In defense of Charlotte as a mother
Quick disclaimer this post is not trying to undermine charlottegeorge's (we seriously need to come up with a better ship name) children's feelings towards their mother. Although we know very little about them, it's obvious their relationship with Charlotte isn't perfect, but if I'm being honest, I'm tired of this narrative that she was an awful mother. I 100% agree that she wasn't the best mother (tbh, none of the Bridgerton mothers are. That's what makes the show interesting), but people keep suggesting that she's Augusta-level bad, and that's just not true.
Firstly, everyone keeps forgetting that Lottie lost her parents when she was young, which suggests she didn't have a motherly presence for at least half her life. Secondly, she was eighteen when she had her first child. Eighteen and her strongest examples of motherhood were probably Agatha and Augusta (both, again, arguably not the most amazing mothers). Thirdly, she had fifteen kids. FIFTEEN!! Thirteen (twelve???) surviving, I'm not saying she didn't love them equally, but that's a lot of kids to get to know.
My main argument, however, is that Charlotte probably was not the best mother, and she probably did focus more on being queen and protecting George — which I would argue was also protecting her children. However, she is not Augutsa 2.0 (who, even though not the best mother did try).
Charlotte had twelve (thirteen, idk any more consistency is not this shows strength) surviving children, and it seemed that, for the most part, she let them do whatever they wanted. Unlike Augusta, who tried to control every aspect of George's life, she let her sons whore about (her words, not mine), and she clearly didn't meddle too much in her daughter's love lives. It's only until the very last minute that she inserts herself into their affairs.
At first, it was just her telling them to marry suitable people and produce an heir. She still allowed them to marry who they liked, just as long as they were from a specific pool. And if I'm being honest, that pool wasn't that small; they literally had all of Europe. One of them could have found someone if they had tried. But alas, they didn't which forced Charlotte's hand, leading to arranged marriages.
I think none of them really took her command of marriage seriously because none of them, outside of George probably, knows what responsibility is. Yes, we know that her daughters stayed because they couldn't bare to see their mother remain stuck in time. However, Charlotte did what Augusta couldn't. She didn't let the weight and responsibility of the crown break her children. To her, she was a good mother because she gave them freedom — freedom George never had — she let them have affairs and stay unmarried because she refused to put pressure on them the way Augusta and everyone else did on George.
Her children didn't crack under the crown's weight because she did. Charlotte had two choices: be the best queen or be the best mother. I think she chose the option that made the most sense to her. By being the best queen (George's queen), George had someone on his side, the kingdom had stability, AND her children got to live their lives.
Charlotte had so much responsibility from such a young age; is it really shocking that she couldn't juggle it all? Furthermore, people keep acting like she didn't love her kids, but she clearly did. She was very much pained when Elizabeth confessed her miscarriages, she was gentle with William when he admitted he was scared, and she was ecstatic when Edward announced Victoria's pregnancy. She didn't even care that they thought it would be a girl.
Overall, Charlotte is not a perfect mother, but none of the Bridgerton mothers are (not even Violet). All the mothers in this world are just women who tried their best. And as much as their best may not have been enough, it's all they had. Bridgerton does this brilliant thing, highlighting the toxic cycle that occurs when child-baring is a societal expectation, even in relationships made from love and children produced by autonomy. Charlotte's story is just another example.
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Looking for a good read about or by sapphic women or gay/bi men?
Look no further! I gave all these books 4 or 5 stars when I read them.
Lesbian and bisexual women (subject and author):
Two or three things I know for sure by Dorothy Allison (lesbian memoir)
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata (graphic novel, lesbian memoir)
The Sealed Letter by Emma Donahue (historic fiction, bisexual woman and lesbian wlw relationship)
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabi Rivera (ya contemporary, lesbian mc)
Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg (historic fiction, butch/femme wlw)
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden (ya lesbian classic)
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (historic fiction, lesbian classic)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (historic fiction, bisexual woman and lesbian wlw relationship)
Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me by Ellen Forney (graphic novel, memoir- even though it’s mainly about bipolar disorder mostly she is bisexual and it’s mentioned in the novel)
Lesbian or Bisexual Woman author (not necessarily an LGBT subject):
Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse and A Room of One’s Own all by Virginia Woolf (bisexual author)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (bisexual author)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (lesbian author)
The Yellow Wallpaper (and other stories) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (bisexual author)
The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn (bisexual author)
Passing by Nella Larsen (bisexual author)
Transgender Topics:
Female Husbands: A Trans History by Jen Manion (LGBT history- only concerns relationships between historic AFAB couples and AFAB people who lived as men for many reasons- wider career opportunities and being able to marry a woman were the two most common reasons cited across all stories chronicled)
Gay Men and Bisexual Men (subject and/or author):
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (historic fiction, Greek Myths)
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (gay author, essays on race in America)
Boy meets Boy by David Leviathan (ya contemporary mlm romance)
If We were Villains by M. L. Rio (ya, dark academia, mystery)
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (historic fiction, bisexual mlm, ya) The two sequels also have more lgbt characters.
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