‘Bridgerton’: Lady Whistledown Seems to Know Way More About Sex Than Penelope, and It Doesn’t Make Any Sense
At this point, it is fair to assume that there’s nothing that goes on in the ton without Bridgerton‘s Lady Whistledown knowing. Penelope Featheringon‘s wallflower status has helped her gather gossip about everyone and anyone from the “walls.” While Penelope seems to know little about the realities of marriage and pregnancy, Whistledown’s scandal sheets suggest she knows way more about sex than Penelope, and it doesn’t make any sense.
Penelope and Eloise don’t know much about sex or pregnancy in season 1
Season 1 of Bridgerton introduced viewers to the glamorous side of the Regency Era. Viewers saw Daphne evolve from the Diamond of the Ball, who had no clue about sex or how pregnancy occurs, into a woman who has a fulfilling sex life and is knowledgeable about how women get pregnant.
The show also gave viewers a glimpse of the difficulty women of that era faced with children out of wedlock. When Lady Featherington discovers that her niece Marina is pregnant, she tries to marry her off hurriedly to ensure she doesn’t bring shame to the family.
Penelope and Eloise don’t necessarily judge Marina as the rest of society does, but they start looking for information about how babies are made so they can avoid making the same mistake as Marina. When Penelope tells Eloise someone in her house is pregnant and unmarried, Eloise seems shocked and mystified, saying she believed a woman had to be married to be “with child.”
Their ignorance is a representation of how the young ladies during that period of time had little to no information about sex. Sex before marriage was taboo, and while mothers tried their best to educate their children about sex, they weren’t always straightforward about it.
When they are unable to find answers on their own, Eloise resorts to asking her family while Penelope asks Marina how it happened. The closest the pair of friends get to finding out the truth is when they’re told that love makes women get pregnant, which doesn’t help them answer the Marina question.
Penelope’s ignorance toward sex is a stark contrast to her alter ego’s knowledge of it
Season 1 finale of Bridgerton revealed that Penelope was Lady Whistledown, and many of the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. However, one significant aspect fails to make sense in terms of Penelope and her alter ego.
Viewers know that Penelope acquires gossip through the servants, maids, guards, and society members of the ton. As such, she must have heard quite a lot about the torrid details of all the affairs and romances about the members of the ton, resulting in her ability to write as Lady Whistledown.
Her ignorance toward sex and reproduction in her and her best friend’s quest to unearth how Marina could have gotten pregnant makes no sense. In season one, Lady Whistledown wishes the Duke and Duchess “stamina” on their honeymoon and alludes to efforts to produce an heir, suggesting Penelope knew more than she let on.
This then creates two scenarios that offer possible answers to Pen’s ignorance. The first is that after asking Marina about the pregnancy, Pen would have obtained more answers that would have given her a deeper understanding of how babies are made.
Alternatively, she could have been intentionally downplaying her knowledge of sex to her friend to keep up her ruse and maintain her identity as Whistledown. There is also the possibility that she only vaguely understood details about sex and reproduction based on what she heard around the ton. The allusions to sex Lady Whistledown made could have been phrases Penelope overheard but didn’t fully comprehend.
Lady Whistledown’s identity could be threatened
Pen has spent the past two seasons keeping her identity as the ton’s gossip columnist a guarded secret. However, at the end of the second season, her best friend Eloise uncovered the secret, thus putting an end to their relationship.
Eloise is mad at Penelope for tarnishing her name, not knowing that Pen did so to protect her. In season 3, Penelope may resort to harsh extremes to ensure her secret doesn’t get out further, including dropping some nasty bombshells. If Eloise were to reveal Pen as Whistledown, the young Featherington might lose the one person she cares about the most, Colin.
