Why Bridgerton Fans are Already Dreading Eloise's Year

Summary

• The book Eloise is very different from her on-screen counterpart.
• The book Eloise's love story sounds like the screen Eloise's worst nightmare.
• How can this problem be fixed?

If you've read any of the Julia Quinn novels that Bridgerton is based on, you'll have noticed a number of key differences that made their way into the television show. One of the biggest changes? The character of Eloise Bridgerton.

Novel Eloise hits differently

In the novels, Eloise is spunky, energetic, determined, an excellent shot, and a chatterbox. All of that is true in the Netflix adaptation, but the show also made her a fiercely independent proto-feminist. In the second season, she begins to explore issues of women's suffrage and to push back against the expectation that she must find a man to be happy. In a show that's all about traditional happily-ever-afters, Eloise is a delightful and often hilarious breath of fresh air.

So far, so awesome. Eloise has been a fan favourite from the moment that actress Claudia Jessie burst onto our screens. However, Bridgerton has a map to follow – the books written by Quinn – and that map is going to need a little adjusting to keep fans happy.

Er… make that a LOT of adjusting.

Eloise's story is problematic

Even before the television adaption, fans were split by book-Eloise's romance with Sir Phillip Crane. Some love him, and see his deeply traumatic past as a good reason for his moodiness, solitude, and occasional bursts of temper. Others find him too problematic to be a proper romantic hero, especially given that he (at first) only values Eloise as a potential mother to his out-of-control children.

That in and of itself would be easy to overcome – Bridgerton has certainly navigated more difficult issues in the past – but by making Eloise into the character she is in the show, they may have painted themselves into a corner. Fans are already dreading the idea of fiery, sociable, and independent Eloise Bridgerton stuck in a marriage (which she does not want) to a man (who she does not need) who lives in the country (far away from the hustle and bustle she loves). Furthermore, Phillip's twin children will force Eloise into the role of mother even before she has the chance or enjoy the freedoms that married women could experience in Regency England.

The Eloise Bridgerton that exists on the Netflix show would despise the happily-ever-after she was given in the books.

Of course, the Bridgerton crew has had years to consider this problem. Here's hoping they have a roadmap to a better happily-ever-after, or fans will be crying 'Justice for Eloise!'