I know. I know. You most likely read the title
of this video and immediately shook your head in denial, convinced that this is probably
me putting together a clickbait video, to bait you into doing just that… Click.
But stay with me here. What if it wasn’t? What if I’m actually able to convince you that
Portia Featherington is not only a Girls’ Girl, but is also the best mother we’ve got in the
show? One of her time. Who understands female solidarity, and is willing to do anything to make
sure that she and hers, are well taken care of, and get only the best. Because she understands
the intricacies of the world that they’ve been born into as women, the limitations that they
have to suffer through, and the best chances they have with which to thrive.
And speaking of thriving, do take a second to like this video if you
can, and hit the subscribe button if you aren’t yet. It does help grow my channel.
Before I go further into explaining how and why Portia Featherington is a Girl’s Girl,
we have to start with a definition. One that highlights the many qualities and traits
present in a Girl’s Girl, and with which we can judge Portia’s behaviour in the story so
far, from Season 1 to the first half of season 3. Although I have read the books, and know what is
coming in the second half, I will try my absolute damndest to not go into spoiler territory in
this video, because… that’s just good manners. In an opinion piece written in The South Texan,
a Texas A&M University-Kingsville Student Publication Magazine, Abigayle Hayden define’s a
girl’s girl as a woman who supports other women, in all aspects of life. In a sense, she
would be your friend who is excited for the new apartment you moved into, or the
coworker who helps you succeed in your job by helping you plan a large project, or even
the girl you run into in the bathroom at the club who tells you that your makeup is pretty.
The opinion piece ends by defining a girl’s girl as being supportive, kind and compassionate.
As it is important, especially now, to be able to build positive and progressive relationships
with women to just let each other know there is always someone there and to be there for.
Mallory Mical of the Odyssey, defines a girl’s girl as someone who supports their friends
in all of their decisions, while simultaneously keeping their friends in check. A girl’s girl has
their friends best interests at heart and will drop anything in order to help another girl.
From these definitions, we can conclude that these are the traits we are examining: Does
Portia Featherington support other women, in all aspects of life? Is she someone who is
more likely to help you succeed by helping you say plan a large project? Does she take actions or
use words to convince other women of their beauty? Does she get excited for the wins of those in her
circle? Is she supportive, kind and compassionate? Is she someone who is always there for the women
in her life? Does she support the decisions of the women in her life, whilst keeping them in check?
Is she someone who has their best interests at heart, and would do her damndest to help them?
Now the reason why I’m tweaking the statement’s recipient of the girl’s girl interactions
from friends to other women is because we see established in the story that Portia
Featherington doesn’t really have friends. And she is not really the odd one out in this regard.
A lot of the women and mothers in the ton do not have friends. Not Violet Bridgerton. Not Araminta
Cowper. The only maybe pseudo-friendship we get between mothers in the story, is probably Queen
Charlotte and Lady Danbury, but it isn’t really a friendship because once again there is still
that power imbalance, although Queen Charlotte [the show] and the first half of Bridgerton
Season 3 seems to be trying to rectify that. And before you tell me that Violet Bridgerton and
Lady Danbury are friends, they aren’t. They are friendly but not friends in that true sense of
the word. The close bonds. The shared secrets. They don’t have that with each other. And I
personally think that this lack of relationships, of friendships between the mamas of the ton
is connected to the words Cressida mentioned to Eloise about how the ton pits girls against
each other, but I will go into more details on that in my Cressida video that will be dropping
next week Wednesday. At the usual time of 5PM EST. But yes. Back to what I was saying. I made the
tweaks because Portia doesn’t really have any friends in the show. Her relationship with
Varley, whilst close, cannot be considered a friendship as there is a bit of a power imbalance
in said relationship due to Portia being the lady of the house and Varley, her housekeeper.
And so I am supplanting her friendships with her relationship with her daughters and her
ward. Because these are the women she does have a continued, consistent relationship with in the
story, and spends enough time, sufficient time, that we can draw logical conclusions about.
