight obsession, and cheating.

Bridget 27:32

Meet Bridget Jones, a 30-something singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could a lose 7 pounds, b. stop smoking, and c develop inner poise.

Laura 27:44

129 pounds. How is it possible to put on four pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion. Alcohol units four. Excellent. Cigarettes 21. Poor, but we'll give up totally tomorrow. Number of correct lottery numbers two. Better, but nevertheless useless.

Bridget 28:04

Bridget Jones's diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement. A year in which she resolves to reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week, not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and learn to program the VCR.

Laura 28:28

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of £72 but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and like millions of readers around the world, you'll find yourself shouting, Bridget Jones is me. Oh my god, Bridget Jones is me.

Bridget 28:51

Bridget Jones is me. How do you feel about Bridget Jones now that we have finished reading?

Laura 28:58

Well, I'm happy to report, yeah, Bridget Jones is me. I'm so happy to be surprised. I love this so much. I found it so incredibly funny. I found it surprisingly life-affirming, and I thought it was deceptively intelligent. I had a great time reading it. How about you?

Bridget 29:14

I think deceptively intelligent is a perfect way to describe it because on the surface it seems so dumb, so frivolous, so silly. But I think when you like think about it for half a second, you're like, oh no, no, no. I think the last few years on the internet, there's been a bit of a switch up in the way that we're talking about aging and body image and I guess moving into body neutrality instead of body positivity. I think also like finding your colour, finding your aesthetic, and I feel like we might be regressing back into the age of Bridget Jones. Yes. There were so many parts of this that felt as though it was a TikTok that I had recently seen, and I can't remember thinking that the last time I read it, which I think I said before was 2022.

Laura 29:59

Heroin chic is back, baby.

Bridget 30:02

Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.

Laura 30:04

Oh god. Well, let's start talking a little bit about Helen Fielding, the author.

Bridget 30:09

I did a little bit of reading about Helen Fielding. I found out that she was born in Yorkshire. She worked for many years in London as a newspaper and TV journalist, so she's living the 90s, 2000s rom-com dream. I feel like this fits with the character of Bridget. In my mind, Helen is Bridget, but I guess, as we said before, Bridget is me. So I guess Bridget is also her. What I was most interested in reading about was finding out how Bridget Jones came to be. When Helen Fielding was working as a journalist and a columnist, the Bridget Jones columns began. And so these were first published in The Independent and then moved to the Daily Telegraph. Bridget was born when she was asked to write a diary about her life as a 30-something single woman. She thought that this would be too embarrassing, so she created an over-the-top avatar to cop the heat, I guess.

Laura 31:07

So then these diary entries form the basis of the book Bridget Jones's Diary, which was published in 1996, which I think is worth having in the back of your mind as we go through this discussion.

Bridget 31:18

Yes. It doesn't excuse it, but it does explain it. It's a saying I always like to keep in the back of my mind. From there, it has received many, many, many, many accolades. The first one that I want to bring up is that it was included on BBC's 100 most inspiring novels. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. Other books on this list also include Beloved by Tony Morrison, The God of Small Things, The Colour Purple to Kill a Mockingbird, Twilight.

Laura 31:51

That is yeah.

Bridget 31:54

While I think it's so funny, I think it's such a clever book. I don't know if you should be aiming to live your life the way Bridget does. She doesn't make great choices.

Laura 32:04

I'll throw my hat in the ring for the inspired category. I'm not taking inspiration in the form of like, yes, I want to replicate her actions. But I found her utter determination to just keep going. Yes. I found that really, really charming.

Bridget 32:21

I found the same thing. And I just thought she just doesn't let up. And I love her for that. Yeah. She just keeps going. It's like she's got no self-awareness, but at the same time, painfully self-aware.

Laura 32:32

Painfully so.

Bridget 32:33

I guess you're right. I think maybe my problem is more with the title of the list 100 Most Inspiring Novels.

Laura 32:40

And the company it keeps.

Bridget 32:41

Yeah. And I I would say that there's maybe not that much inspiring about the other books as well. I think they're like harrowing books. I found The God of Small Things to be quite harrowing. I really loved that book.

Laura 32:52

There is a through line of determination. Bella really wants to get with Edwards and she makes it happen.

