As an Austen stalwart, I was reluctant to watch the playful take on the Regency era that is Bridgerton, but I was persuaded to try it and I enjoyed myself. Since the show focuses on a particular romantic couple each season, I’ll begin with the Duke and Duchess of Hastings.
Daphne is the Bridgerton we follow in Season One. (Think of the Bridgertons as a homeschool family, lol. They’re a quirky bunch.) The eldest daughter, Daphne enters society and the marriage market with the Queen’s favor. Meanwhile Simon is a recent and reluctant Duke. These two, through twists and turns, end up married.
The plots for Bridgerton are heavy on the romance novel tropes. (This season includes an episode that is almost entirely sex scenes, although they do have relevance to character development.) Simon has sworn an oath to his odious father on his deathbed that he won’t procreate and further the line. Daphne, an innocent, eventually understands that Simon is pulling out before orgasm so that he won’t get her pregnant. This is the main conflict.
So what do we have for Character Enneagrams?
Like Elinor in Sense and Sensibility, Simon has made a promise with details he won’t share or break, even to those he loves. Elinor can’t reveal Lucy Steele’s secret and painful engagement to her beloved Edward because she swore to tell no one. Not even Marianne can know. In that vein, Simon won’t tell his wife that, although he is physically capable of fathering children, he is morally restricted by his oath. (It’s a tough sell for a modern audience. For us, his resolve borders on stubbornness.)
In Austen world, someone who keeps an oath is honorable and heroic. It’s an ideal that not everyone can achieve. Let’s decide that, for Simon, the rules are the same. This is a man of impeccable character. And he loves Daphne.
Holy cow. He might be a Null. Everything about him is trope. I can’t even remember what finally persuades him to change his mind and agree to become a father! He’s beautifully acted, but his character is void of specific traits. He isn’t particularly Body, Heart, or Head Type. Simon is a generic, handsome romantic lead with nothing to distinguish him as an individual. He doesn’t appear in any future seasons, which is probably a contract issue with the actor, but it also sends up red flags. They didn’t know how to write him once his plot conflict was finished.
As for Daphne, she’s probably a Three. Beautiful, confident, successful in the realm of Regency dating, Daphne is the Bridgerton who shines. She takes charge of her own future by entering into a pact with Simon to fool society. There’s just no way that Daphne will fail. The plot deals her with setbacks, but Daphne has an indomitable quality. She ends up happily married, pregnant with an acknowledged heir, and a wise advisor to her family in future episodes.
The first season is so heavily locked into romance novel expectations it narrows the Enneagram choices. Future seasons do a better job of expanding the characters.