Bridget Jones's Diary

Bridget Jones’s Diary is a satirized, contemporary version of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice (1813). Fielding’s most direct allusion to her source of inspiration lies in her decision to name the main romantic interest Mark Darcy, for the character’s surname is a reference to Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the main romantic interest for the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet. Additionally, Mark’s manner is almost identical to that of Austen’s Mr. Darcy. In Pride and Prejudice, the novel’s action is initiated with a ball held by the affable Mr. Bingley. Mr. Darcy, who is known for his wealth and high status, comes across as haughty and aloof, and Elizabeth decides that she dislikes him immediately. Fielding uses this initial interaction as a blueprint for Bridget and Mark’s first encounter, for in both novels, the protagonists’ interfering and slightly ridiculous mothers extol the high status of the respective Mr. Darcys. Just as Austen’s Mrs. Bennet hopes that one of her daughters might be married off to the wealthy Mr. Darcy, Fielding’s Pam urges Bridget to become acquainted with Mark, and Pam and her friend unsubtly push Bridget into his path at the Turkey Curry Buffet, hoping that a romantic relationship will develop between the two.

In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s dislike for Mr. Darcy is solidified when he interferes with the developing romance between Elizabeth’s beloved older sister, Jane, and Mr. Bingley. Fielding modernizes this conflict, transforming it into Mark’s disdainful condemnation of Bridget’s relationship with Daniel, whom Mark knows and distrusts. In both cases, Bridget and Elizabeth are even more convinced that the respective Mr. Darcys are snobbish and rude.

The respective Mr. Darcys have an opportunity to prove their inherent kindness and goodness when rakish men create scandal in the female protagonists’ families. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s flirtatious younger sister, Lydia Bennet, runs off with the charming but treacherous Mr. Wickham. Mr. Darcy knows and dislikes Mr. Wickham, who once had treacherous dealings with Mr. Darcy’s own beloved sister and who tried to steal part of the Darcy family’s fortune. Mr. Darcy tracks down Mr. Wickham and ensures that he marries Lydia, to the immense relief of the Bennets.

Bridget Jones’s Diary makes use of this plot format but modifies it for a modern audience, and in Fielding’s version, it is the protagonist’s mother who is caught up in scandal. Pam goes to Portugal with the rakish and debonair Julio, and it is revealed that the two are involved in a fraudulent, criminal scheme. Mark finds Pam and brings her back to Britain, ensuring that the blame for the scheme lands on Julio. Mark then orchestrates Julio’s return to Britain and ensures his arrest, and he also manages to locate and return some of the embezzled funds. Ultimately, both novels exemplify the classic “enemies-to-lovers” trope, and in both stories, the protagonists come to realize that they are in love with the respective Mr. Darcys, whose initial aloof and cold manner disguised genuine warmth, kindness, and loyalty.