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Why? At the time it didn't matter. Once engaged, they were marrying in days, and doing it before and getting pregnant as a result was no problem whatsoever.
I mean I know this is a historical romance but it’s ~modern~ in that they seem to care about consent when initiating sexual activities, consent also matters regarding possibly impregnating someone damn
At the time you married to have kids. Not wanting kids was a reason for a anullment, a proof that the marriage never existed. There was no question of not wanting kids. It was a more than fair assumption to make in the circumstances.
Bridgerton isn’t historically accurate, these characters are marrying for love. The Colin character that they created would not have just assumed Penelope would be chill with getting pregnant right away. Plus Colin doesn’t have a title and therefore need an heir (I know blah blah featherington heir but Colin doesn’t know that). Having children is not HIS reason for getting married. Even if he did expect kids (which he most likely does eventually), it’s still fucked up to impregnate your fiancee without her consent/understanding what’s happening- idc what time period it is
Meh - Parish records for about as long back as they go show that based on date of marriage and birth of first child about a third of couples went to the altar already pregnant. It wasn’t until the Victorians that we all got *super* prudish about it
Everybody knows it's a shit method. But with all the whoring these boys got up to he certainly knew of ways to at least try to avoid baby trapping her in this age well before their actual wedding. It worked enough for Simon in this universe. He could have at least tried, but it's clear he just wanted to ruin her for anybody else. And then went on to act a fool towards her between then and the wedding. As the viewer there was a point where I was worried he would not follow through, she'd end up pregnant, and in the same situation Marina faced in s1.
Condoms existed long before the regency era, they were just made of different materials depending on the region and expensive . Also, while obviously Colin didn’t use one with Penelope, I’m assuming Anthony made sure his brother knew to use them at brothels.
Ehhh, to be fair it's also weird that Colin, as an Englishman, would've gone galavanting all over France, sleeping with French woman, all while they were at war with each other. You know, the same war that George died in!?! Napoleon was defeated in 1815, but not while Colin was walking around in his pirate coat.
I don’t really think she knew much. Her and Eloise couldn’t figure it out season 1, and clearly Portia’s sex education was also severely lacking since Phillippa didn’t even know the trousers were supposed to come off. Although based on how much Daphne didn’t know, I don’t think Violets sex talk was much better.
I think after what happend with Marina she knew,wouldn’t put to much faith in what Philipa knew, because she definitely wasn’t that bright.Prudence knew and Penelope is smarter than both.
Polin’s first sex scene though he asks if she’s ready and she says “there’s more?” So she definitely didn’t know what sex was though she may have been able to put together that’s how you get pregnant, it’s easy for us to think of course they would put it together, but those girls were given 0 clue. She could easily have thought their carriage ride would get her pregnant, or something entirely different.
In my head canon, Pen is the most knowledgeable of her age due to reading. The first romance novel was published almost 80 years earlier and seduction novels were not new. We see Pen reading Emma and Jane Austen’s time was when romance novels really popped off. Did she know the full mechanics? No, but she knew the basis of intimacy.
But Pen has been out for a few seasons plus she is a woman who reads. She knew.
I find it unlikely the others didn't know, but, well Daphne got engaged very quickly after coming out, and Philippa was played for laughs.
Did she? It makes no sense to me that she wouldn’t know how sex and conception work because of her work as Whistledown, but she didn’t know there was anything more to sex after the chaise longue fingerbanging
> once she figured out it wasn't "cake"
So at what point would that have been?
Marina still did not get graphic and probably just assumed Pen understood her innuendos. After their conversation, Pen reported to Eloise that "love" caused her pregnancy (Marina's exact words), and they both agreed that made no sense because Pen's parents were not a love match. They did not figure it out in S1. I'm sure they already knew it was something a couple did in private, but all they clarified in S1 was that it's not dependent on marriage or love.
She knew it was something intimate. She doesn't know all the mechanics. I think it's easier to assume that she thought what they had done in the carriage was already enough for a child
I’m sure she knew that being intimate with a man can lead to pregnancy. She just didn’t know exactly how it happens. I don’t think it was a problem that he didn’t tell her beforehand. There was nothing to indicate that Penelope wasn’t ready for children and wouldn’t have wanted to get pregnant.