Bridget 32:58

The next list that it has been included on is the 20th century's most defining novels. There's two for the 1930s: there's Brave New World and The Grapes of Wrath. And we also have two for the 1940s. We have 1984 and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. The 1950s, we have The Catcher in the Rye, my book Nemesis. 1960s, we have Catch 22. And then in the 1990s, we have Bridget Jones's diary. I thought that that was hilarious. All very serious books that have a lot of things to say. And then we have Bridget Jones's diary, but I kind of admire it.

Laura 33:35

Well, I think it is so defining of the 1990s. And I think people have this resistance to it saying that it perpetuates these sort of harmful or outdated cultural attitudes, but that was the moment in time. And so, in terms of, I don't know, picking a book that's reflective of the climate, I think it's perfect. I mean, obviously, we've mentioned it's inspired a film adaptation, not only a film adaptation, but film adaptations.

Bridget 34:05

I also saw that Bridget Jones, the musical, was in the works. So news first broke in 2010 that Lily Allen was writing the score with the author writing the book and the lyrics.

Laura 34:17

Oh, that would have been so good.

Bridget 34:19

It would have been fantastic. I couldn't quite find out what happened to this. People don't really seem to know. Lily replied to a tweet in January 2024 saying that the songs that she had written for the Bridget Joneses musical were someone's Theatre Roman Empire, saying, ugh, these songs are so good. I have to believe that it will happen one day.

Laura 34:39

Oh, I have to believe too, Lily. So I think we've established, yes, to a degree, both of us were screaming, Bridget Jones is me. For a novel that is set, you know, in the 90s, written in the 90s, and sort of perpetuates these ideas or like, you know, has her acting out these choices that I truly disagree with. And I think a huge part of what makes this book work is its format. I think in the past I've been quite vocal about my dislike of books written in a diary-style format. But I feel like having read this, I really need to wind that back. And I think maybe my criticism, it's a skills issue for those authors because I found in reading Bridget Jones's diary that I was so encased in this feeling of like authenticity and this really sort of confessional atmosphere that I felt the diary format generated. Did you have that experience at all?

Bridget 35:36

I did. And I was thinking that if it was written in a classic style, then I think I would have found Bridget to be really, really annoying. But I think in this way, the honesty came through and all of her insecurities were there. It felt like I was just reading someone's diary.

Laura 35:59

Yeah, I mean, I know we've both talked about editing even in our own diaries, but I think that sense of authenticity is what really generated that relatability. And after I finished reading and I was looking through reviews, I was really left asking the question: is the format of a diary lost on people? Like, do they know what a diary is? Because a criticism that I saw popping up again and again was people complaining about her self-absorption and her self-centeredness. And to that I say, if not in a diary, then when? I don't understand. My hot take is anyone that says Bridget Jones is unrelatable due to being like nasty or self-centered or obsessed with men, they are lying to themselves.

Bridget 36:45

I found myself during reading lying to myself about it. I would be like scoffing at the things it should be doing, like, oh, how ridiculous that she thinks that. Like, she shouldn't be thinking that. And then I was like, no, I'm I don't have to like pretend that I wouldn't do the same thing. Because in my mind, I probably would. I've seen a lot of people say they worry about the thoughts that they're having and they're trying to retrain their brain to think in a more empathetic way or understanding or inclusive way. I read a lot of comments of people saying, like, don't be so hard on yourself. Thoughts are thoughts. What you think next should be how you measure yourself. So do you have this awful thought about something? And then how do you react to that thought within yourself? Are you thinking, oh, I shouldn't be thinking that about that person? Or are you just moving on? I was sort of judging her for how she was dealing with the situation with Daniel Cleaver and how he was obviously treating her like shit. And I was thinking to myself, people don't act like this. Like this is so unrealistic. But then I thought, no, he's charming. Like he's good at this, he's manipulative. So I think it was a good reminder that people are always learning, people are always growing. And we see that in herself. Like we see towards the end of the book, even though she's still sort of seesawing between the two of them, she has come to realize that Daniel's toxic. He's not the one that she should be going for. And I think that people who were pretending that they wouldn't fall for Daniel Cleaver, or they wouldn't be thinking mean thoughts about their boss, or they wouldn't be thinking mean thoughts about the people that are married and are condescending and are always acting like that, then I agree. I think they're lying.

