Bridgertonseason 3 saw conflict arise between the generally kind Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and her daughter Francesca (Hannah Dodd), revealing a lot about Violet’s character.Bridgertonhas a fairly simplistic setup: each season will focus on another one of theeight Bridgerton siblingsfinding love in Regency-era England, with Benedict (Luke Thompson) and his bride-to-be Sophie (Yerin Ha) being the planned main characters for the highly anticipatedBridgertonseason 4. However, as Francesca’s love story and two marriages from Julia Quinn’s books moderately break away from the formula, season 3 got started on her early.
The period romance series depicts Francesca’s courtship and marriage to her first husband John Stirling (Victor Alli) as a secondary storyline in Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope’s (Nicola Coughlan) season. However, this is merely the prelude to Francesca’s eventual “true” season with Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza). Francesca marries John’s cousin Michael in the books after her first husband’s death. However,while many are doubtlessly eager to see the Francesca-Michaela plot play out, Francesca’s romantic trials this season give viewers much to think about concerning the overall dynamics of the Bridgerton family,especially where their mother is concerned.
Violet Pushes Francesca To Find A “Thrilling” Love In Bridgerton Season 3
Violet’s Efforts To Arrange A Romance For Francesca Border On Ridiculous
Namely, Violet succeeds in getting on Francesca’s nerves, despite both women’s relatively mellow personalities.Violet is fixated on Francesca finding a “thrilling” romancethroughout the season. She and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) attempt to orchestrate such a relationship; when Francesca is presented to the queen’s suitor, Danbury and Violet have an exchange: “The first spark of affection.” “It is electrifying, is it not?” — an almost cringe-worthy moment that illustrates trying to create something that should happen organically. However, Francesca makes it clear from the beginning of the season that this is not what she aspires to achieve.
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Francesca states she doesn’t think she needs this passionate romance, wants to get out of the overwhelming marriage market quickly, and is more than happy with her and John’s toned-down courtship, developing a trusting relationship based on similar personalities and mutual interests. As Francesca makes plans to marry John, Violet is still unsure. Her attempts to avoid talking to the queen about the match betray her agitated worry that her daughter is making a huge mistake. Although she may be an entirely loving mother, this is Violet’s fatal character flaw: She cannot understand her children’s different priorities.
Violet Bridgerton Believes That All Her Children Need To Have The Marriage Experience She Did
Violet Doesn’t Seem To Believe In A Broader Range Of Life Experiences, When Not All The Bridgerton Children Want Romance
Violet was lucky in love and marriage. Navigating high society as a young woman, she found her perfect love match, and that only made her the envy of all. So, she wants her children to have the same happy marriage she had and raised them to believe that finding such love is something to reach for — as well as being a reasonable possibility in their circumstances.Most of the Bridgertons have nonetheless spotted that the business of marriage is much more about economicsthan love in the ton.
Violet’s weakness is also that she thinks this romantic love is the ultimate experience in life, and she can’t imagine any of her children living without it. Yet a few of them would prioritize other things when they are all entering a stringent societal game where they could very easily end up unhappy. They may choose a spouse based on what match will allow them to be happiest as an individual rather than a couple.
Francesca is widely interpreted as being neurodivergent, and first and foremost wanted a marriage to someone who would respect her need for peace and quiet.
Violet probably understood Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), and Colin better, who all faced trouble in love but ultimately wanted it. Although Anthony was avoiding a love match for the wrong reasons — the fear of him or his wife losing each other — seeking someone who would be a good viscountess and help him run the family was a legitimate goal in his position. He luckily found both love and support in Kate (Simone Ashley).
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On the other hand, Eloise (Claudia Jessie) could fall in love with someone, but probably still wouldn’t be happy without her intellectual pursuits. Benedict is similarly after philosophical contentment and wants to be unmarried for some time yet. Francesca is widely interpreted as being neurodivergent, and first and foremost wanted a marriage to someone who would respect her need for peace and quiet. In such a difficult society with so many demands, it is hard to have it all, butthe Bridgertons all know themselves well enough to know what they need more than romantic love — Violet just can’t always see this.
Bridgerton Still Frames Violet As Always Being Right
The Premise Of Bridgerton Is Always Going To Back Up Violet’s Philosophy
However,Bridgertonultimately makes Violet seem a lot wiser than she isbecause the story demands that all her children will have the romances she dreams of eventually. IfBridgertonfaithfully adapts all the books, the siblings will all have grand love stories alongside their other wishes, but it will never come down to choosing individuality over the possibility of love. The parallel between Violet’s description of meeting her husband and Francesca seeing Michaela for the first time is obvious, setting Francesca up to have exactly what her mother wanted from the start.
Forget The Books, Bridgerton’s Final Season Should Be About This Sibling
There is speculation about in which order Netflix will adapt the Bridgerton books, and surprisingly, Eloise would be great for the last season.
Considering thatBridgertonstrongly implies that Francesa loves but is not in love with her husband, the storyline of their marriage is impressively well done. It is essentially about Francesca prioritizing her mental health and personal comfort in a world that isn’t going to attend to either of these things for her. However,the show briefly makes it seem like Violet has just learned about a new kind of love, the quieter one that Francesca and John have,when what is actually going to happen is that she will turn out to have been right all along.
Yet when all these romances come around anyway, Violet gets to maintain her status as the knowing matron and guru on love who understands true happiness.
It is the past repeating itself: Violet previously stressed to Anthony that she wanted him to fall in love when he was clearly stressed about his responsibilities to the family. Violet repeatedly tries to matchmake for Eloise in season 2, when her second daughter vehemently does not want to get married and eventually lashes out at her mother. Yet when all these romances come around anyway, Violet gets to maintain her status as the knowing matron and guru on love who understands true happiness.
Bridgerton Will Get Better The More Violet’s Worldview Is Challenged By Her Children
Bridgerton Will Get More Interesting When Some Romance Upcoming Twists Surprise Even Violet
Bridgertonwill be more compelling if Violet’s philosophy on love is proven wrong by her children. It should depict her grappling with the surprises they bring and realizing that the world is a lot bigger and more textured than she previously thought. Things aren’t always as simple as just finding the perfect person to fall in love with, andthere is a strong story forBridgertonto tell about Violet learning to respect and accept her children’s different paths.
Violet notably helps elevate Sophie’s social status so she and Benedict can marry, but it’s never confirmed if she would support her child if they just fell in love with someone completely outside their social class, with no maneuverability. Furthermore, it would actually be very beneficial to see Violet dealing with some feelings of homophobia when the Francesca and Michaela storyline does come to fruition before she comes to understand the relationship. Violet truly does want all her children to be happy, and what will be the most compelling arc for her inBridgertonis discovering the different ways happiness takes shape.
Bridgerton
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Bridgerton, released on July 20, 2025, is set in Regency-era England and follows the lives of the influential Bridgerton family. The series explores themes of wealth, lust, and betrayal, portraying societal dynamics through a blend of romance and intrigue.