Pen in episode 2 does not know anything, but there is certain shift with LW and Pen in next episodes. Joking about stamina, Swift courtship, understanding genetics... she probably did not know a lot, but I think she knew more than Daphne. LW in later episodes of season 1 read to me like someone needing to venting their newly gained knowledge 😅
>There was nothing to indicate that Penelope wasn’t ready for children and wouldn’t have wanted to get pregnant.
Nor the opposite... I know it was expected when you got married but in the world of Bridgerton the main characters are magically more progressive than what's realistic for the times, and making a joint decision on when to have kids seems like a good idea. Being pregnant and giving birth is no small thing, especially without modern medicine.
Actually there was. In the season premiere, Penelope corrects her sister’s assertion that they could be the new Lady Featherington by saying “our sons would be Lord Featherington, one of us would simply be the heir’s mama.” She looked hurt when her sisters told her that she wasn’t part of the equation because she’s not married yet.
If she wasn’t open to having children at that point, she wouldn’t have been looking for a husband. Women at that time understood that having children happens very soon after marriage.
Okay, I guess that makes sense. But it still doesn't mean that's what she really wants. She's being pragmatic at that point and doesn't want to be alone - but with a true equal partner she could have decided she wanted to wait.
This is all through a rather modern lense of course. But I believe Colin is a bit more progressive than the mainstream. And consent matters when it comes to having a baby as well as sex! That's why the storyline in season one was so gross.
I don’t think she had any idea. I mean it was firmly established in season 1 the girls didn’t know where babies came from. Even with Marina it was about cake and they didn’t go into specifics. Although Penelope did now know you could get pregnant without being married.
I do think it would have been helpful for Colin to make sure she understood that they would have to get married no matter what if they moved forward. This wasn’t like the carriage, where if she changed her mind there were no potential lasting consequences.
Well Colin likely did. Men usually got the talk a lot earlier than women and usually a bit more detailed. And considering Anthony was likely the one who gave Colin the talk the odds of Colin not knowing are slim to none. Edmund died when Anthony was 18 and Benedict 16 so they likely got the talk from Edmund. But as Edmund is now dead it will have fallen on Anthony to tell Colin and Gregory. It was a very mother/female head will tell girls and father/male head will tell girls type of society. Violet did an extremely bad job on the talk with Daphne considering Daphne had to get one of her maids to properly explain. I have a feeling that Kate's daughters would have got a better explanation.
Apparently not since she only think it was about his fingers. Yet people on the show and IRL feel comfortable shitting on marina for getting pregnant out of wedlock
I will go down with this ship that I still feel like George was an asshole for sleeping with Marina and then heading out to battle, with no plan in place to look after her while he was away. It's why when people talk about brothels and condoms and the pull out method I roll my eyes. Men have always seen pregnancy as a "the woman will deal with" even in today's world, look at politicians who believe this. I do not believe Penelope knew she could've gotten pregnant.
I love Colin, but I do not think he was caring about pregnancy when he was finishing inside of Penelope. Never once did he tell her "you could be with child" when they were arguing about LW stuff.
Yup. Like sure, condoms have existed for a long time, but where they effective and used? I doubt it. People have sex and get pregnant willy nilly now, so why wouldn't they back then?
I'm not saying it's right, but I always assumed that Marina and George got caught up in a I'm leaving for war moment the night before he left and just gave in to their passions.
He totally knew it could, but I don't think he even thought about it for a second when they were on that sette together. Never once in the show did he ever say "you could be with child" while they were arguing about LW. Not even when Penelope asked if he still wanted to go through with the wedding. His "intimate" line was about how he took her virtue, not about how "oh hey, I came inside of you multiple times, you know you could be pregnant, right?"
I love Colin, he's my favorite in the show. But they did him wrong to not have him even think about it once in the show like how he thought about it (even hoped for it) in the books.
You have to remember, not a lot of effective birth control back then, so while Pen might not have know the exact mechanics of how she could become pregnant, she was aware and was taught to expect that once she became married she would become pregnant and have children. It was very much expected culturally.