Laura 38:25

I mean, it's kind of like that thing where we all have a friend or have known at least one person who's been in a relationship that's truly unbearable and like bad for them. And you keep asking yourself, why are you making these choices? Like, why do you keep going back to them or why do you let them speak to you that way, or whatever it may be? But it's so easy to cast those judgments from the outside. And it's not so straightforward to disentangle yourself from how you feel when it is you that's in that relationship. I think what you were saying about thoughts are just thoughts, and it's what you think next or what you do next is something I was thinking about as well. Because I guess granted, we don't have a lot of access to what Bridget is really like because it is her diary. So she could be, you know, censoring or editing or whatever it may be. But my impression of her was that she thinks these unhinged things, but she doesn't really seem like a bad person. She's not being nasty to people, she's not doing anything that's really morally wrong. She's just a woman grappling with her place in the world, just like bumbling her way through life.

Bridget 39:30

I think also that we have to remember that this is a diary. Diaries are not meant to be picked up and read 20 years later on a podcast. They are meant to be like a brain dump for you, your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences. And if this is Bridget's experience, then I feel like it is a true experience. Also, something that I was thinking about is the fact that this was written in the 90s and people didn't have access to all of I don't know, thought media the way that we do now. And so we see that she's trying to improve herself constantly. She's reading self-help books, you know, a lot of the ones of the time, like men are from Mars, Women Are From Venus. That was the vibe at the time. I remember seeing those books in like my aunt's bookshelves or, you know, in the shops or in magazines being referred to. And that was the learning that people were going through at that time. And I think coming into like a new millennium and coming into a new sort of wave of feminism, I guess. Bridget was in the business of self-improvement. It just is a different business to the one that it is now, if that makes sense. So she was learning through her mistakes as well.

Laura 40:39

The way that the book generates this really authentic impression of Bridget and the way that we either identify with what she's feeling and doing or reject that is also a useful tool in sort of challenging these norms or stereotypes. You might be thinking, I feel this way too, but why? What are the systems that exist that cause me to feel this way? Or, you know, what a ridiculous, unfeminist thing to do, Bridget. And then maybe have a little bit of self-reflection. Why are you being so critical of her? Why are you so upset with her? I definitely don't think it's just frivolous and can be pushed aside in the way that so many people seem to think.

Bridget 41:20

I found an interesting article on The Guardian where the author was talking about these sorts of criticisms that have often been made towards Bridget, especially those accusations of being considered unfeminist. And so Helen Fielding said, I think that if you're not a fan of irony as a form of expression, then a book that contains the line, There's nothing so unattractive to a man as strident feminism is going to make you cross. I also think that if we can't have a comic female character, if we can't laugh at ourselves without having a panic attack about what it says about women, we haven't got very far with our equality. She then goes on to say, I'd like to think that Bridget has allowed people, particularly women, to think it's alright to just be alright. It's alright just to be a person and sort of muddle through the complicated, overstuffed world that we live in. You don't have to be an airbrushed picture in a magazine. I really enjoyed the quote, after all, there is nothing so unattractive to a man as strident feminism. And I think that it's something that every feminist girl has dealt with in their life. I remember I was reading the book Women Who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Honestly, I wasn't really enjoying it, but I was in that part of my life where I was reading a lot of nonfiction books about feminism and race and gender. I thought, even if I don't enjoy this book, I feel like there are things that I can get out of this, and I think that's a good attitude to have to nonfiction in general. I was reading it when I was at the Estanford and I wasn't having a great time. And then one of the older men asked what I was reading, and I was like, oh, and I showed in the front cover, and I saw the look on his face, and I immediately started to diminish what I was reading and why I was reading it, and I was like, oh, it's just like uh it's just for like this thing. And I felt myself do that, and I thought, why did like why am I doing this? Why am I acting like I don't think this is an important book? Because even though I didn't like it, there were still so many important things and stories to be told in that book. And I've always remembered that. And it wasn't that long ago, that was probably six or seven years ago. And I think about that often. I think, why didn't I just stick to my guns? Like, why did I feel like I had to push myself down? I think when you are faced with someone, especially like a confident man, especially if they're an older man, you sort of assume they're not going to be picking up what you're putting down in regards to gender equality. And I think it's so easy to sort of back from any sort of confrontation. I think that's a skill you have to learn. I think that's a skill that Bridget learned through the pages of the book.

Laura 43:53

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, what is womanhood if not the quest to make yourself more fit for public? Consumption.

