{"id":15071,"date":"2026-04-11T21:41:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T02:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=15071"},"modified":"2026-04-11T21:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T02:42:02","slug":"bridgerton-the-truth-behind-the-glitz-and-glamour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2026\/04\/11\/bridgerton-the-truth-behind-the-glitz-and-glamour\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridgerton: The Truth Behind the Glitz and Glamour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Reagan Armstrong, Staff Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridgerton is one of the most popular current Netflix series of all time, with four successful seasons, having its third season become Netflix\u2019s best-ever opening with 45.1 million views.[1]<\/a> As a Regency-era drama, Bridgerton showcases the elegance of England in the 1800s, and is often romanticized amongst viewers. [2]<\/a> It is typical for viewers to want the female protagonists to choose wealthy, successful husbands, often remaining unaware of the little legal power that resulted following the unions.[3]<\/a> While the lifestyle is envied and glamorized in the eyes of the female viewers, the question arises as to how historically accurate the portrayal of this lifestyle is within the Netflix drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridgerton\u2019s first season takes place in England in 1813, which was governed by English Common Law.[4]<\/a> A woman\u2019s property rights during marriage under the Common Law allowed her to retain title to her property; with her husband managing that title and providing her with protection and support.[5]<\/a> In contrast, however, a man\u2019s property rights during marriage under the Common Law allowed for him to control all familial property, to use, to mortgage, or to sell his wife\u2019s property, and to allow for his individual creditors to reach both his and his wife\u2019s property.[6]<\/a> Essentially, under the English Common Law, the husband and wife operated as one entity in law: that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman was suspended during marriage.[7]<\/a> The limited legal rights afforded to women in the 1800s was supported by the concept of Coverture, which reinforced the idea that females lived absent a legal identity.[8]<\/a> At birth, the female\u2019s identity was covered by her father\u2019s, and at marriage, her legal identity was that of her husband\u2019s.[9]<\/a> While the show highlights certain legal struggles that the female characters face, the glitz and the glamor of the show can cause certain viewers to idolize the female characters, unbeknownst to the legal realities that they endured on the daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it may be an afterthought for viewers to recognize the legal injustices existing within the traditional English Common Law society, female voices opposing the rigidity of the common law gained volume around the Bridgerton era.[10]<\/a> These early feminist undertones preceded the notorious Married Women\u2019s Property Act (1870), which abolished the traditional marriage laws, and allowed for each spouse to manage his or her own property.[11]<\/a> Additionally, under the Married Women\u2019s Property Act, creditors could only reach shared property if each spouse was equally liable for the debt.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eloise Bridgerton, a Bridgerton main character, is representative of the early feminists within the English Common Law.[13]<\/a> She strives to earn a degree and to develop her writing career, rather than embarking on the search for her husband.[14]<\/a> Highlighting Eloise as a strong, independent female character with a likeable personality allows for viewers to resonate with the Bridgerton sister, while accurately portraying her as being on the outskirts at times alerts viewers of the realities for females in the 1800s.[15]<\/a> Through portraying Eloise and her sister Daphne, a Bridgerton sister who strives for a real-love marriage above all else, both in positive lights, the creators seem to expose both of the sisters\u2019 priorities and allows for viewers to observe the positives within both mindsets. Ultimately, Bridgerton writers seem to maintain certain historical accuracies within the glamorous portrayal of the traditional Common Law English society, which allows for the fanbase to use its own discretion when interpreting early England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/news\/bridgerton-season-4-ratings-netflix-views-1236651131\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> https:\/\/digitalcommons.liberty.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=honors<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/strong><\/em><\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/a> https:\/\/www.womenshistory.org\/articles\/coverture-word-you-probably-dont-know-should<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/a> https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/period\/georgian\/bridgerton-real-history-inspiration-historical-accuracy-regency-ton-explained\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/a> https:\/\/statutes.org.uk\/site\/the-statutes\/nineteenth-century\/1870-33-34-victoria\/1870-33-34-victoria-c-93-married-womens-property-act\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/a> https:\/\/hist259.web.unc.edu\/marriedwomenspropertyact\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/a> https:\/\/www.tumblr.com\/shewhotellsstories\/754180383033229312\/people-say-eloise-is-a-self-centered-white<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/a> https:\/\/www.womenshistory.org\/articles\/coverture-word-you-probably-dont-know-should<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Reagan Armstrong, Staff Writer Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com Bridgerton is one of the most popular current Netflix series of all time, with four successful seasons, having its third season become Netflix\u2019s best-ever opening with 45.1 million views.[1] As a Regency-era drama, Bridgerton showcases the elegance of England in the [\u2026] <\/p>\n

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Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4062,4061,4060,1387,3531],"class_list":["post-15071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-juris-blog","tag-bridgerton","tag-common-law","tag-coverture","tag-marriage","tag-womens-rights-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15071"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15074,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15071\/revisions\/15074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}