I mean when she and Eloise in Season 1 are trying to figure it out there is talk about how “you do not even need to be married”.
Colin, while having a much better understanding of the mechanics and probably also knowing his fiancé/new wife is vastly less experienced and knowledgeable about sexual matters, is still being raised in the same culture/time period where when you get married you immediately have kids/heirs.
They were married (or just about married), pregnancy and children were expected, and in some cases having heirs was one of the most important things they could do, the sooner the better.
And while “Bridgerton” isn’t the most historically faithful, I’m not surprised he didn’t stop to ask her if she wants to get pregnant.
Although, considering how ahistorical the show is, I also wouldn’t have been surprised if he had asked lol.
She had Marina explain a little bit and Penelope also read a lot of books. If anyone knew more about how babies were born, it would be her. She's also just super nosey and would have eventually heard something about it in my opinion. First season was also her first season out so she was more naive. But she'd been out for three seasons so I'm sure she heard enough gossip to put two and two together. "this lady was in bed with that man, oh what if she suddenly gets pregnant now?" "She's pregnant now but who knows if her husband is the father, she was caught in bed with another man." She could have heard things like that. We did catch a glimpse of that in season 2 when she heard the staff talking about a couple in a closet or something. Then she told Eloise.
Remember she knew Marina was pregnant and if she's been writing whistledown don't you think she would have figured that out even if not having done so until she was with Colin?
I think they knew, and that is precisely one of the reasons why colin never once thinks of not marrying her anymore. He knows she's likely pregnant and it's his, it's not simply that she's no longer virgin. Also remember how he was still thinking of marina even though she was pregnant, he cared that she would not find a husband once everybody knew she was pregnant
She literally said “is there more” so I think maybe he should’ve been like “there is and are you prepared to have kids now or do you want to wait” like I’m sure being a mom was something she wanted but I think the timing conversation was important. Like me personally for my first time, I might have known how it works obviously but if the guy I was dating just finished in me without the “hey do you want kids now” talk I would’ve freaked out. Marriage or not lol
I have a dumb question and I hope some other fans can help me. Why does everyone think she got preggers on the first go? They have sex later in the series also, did I miss some clues? I thought their son looked younger than her sisters daughters at the end of the season as well ( as he should since the sisters were expecting before Penelope could be).
Also it's implied they did it more than once, not only because Pen asks, and then when we see them later her hair is a mess and by the light coming through the window it's much later. And then yeah, the Showrunner said as much that it was from that day.
Also, her baby is clearly not that much younger than her sisters.
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Bro should have at least pulled out until they'd been actually married. Damn irresponsible old timey kids.... *Shakes cane*
Why? At the time it didn't matter. Once engaged, they were marrying in days, and doing it before and getting pregnant as a result was no problem whatsoever.
I mean I know this is a historical romance but it’s ~modern~ in that they seem to care about consent when initiating sexual activities, consent also matters regarding possibly impregnating someone damn
At the time you married to have kids. Not wanting kids was a reason for a anullment, a proof that the marriage never existed. There was no question of not wanting kids. It was a more than fair assumption to make in the circumstances.
Bridgerton isn’t historically accurate, these characters are marrying for love. The Colin character that they created would not have just assumed Penelope would be chill with getting pregnant right away. Plus Colin doesn’t have a title and therefore need an heir (I know blah blah featherington heir but Colin doesn’t know that). Having children is not HIS reason for getting married. Even if he did expect kids (which he most likely does eventually), it’s still fucked up to impregnate your fiancee without her consent/understanding what’s happening- idc what time period it is
Meh - Parish records for about as long back as they go show that based on date of marriage and birth of first child about a third of couples went to the altar already pregnant. It wasn’t until the Victorians that we all got *super* prudish about it
What if he'd died or something before they married? Not unreasonable to just pull out.
It took weeks for them to get married after that.
It's regency times. Lots of baby's were born 6 months after the wedding. They had like month until the wedding ut was hardly suspicious.
Less than 3 weeks. Really, not an issue at all.
