Defying norms and embracing tradition: Sophie Beckett and Eloise Bridgerton in An Offer from a Gentleman (2001) and To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003)

Abstract

[eng] This final research project analyses the female protagonists, Sophie Becket and Eloise Bridgerton, from two Regency romance novels of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton saga: An Offer from a Gentleman (2001) and To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003). Despite being raised in different backgrounds, these female characters embody the principles of postfeminism by challenging the societal conventions of their period, presenting themselves as empowered women who value their sexuality and defend their agency. However, both women remain firm in the adherence to the conventions about love and marriage which is part of the debate that is associated with the term postfeminism. Postfeminist heroines are often torn between remaining loyal to their beliefs and ideals of empowerment and conforming to the societal expectations placed upon them. This tension highlights the complexity of postfeminist identity within historical romance novels, specifically those set in the English Regency era.