Bridget 44:02

I think the book overall is a cross-section of womanhood and womanhood of a certain age. She's constantly thinking about when she's going to have a baby, when she's going to get married, when she's going to have a career, how is she going to stay looking like a child forever? They are unfortunately conversations that we are still having today. I really enjoyed the sort of flip-flopping of her opinions. Like on page 221, she says, it is great when you start thinking about your career instead of worrying about trivial things, men and relationships. And then I'm sure the very next page she would have been back to thinking about men and relationships. But I think a theme of the novel is how Bridget feels that single people are treated by what she calls the smug marrieds. I was wondering how you feel about that, because you and I, we've both been in long-term relationships. You are now married. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on that.

Laura 44:56

I thought the novel was quite progressive in the way that it was fairly critical of the dismissal of the experiences of single people, aka the smugged married. I mean, like you said throughout the novel, Bridget is constantly obsessing over that mixed messaging that you receive, especially as a single person. You've got to have a career because if you're not married, what are you doing if you're not prioritizing your career? Establish friendships, meet men, stop obsessing over men, have a baby, don't have a baby, prioritize your career, look young forever, like it's just endless. And there was a section on page 244 where she says, hmm. Incensed by patronizing article in the paper by smugged married journalist, it was headlined with subtle as a Frankie Howard sexual innuendo style irony, The Joy of Single Life. They're young, ambitious, and rich, but their lives hide an aching loneliness. When they leave work, a gaping emotional hole opens up for them. Lonely, style-obsessed individuals seek consolation in packeted cumber food of the kind their mother might have made. Ha, bloody nerve. How does Mrs. Smug Married at 22 think she knows thank you very much? I'm going to write an article based on dozens of conversations with smug marrieds. When they leave work, they always burst into tears because, though exhausted, they have to peel potatoes and put all the washing in while their porky blurder husbands slump burping in front of the football, demanding plates of chips. On other nights they plop wearing unstylish pennies in big black holes after their husbands have rung to say they're working late again, with the sound of creaking leatherware and sexy singletons tittering in the background. And I love that. I mean it's quite reductive, but I thought it was very funny commentary on married life and the way that people who are married can often feel that they've achieved this level of enlightenment that single people couldn't possibly dream of. Because, as we said at the top of the episode, it's still a conversation we're still having. I see so much on TikTok about, you know, child-free by choice, and there's always, always like thousands of people in the comments being like, um, you're actually dumb and you don't have the tools to make this decision, and you're gonna regret it, and who's gonna wipe your bum? And like, you know, people are gonna look after you when you're old. Yeah. People just can't accept that other people don't want to live the same life as them. And I mean, I think that's an enduring theme of this book. I think so too.

Bridget 47:27

I think that the last I'd say 10 years of my life, people have been asking me, when are you gonna get married? When are you gonna have kids? And people have started asking my mother, when are you gonna get grandkids? And I feel like there's nothing that some people love more than other people's business. And like once again, talking about women's bodies as well. When is she gonna have a baby? When are you gonna do this? It's like you're not enough until you've done those things. And I remember when I got engaged, people were like, Finally, you're finally engaged. For me, it's never been a goal, it's never been a goal of mine to get married. It's not something that has plagued me like it has plagued Bridget. But I think that is because of the time that Bridget grew up. Bridget wants to have this single life and she wants to be respected for being single, and she basically wants to be left alone because she's single. She doesn't want to be talking about it, she doesn't want to be reminded that her biological clock is ticking, but at the same time, she doesn't want to be single. I think that is because of the messaging and the lessons that have been drilled into her, obviously by her mother, probably the media, probably her relatives all around her. And I thought it was very interesting when it came to the mother's storyline where she has realized that she didn't want to be in a marriage where she felt underappreciated. And so on page 53, Bridget's mother says, Darling, it's merely a question of realizing when your father retired that I had spent 35 years without a break running his home and bringing up his children, and that as far as he was concerned, his lifetime's work was over and mine was still carrying on, which is exactly how I used to feel when you were little and it got to the weekends. You only get one life. I've just made a decision to change things a bit and spend what's left of mine looking after me for a change. And I think that Bridget's mother is sort of set up to be the villain in the story, and I think that later on in the book she makes some pretty poor choices, but I really feel like that is nothing unreasonable.