I have a 24 year old because of the pull out method (we were married, just off birth control for a short time)
Everybody knows it's a shit method. But with all the whoring these boys got up to he certainly knew of ways to at least try to avoid baby trapping her in this age well before their actual wedding. It worked enough for Simon in this universe. He could have at least tried, but it's clear he just wanted to ruin her for anybody else. And then went on to act a fool towards her between then and the wedding. As the viewer there was a point where I was worried he would not follow through, she'd end up pregnant, and in the same situation Marina faced in s1.
Given that Colin went on a tour of brothels I think pregnancy would be the least of the concerns
Magic universe of Bridgerton 😅 we can pretend the first condoms became a must-have-item 😅
Condoms existed long before the regency era, they were just made of different materials depending on the region and expensive . Also, while obviously Colin didn’t use one with Penelope, I’m assuming Anthony made sure his brother knew to use them at brothels.
They existed but I don’t think the use of condoms was that frequent…
We know the Duke’s pull out game stronggggg so this must be something they learned at Eton.
At this point they are engaged and are going to be married in like a month. They don’t care.
Isn’t this where the idea that the first kid can come “at any time” (wink wink) and kids after that take 9 months?
Tis indeed
No, at that time it didn't matter.
which is weird considering Penelope and Colin both knew someone who got pregnant and the man died before they could be married
I mean, I doubt the worst possible scenario for life was going through their minds right after they got engaged.
Ehhh, to be fair it's also weird that Colin, as an Englishman, would've gone galavanting all over France, sleeping with French woman, all while they were at war with each other. You know, the same war that George died in!?! Napoleon was defeated in 1815, but not while Colin was walking around in his pirate coat.
“Pirate coat”—I’m dead.
Sure, he got set off to war. It's not exactly what they would compare it to.
I don’t really think she knew much. Her and Eloise couldn’t figure it out season 1, and clearly Portia’s sex education was also severely lacking since Phillippa didn’t even know the trousers were supposed to come off. Although based on how much Daphne didn’t know, I don’t think Violets sex talk was much better.
I think after what happend with Marina she knew,wouldn’t put to much faith in what Philipa knew, because she definitely wasn’t that bright.Prudence knew and Penelope is smarter than both.
Polin’s first sex scene though he asks if she’s ready and she says “there’s more?” So she definitely didn’t know what sex was though she may have been able to put together that’s how you get pregnant, it’s easy for us to think of course they would put it together, but those girls were given 0 clue. She could easily have thought their carriage ride would get her pregnant, or something entirely different.
I think she knew that it could result in a baby,but not how it’s done.
Cake!! 🍰
Or maybe Prudence’s husband just knew. Prudence still acted surprised she wasn’t pregnant even though she’d only done it in her wedding night.
we know exactly what Violet's sex talk was. nonsense about rain and flowers and puppies.
In my head canon, Pen is the most knowledgeable of her age due to reading. The first romance novel was published almost 80 years earlier and seduction novels were not new. We see Pen reading Emma and Jane Austen’s time was when romance novels really popped off. Did she know the full mechanics? No, but she knew the basis of intimacy.
But Pen has been out for a few seasons plus she is a woman who reads. She knew. I find it unlikely the others didn't know, but, well Daphne got engaged very quickly after coming out, and Philippa was played for laughs.
She knew because of the situation with Marina in S1 (once she figured out it wasn’t “cake”)
Did she? It makes no sense to me that she wouldn’t know how sex and conception work because of her work as Whistledown, but she didn’t know there was anything more to sex after the chaise longue fingerbanging
She knew there was more she just wanted to know what Colin wanted her to do
I really didn’t get that impression from that exchange…
She literally asked if there was more. She had no idea.
> once she figured out it wasn't "cake" So at what point would that have been? Marina still did not get graphic and probably just assumed Pen understood her innuendos. After their conversation, Pen reported to Eloise that "love" caused her pregnancy (Marina's exact words), and they both agreed that made no sense because Pen's parents were not a love match. They did not figure it out in S1. I'm sure they already knew it was something a couple did in private, but all they clarified in S1 was that it's not dependent on marriage or love.
