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Introduction:

Bridget Jones’s Diary is a romantic comedy novel by Helen Fielding, published in 1996. It is also known for its adaptation into a movie in 2005. It follows a girl named Bridget Jones who writes her new year resolution which includes lose weight, smoke and drink less, and more. She struggles with her family and romantic relationship and tries to find a healthy relationship. This book is known for its fun and romantic component. 

Plot: 

Bridget Jones’s Diary opens with Bridget making New Year’s resolutions to eat, drink, and smoke less, and to find a boyfriend or feel complete as a single woman. At a Turkey Curry Buffet, Bridget’s parents try to set her up with Mark Darcy, a dull lawyer from her childhood. Back at her publishing job, she flirts with her boss, Daniel Cleaver, but pulls back when he says it’s “just a bit of fun.” Bridget’s mother announces she’s leaving her father for a man named Julian and starts hosting a TV show called “Suddenly Single”. Bridget pretends not to care about Daniel to keep him interested, and they eventually sleep together, but he becomes distant afterward. After discovering that Daniel is cheating on her with Suki, Bridget breaks up with him and changes jobs to work in television. At a party, Mark Darcy asks Bridget out, but she believes he stands her up, not realizing he tried to contact her. As chaos ensues with her mother’s cons being revealed, Mark helps sort things out.  On Christmas, Bridget’s parents reconcile, but Julian, her mother’s boyfriend, causes a scene. Mark arrives with the police to arrest him. In a hotel, Mark confesses his love for Bridget, and they celebrate together.  The book ends with Bridget reflecting on her year, feeling proud that she has built a healthy relationship, even if she only kept one of her resolutions.

Analysis:

The main character, Bridget Jones, has two main goals in her life: be healthy (stop eating, drinking, and smoking) and find a boyfriend or be proud of her single self. Throughout the book, Bridget struggles to maintain her healthy weight or her weight loss and drinks and smokes depending on her mood. From the numbers on the very top of her diary, it is seen that she keeps tracks of her smoking, drinking, weight, and calories. Through this, Bridget is presented as a girl with dreams but doesn’t put enough effort into get what she want. The author also portrays her relationship as unstable when she falls in love with her boss, who is toxic and cheats on her at the end. The book also shows the relationship between Bridget and her mother. When her mom leaves her dad for another man named Julian, their relationship starts to break. Then, her mom asks Bridget to be on her TV show, Bridget feels negativity towards her mother. She starts disobeying her parents by not meeting Mark, a lawyer, who her parents set her up with. However, at the end, Bridget comes together with Mark after he confessed his love for her. The book also is in Bridget’s perspective, having a diary-like layout of the pages. 

Conclusion:

Bridget Jones’s Diary is a romantic contemporary novel by Helen Fielding in 1996. It was also made into a movie in 2005. It follows a girl named Bridget who writes many goals for her new year resolution, such as getting a boyfriend, eating, drinking, smoking less, etc. She has many conflicts with her family and also in relationships. She meets her happy with Mark, a lawyer, who gets introduced from her parents. The story shares that relationships especially with your family is important to not only your life, but also your health.