Bridgerton showrunner Chris Van Dusen had a problem: one of the key moments in the show’s source material, Julia Quinn’s novel The duke and me, it was a non-consensual sex scene. Not to mention it’s something that fans of the series have long questioned. “In fact, it all comes down to Daphne Bridgerton’s education,” he tells Bustle about why he chose to incorporate him into the program, leaving aside the controversial nature. “It is that crucial moment in your education and in learning what sex is and in learning what it is like to be a wife and what a marriage is.” But while the scene is a turning point for the show’s heroine, it is one that continues to outrage fans of the book and the series. Spoilers for Julia Quinn The duke and me and its adaptation to Netflix Bridgerton forward.
The Shondaland show, which debuted on Netflix on December 25, centers on Quinn’s first eight book novel Bridgerton series, in which Daphne, the eldest daughter of the Bridgerton family, starts a false relationship with a family friend and duke named Simon Basset, in order to attract other possibilities of marriage. As many romantic schemes of this nature happen, the two end up getting in the way of a series of communication failures and betrayals before finally reaching that happy ending.
The series of events in The duke and me leading to “The Scene”, as Quinn’s loyal readers call it, are a bit chaotic. Daphne, who has always wanted to be a mother, agrees to marry Simon, even after he alludes to the fact that he is not physically capable of having children. Soon after their wedding, however, Daphne realizes that it is not that Simon can not have kids – the equipment down there works really well – but will not. In fact, she slowly learns that he is walking away every time they have sex and betting on his sexual ingenuity to prevent her from understanding his contraceptive methods. But when she finally understands the mechanics of sex, Daphne decides to have sex with Simon when he is drunk and his inhibitions subside in hopes of retaliating – and also potentially getting pregnant, as he is too intoxicated to give up.
Unsurprisingly, the idea of having sex with someone when they are drunk and failing to fully consent – and then using that act to try to conceive – has never appealed to readers in the two decades since the novel’s publication. The lack of consent is also never fully addressed throughout the rest of the novel, much to the ire of fans of the book series, who not only questioned his need but also if it were realistic that a woman knew so little about sex and procreation, even in the 19th century. But Robert Morrison, historian and author of The Regency Years: During which Jane Austen writes, Napoleon Fights, Byron makes love and Britain becomes modern, says that the idea that someone like Daphne does not have so much basic reproductive and sexual knowledge is understandable for the time.
“There are aristocratic women who have been teaching them from an early age that they must remain pure and chaste if they want to attract a man,” Morrison explains to Bustle. Nor is it just Daphne that lacks sex education; other characters, like fan favorite Penelope Featherington, are just as ignorant about how children are conceived. “It would be considered a triumph of parenthood if they didn’t know [how sex worked]. And it is because Daphne is unaware of how sex conversations should work, thanks in part to this social pressure to remain chaste, that she handles her feelings of betrayal in the most problematic way possible.
Still, the Netflix series tries to ease some fan concerns about “The Scene”. On the show, Simon is not drunk during his sexual encounter; instead, Daphne gives herself what she believes is supremacy, staying on top during sex and making sure Simon is too involved at the moment to be able to leave. “This is where Daphne really finds her power. It’s a give and take in a way, like, ‘You did this, so I did that’ ”, Phoebe Dyvenor, who plays Daphne in Bridgerton, says about how she read that moment. “It’s that dark thing in relationships about being in a marriage and [figuring out] what [is and isn’t] consensual. “
However, fans who have read the series and watched the show are undecided as to whether the latter’s approach is really better. Some argue that the show still do not even talk about it on issues of sexual deception or non-consent, while others say the main problem is that the TV series does not even see its representation as non-consensual. Dyvenor, however, welcomed the changes that maintained the central feelings of disappointment and helplessness, without crossing the line of intoxicated non-consent. “I was very proud of this scene and we were able to portray it in a way that seemed organic and suited their dynamics in the script,” she explains. “We have incredible intimacy coordinators, and each scene was choreographed and well thought out. With every sex scene, there was a story behind it. It was there for a reason. ”
But as the number of novel adaptations continues to increase in the coming years, there will be ongoing debates over how many of these now dated books – in which non-consensual sex, sexual assault and rape are not infrequent – will be better suited for the screen. The good news is that the genre has largely moved away from portraying these types of sex scenes as romantic. The bad news, however, is that it is much more difficult to erase them from the industry’s confused past.