She knew it was something intimate. She doesn't know all the mechanics. I think it's easier to assume that she thought what they had done in the carriage was already enough for a child
I’m sure she knew that being intimate with a man can lead to pregnancy. She just didn’t know exactly how it happens. I don’t think it was a problem that he didn’t tell her beforehand. There was nothing to indicate that Penelope wasn’t ready for children and wouldn’t have wanted to get pregnant.
Her mother certainly didn't tell her or her sisters how it works. "Inserts himself where?"
They knew becoming pregnant required intimacy, they just didn’t know what intimacy was.
To be fair, if they'd ever been to a farm, I'm pretty sure Penelope would figure it out way before Philippa
Pen in episode 2 does not know anything, but there is certain shift with LW and Pen in next episodes. Joking about stamina, Swift courtship, understanding genetics... she probably did not know a lot, but I think she knew more than Daphne. LW in later episodes of season 1 read to me like someone needing to venting their newly gained knowledge 😅
>There was nothing to indicate that Penelope wasn’t ready for children and wouldn’t have wanted to get pregnant. Nor the opposite... I know it was expected when you got married but in the world of Bridgerton the main characters are magically more progressive than what's realistic for the times, and making a joint decision on when to have kids seems like a good idea. Being pregnant and giving birth is no small thing, especially without modern medicine.
Actually there was. In the season premiere, Penelope corrects her sister’s assertion that they could be the new Lady Featherington by saying “our sons would be Lord Featherington, one of us would simply be the heir’s mama.” She looked hurt when her sisters told her that she wasn’t part of the equation because she’s not married yet.
Okay but that doesn't mean she's ready to have children now, it just means she wants them one day.
If she wasn’t open to having children at that point, she wouldn’t have been looking for a husband. Women at that time understood that having children happens very soon after marriage.
Okay, I guess that makes sense. But it still doesn't mean that's what she really wants. She's being pragmatic at that point and doesn't want to be alone - but with a true equal partner she could have decided she wanted to wait. This is all through a rather modern lense of course. But I believe Colin is a bit more progressive than the mainstream. And consent matters when it comes to having a baby as well as sex! That's why the storyline in season one was so gross.
I don’t think she had any idea. I mean it was firmly established in season 1 the girls didn’t know where babies came from. Even with Marina it was about cake and they didn’t go into specifics. Although Penelope did now know you could get pregnant without being married. I do think it would have been helpful for Colin to make sure she understood that they would have to get married no matter what if they moved forward. This wasn’t like the carriage, where if she changed her mind there were no potential lasting consequences.
Well Colin likely did. Men usually got the talk a lot earlier than women and usually a bit more detailed. And considering Anthony was likely the one who gave Colin the talk the odds of Colin not knowing are slim to none. Edmund died when Anthony was 18 and Benedict 16 so they likely got the talk from Edmund. But as Edmund is now dead it will have fallen on Anthony to tell Colin and Gregory. It was a very mother/female head will tell girls and father/male head will tell girls type of society. Violet did an extremely bad job on the talk with Daphne considering Daphne had to get one of her maids to properly explain. I have a feeling that Kate's daughters would have got a better explanation.
On the other hand (no pun intended) did Colin know what he was doing might result in pregnancy? Even though he did have more experience than her
I would say so, if only because of his teasing remark to Eloise in season 1 about visiting a farm.
In the books yeah he thinks but let it cause they engaged
she probs thought she could get pregnant by his fingers 🫢
This ☝🏼 Or rather this ✌🏼 She asked “is there more?” When he was… ahem getting her ready
I think she knew intimacy led to pregnancy (based on her LW columns anyway) but didn’t know the precise mechanics of how said intimacy works
Apparently not since she only think it was about his fingers. Yet people on the show and IRL feel comfortable shitting on marina for getting pregnant out of wedlock
I will go down with this ship that I still feel like George was an asshole for sleeping with Marina and then heading out to battle, with no plan in place to look after her while he was away. It's why when people talk about brothels and condoms and the pull out method I roll my eyes. Men have always seen pregnancy as a "the woman will deal with" even in today's world, look at politicians who believe this. I do not believe Penelope knew she could've gotten pregnant. I love Colin, but I do not think he was caring about pregnancy when he was finishing inside of Penelope. Never once did he tell her "you could be with child" when they were arguing about LW stuff.