So, let’s start with the first point: Does Portia Featherington support
other women, in all aspects of life? I think this one is pretty clear. Say what
you will about Portia being a villain or an antagonist, or being mean to Marina in the first
season of the show. But let’s be honest. In that time period, Marina was already courting scandal
as it was. If not for Lord Featherington’s debt, Portia wouldn’t have even had to deal with the
issue. She was saddled with the responsibility of a Marina who is three-months pregnant,
and who, every day she was in their home, was at risk of being discovered, which would have
damaged not just Marina’s reputation as her ward, but also the reputation and integrity of her
daughters as well. Their society gives leeway to the gentlemen of the ton to sow their wild
oats. The women though need to be proper and keep their legs closed. Marina fell in
love, had sex and is now pregnant. That is a big scandal. Made even worse because
Portia wasn’t informed of the situation, and if not for Varley noticing the absence of a
menstrual cycle, Marina fully intended to keep it a secret until she was showing, all because
she was waiting for a letter from George Crane, who at that point, she had no idea was
dead, and wouldn’t be writing back to her. Do I think what Portia did, with stealing
Marina’s letters from George and forging his signature to get her to stop waiting
for him and start making active plans for her life and her child’s future was horrid? Yes.
Do I think she however did it in some misguided way to help herself, her daughters, AND Marina
who she believed wasn’t being realistic about her present situation and the shitstorm she was
about to stir up? Yes. Do I think she was right? To an extent, yes. And even Marina does too. When
Penelope, in her bid to get Marina to give up her plans to entrap Colin into a marriage where he
would be very publicly cuckold, shows Marina proof that the letter from George rejecting her
and her baby was forged, Marina tells her that it doesn’t matter. She’s unwed. Pregnant. With
zero chances. And George wasn’t responding. Yes we know that Sir Philip Crane
does eventually show up to the rescue, and that is all well and good. But this is a
show based off of a series of romance novels. And I don’t know if y’all noticed this but Portia
Featherington is clearly not living in a romance novel. She is living in reality. And if we
are being honest, if the plot of the romance hadn’t brought Sir Philip Crane to come and take
responsibility, on behalf of his dead brother, and thus married Marina so he can father his
nephew and niece, Marina would have been fucked. Portia, although her plan wasn’t fully executed
because of several reasons, was doing what she could, in her own way, considering the time,
and what she had to work with, to help support Marina through her pregnancy and her schemes.
She recognized Marina’s game. Was impressed by it. And did her bit to make it work, giving
advice where she could. Sure her support wasn’t altruistic. She admitted that if not for Lord
Featherington’s indebtedness to Marina’s father, she would have tossed her out, because I repeat,
that was a scandal that would mess up her entire family and she wasn’t about to screw her
daughters’ chances for Lord Featherington’s ward. So yeah. She did it for the money. But it didn’t
mean that her support and plan, wasn’t the better option for a girl who was out of prospects, with a
time bomb of a secret ticking down pretty quickly. Then there’s the question of if
Portia Featherington is more likely to help the women in her life succeed by
helping them say plan a large project? Once again, we’ll refer to Marina and
entire ploy of getting a husband quickly, to avoid the disgrace of being caught unwed
with a child. That was a huge undertaking that Portia took to immediately. Yes her first set
of suitors weren’t suited for Marina. But that was because Portia was being very calculated
with the men she was suggesting: older men, who wanted heirs and wouldn’t care if the child
that was born to them wasn’t their heir. They would not mind being cuckold, and would just be
happy to have a seeming heir from their new bride. And when Marina set her cap on Colin Bridgerton
and was able to successfully get him to propose, Portia set to work on getting the wedding
date moved forward, knowing that a quick engagement would serve Marina’s purpose best.
Trying to entrap a man, especially in that time period was quite the substantial project.
It definitely takes a high level of cunning, and people being willing to work on your
side to make it happen. If it had been anybody else that Marina had set her cap on,
if she hadn’t insisted on Colin, even though Penelope asked her not to consider him, Marina
and Portia’s plan totally would have succeeded. The next question to ask is if Portia
Featherington takes actions or uses words to convince other women of their beauty. Now this
is quite tricky because on one hand we see just how horribly Portia speaks to Penelope. Absolutely
horrible. But, on the other hand, she also thinks that Prudence and Philippa are quite pretty. Not
very bright, but she thinks they’re lovely. She believes that Prudence has assets that can be
used to her advantage, especially when she set her off to try and seduce Jack Featherington,
to help secure their inheritance. In addition, after Penelope’s wardrobe haul, Portia looks taken
aback and a bit disappointed. She tells Philippa that if Penelope wants to wear such a melancholic
colour, then it’s her prerogative, confirming that Portia’s choice of her daughters’ wardrobes
wasn’t done out of malice. She legit thinks that the colours and designs she puts Penelope in for
example, are very flattering on her. Because they are Portia’s colours And they flatter her. So she
assumes they would work for her daughters as well. We can infer that if Portia believes that the
outfits look beautiful on her, and makes her look beautiful, then by extension, having her make the
choice to clothe her daughters in the same colours and designs is her erroneously thinking that what
looks good on her would look good on them too, and so, she believes to an extent that she is
making her daughters look even more beautiful. It’s a pity that her desires aren’t reality,
but we can see where the thought comes from, and it’s not bad when you think about it.