Laura 49:36

No. I thought that was one of the more rational lines of thought in this book. I feel like when I read it, I was like, mmm, yeah. Yes. I understand that it's not the type of feminism that we necessarily aspire to, and it's not the type of feminism perhaps that we're used to seeing now. But reading lines like that and understanding the sort of, I think, irony that's evident throughout this book, I was kind of left wondering, how are you interpreting this as an unfeminist book? I mean, there is like the very obvious way that she sort of continues to perpetuate these really sort of outdated ideals and, you know, is, I guess, shallow and preoccupied by men. But I think that sentiment is there as a baseline throughout the book. And I think it's what Bridget aspires to, and it's all of this societal messaging that's addled her brain that keeps getting in her way to get there.

Bridget 50:37

And I think that if people are going to make the argument and say that people these days are not as self-absorbed, I think spend some time on TikTok.

Laura 50:45

Yeah.

Bridget 50:46

We're all self-absorbed. But I also think, is that a bad thing? I mean, unless obviously, unless you're hurting other people in your quest for yourself. But your life is about you. So why shouldn't you be the most important person in your own life?

Laura 51:04

One of the major criticisms that I saw of this book was obviously related to it being quite harmful, particularly in relation to the sentiment around weight loss and weight. I don't want to be dismissive of other people's feelings here, because I know how triggering conversations around weight loss can be. You know, even things like finding out, you know, your friend is 165 centimeters the same height as you, but they weigh 60 kilos and you do not, it can really send you into a spiral. And so I understand how Bridget talking about her goal weight and her current weight and meticulously tracking that progress could be harmful. But I think for me, my takeaway was that she spent all of this time and energy thinking and caring and obsessing over this. And in the end, it didn't matter. And I found that to be quite freeing. I thought the way that she charted her weight, her calorie intake, her alcohol units, whatever it may be, for it to have absolutely no impact on the events of the story whatsoever was so liberating.

Bridget 52:14

It was liberating, and it was so funny when she did lose the 10 pounds or however many she wanted to lose. Everyone was like, Are you okay? Yeah, you look shit. And she was like, I have spent my whole adult life trying to get to this weight, and I looked better before. I also think, is it harmful or is it realistic? Keeping in mind that reality can also be harmful. Just because it's realistic doesn't mean that it's not harmful, but I mean so much of body image, diet culture, etc., is harmful in its existence. I thought this quote on page 257 really hit the nail on the head. She's recalling a conversation that she had with Tom where he was saying that he was too fat and was going on a diet, and he asked her advice about how many calories you're supposed to eat if you're on a diet. And she immediately responded and said, about a thousand. Well, I usually aim for a thousand and come in at about fifteen hundred, I said, realizing as I said it, the last bit wasn't strictly true. A thousand, said Tom incredulously. But I thought you needed two thousand just to survive. I realized that I have spent so many years being on a diet that the idea that you might actually need calories to survive has been completely wiped out of my consciousness. Have reached point where believe nutritional ideal is to eat nothing at all, and that the only reason people eat is because they are so greedy they cannot stop themselves from breaking out and ruining their diets. And I mean, how many times have we had a conversation with someone or they've overheard or someone's told them that they're going to have a piece of cake because they've been good or they shouldn't, or take these away from eating all these things like people do not view food as a source of energy. It's a source of calories, and calories make you fat. Yeah. That's how people view food. And I think the way that Bridget makes this realization and then goes on to be able to list the calories in any food. She says there's 75 calories in a boiled egg. She knows how many are in a small peeled banana. She knows the calories in a black olive in a box of milk tray. She knows all of this off the top of her head. She can't answer questions about times tables.

Laura 54:34

Yeah. Doesn't she have some sort of line of thinking about like what else could I have achieved if this wasn't all in my brain?

Bridget 54:40

Yes, and it's funny that she makes this realization in relation to Tom. She says that she is quite worried about Tom. I think taking part in a beauty contest has started to make him crack, and he is becoming insecure, appearance obsessed, and borderline anorexic. And so I think it's very telling that she's worried about Tom and she sees these things in Tom, but she can't see them in herself.

Laura 55:03

I just find her such an empathetic character because none of this, it's not her fault. Most of us cannot help how we feel, because what we feel is a product of the external forces that are pressing in on our brains day in, day out. You can't take in what you absorb. Like it was shocking to go through my childhood diaries and find that at age nine I was writing out a plan for weight loss and exercise. But that would have been because of, you know, magazines, women's weekly, frickin' Oprah, like, you know, my mom and my grandmas being on diets and talking about being good and just all of these conversations and all of this media that was happening around me.