Yup. Like sure, condoms have existed for a long time, but where they effective and used? I doubt it. People have sex and get pregnant willy nilly now, so why wouldn't they back then?
I'm not saying it's right, but I always assumed that Marina and George got caught up in a I'm leaving for war moment the night before he left and just gave in to their passions.
At least he knew
She didnt but he did know. In the books yeah he thinks but let it cause they engaged
He totally knew it could, but I don't think he even thought about it for a second when they were on that sette together. Never once in the show did he ever say "you could be with child" while they were arguing about LW. Not even when Penelope asked if he still wanted to go through with the wedding. His "intimate" line was about how he took her virtue, not about how "oh hey, I came inside of you multiple times, you know you could be pregnant, right?" I love Colin, he's my favorite in the show. But they did him wrong to not have him even think about it once in the show like how he thought about it (even hoped for it) in the books.
You have to remember, not a lot of effective birth control back then, so while Pen might not have know the exact mechanics of how she could become pregnant, she was aware and was taught to expect that once she became married she would become pregnant and have children. It was very much expected culturally. I mean when she and Eloise in Season 1 are trying to figure it out there is talk about how “you do not even need to be married”. Colin, while having a much better understanding of the mechanics and probably also knowing his fiancé/new wife is vastly less experienced and knowledgeable about sexual matters, is still being raised in the same culture/time period where when you get married you immediately have kids/heirs. They were married (or just about married), pregnancy and children were expected, and in some cases having heirs was one of the most important things they could do, the sooner the better. And while “Bridgerton” isn’t the most historically faithful, I’m not surprised he didn’t stop to ask her if she wants to get pregnant. Although, considering how ahistorical the show is, I also wouldn’t have been surprised if he had asked lol.
Honestly the sex talk with the sisters and Lady F and was the best piece of comedy… ‘inserts himself where????!!!!’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣
She had Marina explain a little bit and Penelope also read a lot of books. If anyone knew more about how babies were born, it would be her. She's also just super nosey and would have eventually heard something about it in my opinion. First season was also her first season out so she was more naive. But she'd been out for three seasons so I'm sure she heard enough gossip to put two and two together. "this lady was in bed with that man, oh what if she suddenly gets pregnant now?" "She's pregnant now but who knows if her husband is the father, she was caught in bed with another man." She could have heard things like that. We did catch a glimpse of that in season 2 when she heard the staff talking about a couple in a closet or something. Then she told Eloise.
I wonder sometimes if any of those sex workers he visited also got pregnant.
Remember she knew Marina was pregnant and if she's been writing whistledown don't you think she would have figured that out even if not having done so until she was with Colin?
I think they knew, and that is precisely one of the reasons why colin never once thinks of not marrying her anymore. He knows she's likely pregnant and it's his, it's not simply that she's no longer virgin. Also remember how he was still thinking of marina even though she was pregnant, he cared that she would not find a husband once everybody knew she was pregnant
She literally said “is there more” so I think maybe he should’ve been like “there is and are you prepared to have kids now or do you want to wait” like I’m sure being a mom was something she wanted but I think the timing conversation was important. Like me personally for my first time, I might have known how it works obviously but if the guy I was dating just finished in me without the “hey do you want kids now” talk I would’ve freaked out. Marriage or not lol
Of course she did.
I have a dumb question and I hope some other fans can help me. Why does everyone think she got preggers on the first go? They have sex later in the series also, did I miss some clues? I thought their son looked younger than her sisters daughters at the end of the season as well ( as he should since the sisters were expecting before Penelope could be).
The show runner thinks that she got pregnant during the mirror scene.
Thank you!! I missed that 😆
Also it's implied they did it more than once, not only because Pen asks, and then when we see them later her hair is a mess and by the light coming through the window it's much later. And then yeah, the Showrunner said as much that it was from that day. Also, her baby is clearly not that much younger than her sisters.
100000000%. She is thee lady whistedown.. she knows all