Then there is the question of “Does Portia Featherington get excited for the
wins of the women in her circle?” The answer to that is yes. She was ecstatic and
very impressed when she learned that Marina had been able to secure an engagement to Colin
Bridgerton. She was also happy for Marina when Sir Philip showed up, to do right by
her and his brother’s child. Because to her, that would help save Marina’s face, secure her
future and prevent her child from being born a bastard. She was delighted for the girl. When
Philippa was finally able to marry Albion Finch, she was just as happy for her daughter. And it
went beyond her trying to secure a prodigious match for Philippa. The Finches aren’t titled,
nor are they particularly wealthy. But she could see that Albion loved her little girl, and
Philippa liked him back as well, which was what made her so angry at Lord Featherington,
for spending Philippa’s dowry and ruining her chances at her marriage that she wanted. So when
Jack Featherington showed up, and was able to pay the Finches with the ruby that they had no idea
was fake, she looked beyond pleased at the news. She was happy for her.
Now the next point is where a lot of people have objections to Portia Feathrington, and I am sure
y’all were waiting for me to get here. Is Portia supportive, kind and compassionate? I believe that
dichotomies exist within us all. As human beings we are capable of acts of sheer cruelty and utter
compassion in equal measure. The same applies to Portia Featherington. Is she often mean-spirited,
with a tongue that can be very cutting and cruel? Yes. But does she also show moments of her
being supportive, kind and compassionate? Yes. After Marina realizes that the abortion tea
she’d drunk didn’t do anything for her and she was still pregnant, she finally agreed
to marry Sir Philip Crane. Before they left, Marina took a moment to ask Portia, how she
endured 22 years of a loveless marriage. And Portia’s response to this question was kind,
was compassionate, was honest, and one could say supportive of Marina’s future life and
happiness. She assured her that she would find things to love. Small things. Big things. Like
her children for example. And eventually all these things will add up and they would
be enough. She tells Marina that she is strong. Perhaps stronger than Portia herself.
And so she believes that Marina will do well. That was the first time we saw Portia, without the
armor. Without the schemes. Without the airs. She was a woman, telling a fellow woman the hard
truth, but in the kindest and most supportive of ways, acknowledging that her road will not be
smooth or rosy, based off of her own experience, but that there will be joys to be had, and that
she believes in her chances and her succeeding. It was a beautiful moment and scene.
And even in the first half of season 3, after the reveal that Penelope asked Colin
to help her find a husband, Portia tries, in her own way, to extend her support, kindness
and compassion to her daughter. Sure she reacted first with frustration, but then she caught that
glimpse of Penelope’s face. Realized that her daughter was hurting and tried to comfort her by
telling her that being a spinster wasn’t too bad, and men were more trouble than they were worth.
It wasn’t as effective as we would have preferred, but she did extend that
consolation to Penelope, which was her own way of being kind and trying to help.
Then there’s the question of if she is someone who is always there for the women in her life,
and we see that through the series. Once again, with how she handled the Marina issue, and also
her pushing to secure her daughters’ inheritance, in the face of a debt-ridden and eventually dead
husband, and a swindling Jack Featherington, who arrived to claim his dead cousin’s estate.