Bridget 55:44

I recently read All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot by Lysender Price or Frooms. And in the book, she talks about growing up in the 2000s and and all of these messages that were being thrown at us about body image and you know who wore it better in magazines or um like the cellulite pictures on the front cover of New Idea. And I think that it's not our fault that we are like this. No, and it's not Bridget's fault that she is like that either. It is just the way that we are.

Laura 56:13

And now all of our brain space is taken up unlearning these lessons. The only other thing that I would say on the topic of the weight loss is there is potential that it didn't impact me because I simply don't know what stones are. She's saying like five stone five or whatever, and I was like, what is that? Like 80 kilos. It was not. Well, the book is called Bridget Jones's Diary, so I mean it's pretty understandable that we've spent the majority of this episode so far talking about Bridget Jones. But Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy, is there anything you'd like to say about either of them?

Bridget 56:52

Hmm, I think that Daniel Cleaver was underwhelming in the book. I think because I know the movie so well, I was expecting the charm of Hugh Grant to come onto the page. And it just didn't quite get there for me. I thought he seemed like a tool. I mean, he is a tool in the movie as well, but he's a hot tool.

Laura 57:14

Yeah.

Bridget 57:15

And I think when he started, you know, like drawing the curtains, watching cricket all day, I was like, oh, this he sucks. As well as his behaviour is, you know, in general, he just sucks. I like Mark Darcy. I mean, Mr. Darcy in any form, I'm here for. How about you?

Laura 57:32

Yeah, pretty much agree. I think there isn't really that much to say about either of the men. They're just there. I think the only time Daniel Cleaver had me was when he said, Marry me. It was sort of in the thick of when they'd been having all of that really sexually charged banter over email, which, as we have so often discussed on this show, is a terrible idea.

Bridget 57:54

But just a quick note on that, didn't mind it.

Laura 57:58

No. Quite liked it, in fact. She's talking about how she's hardly been noticing Daniel at all, and she's very proud of herself. And then she heads towards the lift and finds Daniel there with Simon from Marketing, talking about footballers being arrested for throwing matches. Have you heard about this, Bridget? said Daniel. Oh yes, I lied, groping for an opinion. Actually, I think it's all rather petty. I know it's a thuggish way to behave, but as long as they didn't actually set light to anyone, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Simon looked at me as if I was mad, and Daniel stared for a moment then burst out laughing. He just laughed and laughed until he and Simon got out and then turned back and said, Marry me as the doors closed between us. Hmm. And I don't know why that worked for me, but I just thought that is very roguish, very cheeky.

Bridget 58:46

I liked that bit too, but when I read that, I was sort of thinking more about Bridget in that moment, and I was like, She is so ridiculous, but it's so endearing that she tries to put herself in these situations. She doesn't have the skills to get there. She's quite dumb. But I love how she just keeps going and going and going. The scene that I liked Mark Darcy in is a funny comparison because Daniel is being cheeky, he's like rakish, if you were going to use a Bridgetton term. And Mark Darcy, he's just so sensible and stoic, I guess. And this is when she's leaving his parents' anniversary party at his house. As she's leaving, he's trying to ask her out. And he says, last Christmas, Mark went on hurriedly, I thought if my mother said the words Bridget Jones just once more, I would go to the Sunday people and accuse her of abusing me as a child with a bicycle pump. Then when I met you and I was wearing that ridiculous diamond pattern jumper that Uno had bought me for Christmas, Bridget, all the other girls I know are so lacquered over. I don't know anyone else who would fasten a bunny tail to their pants. They are interrupted by Natasha, but I think that the way the author has sort of brought the character of Mr. Darcy into the modern world is so charming because I can picture a man saying that. And I mean, you're not like other girls, but she's not like other girls in his world. He's working in this high-flying corporate world. Like that Natasha woman is awful. Yeah. Through Bridget's eyes, anyway. And he's charmed by her. He's charmed by her girl next door vibes. You're a breath of fresh air. Yeah. And I really enjoyed that part. But I think, other than that, didn't really care about either of them in the book. I think they were good side characters, but my focus was on Bridget for most of the time.

Laura 1:00:41

I agree. And I think it's just because she was just so truly relatable. Something that I was grappling with as I was reading this is how on earth does she escape seeming like a pick-me, despite so many things happening to her that were so quirky or unbelievable or things that could quote unquote only happen to her. You know, like we've read so many books where things like, you know, the character wears like odd socks or like spills their coffee or something like truly mundane happens to them and they wallow in it. It's like it could only happen to me. It sort of ruins their day, it defines their interactions with the people around them. And I think that is the difference between those characters and Bridget because she absolutely never dwells on these really weird things that happened to her. She has so much determination, she is relentlessly plowing forward. And I just think her acceptance of these things happening to her and her sort of indifference to things going wrong is what really sets her apart.

Bridget 1:01:50

And there are some mortifying things that happen to her. I don't know how she can move forward through her life. And actually, I take it back before I am inspired. Because if one small thing happens to me, I think about it for days.

Laura 1:02:06

If I threw the blue soup dinner party, I could never show my face again.

Bridget 1:02:11

Speaking of the blue soup dinner party, quickly I have something to say about her friends. For most of the book, I was thinking that they weren't very good friends, but I really did like how they treated her when she was down, when they knew that she wouldn't be able to pull off the dinner party, and they came to pick her up in a nice way. They accepted her blue soup and all. I sort of thought that the hot and cold nature of their friendship group was quite entertaining as well. Like there was a quote on page 289 where she says, Oh god, I hate it when Tom is happy, confident, and getting on well with Jerome, much preferring it when he is miserable, insecure, and neurotic, as he himself never tires of saying, It's so nice when things go badly for other people. And while that is an awful thought and an awful thing to think, I think it's quite relatable.

Laura 1:03:06

Well, I think like what it is is that we like to be needed. And although I don't really like my friends to go through bad things, there is a level there where it's nice to be able to provide some sort of advice or help or service to them. And so maybe that's what Bridget is getting at there.

Bridget 1:03:24

And I think also like Bridget is often struggling with her loneliness, although she might not put that tag on it. And I think she's probably feeling a bit left out and like, what about me?

Laura 1:03:36

Another section of the book that I found relatable in a way that may reflect poorly on me was when Tom was missing and they were really starting to become quite nervous as to where he was, and all of the friends were in on a sort of search party looking for him. Bridget says, 3 p.m. Starting to feel really panicky, at the same time enjoying a sense of being at the centre of drama, and practically Tom's best friend. So everyone is ringing me and I'm adopting a calm yet deeply concerned air about the whole thing. I think you're lying to yourself if you can't relate to that. Be so real with me.

Bridget 1:04:11

Yes. When she gets offended that Jude has rung the police and she's like, I'm the best friend.

Laura 1:04:18

I couldn't help feeling secretly annoyed that Jude had rung the police without clearing it with me first. I am Tom's best friend, not Jude. Obsessed. Same.

Bridget 1:04:29

I think the word of the episode is relatable. Like, I don't know how many times, take a shot, how many times we've said relatable, but there's just a few more things that I quickly want to bring up. I had to immediately stop and underline, and I just thought, it's so funny. Like it's so funny how this book can be nearing 30 years old and still just feeling exactly the same.

Laura 1:04:48

I would also add that you added in these quotes, and then I went to add my notes to the document. And I think the relatability has transcended because you had added in so many of the same quotes that I also wanted to mention.

Bridget 1:05:01

So funny. So on page 49, she says, It is so long since I have done anything at all for anyone else that it is a totally new and heady sensation. This is what has been missing in my life. I am having fantasies about becoming a Samaritan or Sunday school teacher, making soup for the homeless, or, as my friend Tom suggested, darling mini bruschettes with pesto sauce, or even retraining as a doctor. Once again, you're vying if you haven't done like the smallest act of kindness for somebody and thought I am a new person.

Laura 1:05:33

I'm gonna become a volunteer.

Bridget 1:05:34

This is the new me. Another one on page 121 really made me feel like I did in primary school when it came time for Anzac Day or Remembrance Day. Awake on VE Day in unseasonable heat wave, trying to whip up frenzy of emotion in self about end of war, freedom of Europe, marvelous, marvelous, etc, etc. Feel extremely miserable about whole business. To tell the truth. In fact, left out might be the expression I'm groping towards. I did not have any grandpas. If only I had a grandpa, I could have got in on the whole thing under the guise of being nice to him. And both of my grandfathers passed away before I was born. Also, they weren't at the right age to be in the wars. But I remember there were kids in our primary school who on Anzate Day would come to school with the like medallions of their grandfathers or their great-grandfathers, and I would always just be like must be nice. I wish my family had some awful trauma that I could get attention out of. So funny.

Laura 1:06:43

Wow. I won't deny I felt the same.