With her husband, she took him to task for causing Philippa pain and trying to ruin her
potential marriage to Albion. And when Archibald Featherington croaks, and Jack Featherington
takes over, is delighted when he seemingly helps resolve Philippa’s dowry issues. But her
happiness is short-lived because then Jack seems intent on marrying Cressida, and she immediately
considers this to be a potential problem for her, her girls and Mrs. Varley who might all be tossed
out of their home were Jack to marry Cressida. To help secure her daughter’s inheritance and
home, even without them being aware of it, she starts to plot and plan, and her plan
eventually led to her tricking Prudence into being discovered alone with Jack, thus forcing
his hands to ask for Prudence’s hand in marriage. And when at the end of the second season
with his ruse discovered, Jack expressed his desire to leave England with Portia, to the
Americas, and leave her daughters behind, she did the one thing a protective mother would do. She
sacrificed him to secure her daughters’ future. Their father might have been trash. And Jack
even more so. But if there is anybody who is always going to defend those girls, and stay in
their corner, then it is Portia Featherington. When Jack talks about he and Portia being a
team, she tells him that she already has a team. They are three young ladies, often nettling
and contrary, but they are hers and it is clear to her that Jack doesn’t care for them at all.
Nobody who has watched Bridgerton can argue about Portia Featherington’s actions and motivations.
They have always been for her girls. All three of them. Yes, even Penelope. She would always
be there for her daughters. Wanting them to be secure. She’s not big on love because that
isn’t her experience, nor has it served her. But she knows that marrying a bad man, a
man who can’t keep his finances in order, or properly take care of his family and household
is a terrible, terrible idea. It’s a lesson she’s had to learn the hard way, and not one she
wants to put her daughters through, either. That’s what makes her Portia. It’s what makes
her their mother. Like she says in response to Jack’s accusation that she is cruel.
Portia really, truly is a mother. In fact, she is THE mother. She’s had to scrape and
manipulate her way. But it’s always been in service of her family and her children. No one
would look at her and think she’s had it easy. She hasn’t. And we see that clearly through the show.
We also see just how she supports the decisions of the women in her life, whilst she keeps them in
check. We see this in action with Marina. When she realizes that Marina believes she can keep her
baby, she takes her to the other side of town to show her a reality check. And although Marina
initially tells her that she isn’t intimidated and doesn’t care, she does change her mind after the
forged letter and the realization that if George really doesn’t show up, she’s fucked. When
Marina actively starts taking charge of her options and starts to scheme with regards the best
potential husband and father for her unborn child, Portia is there to offer support. And when it
all comes crashing down, and Sir Philip comes around to do right by his dead brother’s child
and mother of said child, she urges Marina to take the offer and hold onto the opportunity, even
when the latter was being stubborn, thinking that the abortion was successful. And when Marina had
to leave after agreeing to Sir Philips proposal, she gives her advice and sends her on her way.
She might not have agreed with Penelope’s change of wardrobe because it isn’t her style or
to her liking, but she doesn’t stop her, or exercise her power over her to keep her
from making those changes. She accepts that it is Penelope’s prerogative to make
those choices. And she’s delighted and helps to advocate for Philippa’s marriage.
Portia Featherington does her damndest to help the women in her life. She does have their
best interests at heart. Those interests might clash with what say Marina or Penelope want for
themselves, but if we are honest with ourselves, honest with the times they’re living in, and
honest with the realization that the only reason why things work out well for those girls
is because they are living in a romance novel, then we would know that Portia does
act with their best interests at heart. She is a realist, living in a world of romance.
Who pushes for caution with a cynicism born of experience and disappointment. Why else would
she tell Penelope that what is foolish is being unreasonable about what you can achieve, if not
that she has been unreasonable in her past about what she could achieve and got burned as a result.
Portia Featherington clawed her way and put in the work, to make it to the present circumstances
she’s in right now. You know she doesn’t take anything for granted. You know that every one
of her victories: her daughters being settled into their marriages, working her way around her
husband’s debts and death, scamming his cousin, securing the estate for her grandchildren… Every
single one of her victories have been hard won. And they’ve been won for
the sake of her daughters, the women that she’s closest to, that she holds in
her heart; nettling and contrary as they might be. That right there, is a girl’s girl.
Let me know if you agree or disagree. And thank you. For making it all the way
to the end. Don’t forget to like this video if you enjoyed it. Subscribe if you aren’t
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A huge thank you to my Patreons. Thank you all for your support. You
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then do check out the link in my description bar. Like I said earlier on in the
video, my next Bridgerton video, dropping next week Wednesday at 5PM EST will be
focused on Cressida. So keep an eye out for that. If you enjoy anime/manga content as well, those
videos drop on Mondays at 5PM EST, and my bookish content drops on Fridays at 5PM EST.
Until my next video, do remember… Obsessing over the things you love?
Perfectly. Valid. Coping. Mechanism.