Bridget 1:06:46

The last one that I would like to share is on page 149. Feel strange sense of unease with the summer and not just because of the drawn curtains on Sundays and mini break ban. Realize as the long hot days freakishly repeat themselves one after the other, that whatever I am doing, I really think I ought to be doing something else. It comes from the same feeling family as the one which periodically makes you think that just because you live in central London, you should be at the RSE slash Albert Hall, slash Tower of London, slash Royal Academy, slash Madame Tessades, instead of hanging around in bars enjoying yourself. The more the sun shines, the more obvious it seems that others are making fuller, better use of it elsewhere. Possibly it's some giant softball game to which everyone is invited except me, possibly alone with their lover in a rustic glade by waterfalls where bambies graze, or at some large public celebratory event, probably including the Queen Mother and one of four of the football tenants to mark the exquisite summer, which I'm failing to get the best out of. And I think how many times have we talked about like I can't relax? I feel like I need to be doing something, like I'm wasting my time, I'm wasting my life.

Laura 1:07:54

I mean, I still am reflecting on the Christmas break gone by thinking, what did I do? Why didn't I do more? So yeah, I think that's a very accurate call.

Bridget 1:08:04

And I always think this when I'm looking at Instagram, and I think, wow, these people have like so many friends and they do so much stuff, and they have like the best house, and then I just need to like, I don't know, log off. Touch grass.

Laura 1:08:18

I read a quote from a journal article called Contextualizing Bridget Jones by K.A. Marsh, and I thought it was just so nice. It says, Bridget's voice is authentic because it reveals what we all know but rarely face, and perhaps never face with such high spirits. Control is a myth, and the experience of being out of control and being forced into mutually dependent relationships is authentic. And I think the emphasis there on being out of control but facing it with optimism is really the heart of this book.

Bridget 1:08:52

Optimism and humour and resilience are all qualities that she has. Once again, I was wrong, inspiring. Bridget Jones is me! Bridget Jones. Oh Bidget. Can't even say my own name. It is time to talk about our favourite and least favourite characters. Who is your favorite character of Bridget Jones's diary?

Laura 1:09:14

Uh, my favorite character is Bridget Jones. Is Bridget Jones your favourite character?

Bridget 1:09:19

She is my favourite character, but I have another favourite character. She's barely in the book. I don't think she's even in the movie. My second favourite character is Patchouli, who is one of the assistants at the TV studio. And I thought she was so funny because she's a bit younger than Bridget, and I think that she's pretty cool. In the audiobook that I listened to, the accent that the narrator put on for her was outstanding. And I can't do it, but it was a really cool, like South London, you know, just like a cool girl. And she's always like, aren't they like brilliant? She's quite helpful. She's, I think, a good colleague for Bridget. She was in it for like two seconds, but I was really into Patchouli.

Laura 1:10:07

She's a girl's girl, as they say.

Bridget 1:10:09

I think so, but at the same time as being a bit of a bitch. We love to see it. We do. How about your least favourite? Who is your least favourite character?

Laura 1:10:18

I don't actually have very strong feelings about anyone in this book. My least favourite character might be Bridget's mum, but only in the period of time where she comes back from Argentina and she's making a real fuss about getting her hat off the plane in denial that their assets have been frozen. And I just really didn't enjoy the sense of stress that she created at that point in the book. It was really annoying. How about you?

Bridget 1:10:48

I think I have a three-way tie. I think for the same reasons Bridget's mum. I think Bridget's dad, because he was pretty useless, and I think he would be an awful person to be married to. And also Natasha. Which is mean.

Laura 1:11:04

Naughty Bridget's nasty mummy. I don't believe that there's going to be much question in our listeners' minds as to whether we're leaning towards lit or shit. But for the sake of tradition, Bridget, do you rate Bridget Jones's diary by Helen Fielding lit or shit? Lit. It's lit from me too. Yeah. Wow.

Bridget 1:11:26

Pretends to be shocked. I think the only way we can end this episode is if everybody listening and us say together on the count of three, I am Bridget. Ready? One, two, three. I am Bridget. That's so underwhelming. Yeah. But imagine everyone saying it. Millions around the world. Dear Diary had such fun recording episode. Alcohol Units Consume Run Recording. Zero. VG. Must remember to tell listeners the next bonus chapter is on Bridget Jones's Diary, the movie. If one wished to keep up to date on what we're reading next, one could subscribe and follow us at talklit.gethit on Instagram and TikTok.