The Ruse of Love

On December 25, 2020, Netflix released Bridgerton, a Regency-era drama loosely based on Julia Quinn's romance novel series of the same name. Following the eponymous family as their eldest daughter Daphne enters her first social season, Bridgerton centers Daphne's quest to marry not for title, which the series depicts as convention, but rather love. The series is positioned within a speculative Regency period where not only has slavery been abolished, but the entire aristocracy, led by a Black Queen Charlotte and its Ton (the collective constituents of high society), is reconstituted as a multiracial, cosmopolitan society.1 Rather than exploring the tensions or complications that might arise from its immediate and radical racial amalgamation (abolition and slavery are mentioned only twice in the first season), Bridgerton instead takes the ostensible security of integration as its point of departure to create a lively, vibrant, and racially diverse Regency era, mapping cleanly onto contemporary liberal investments in the often contradictory regimes of multiculturalism, monarchy, and empire.Yet the point here is not simply to repeat a critique of ahistoricity and the perfidious desire to reparatively reread imperialism. Rather, taking seriously showrunner Chris Van Dusen's claim that “color and race are part of the show,” we are interested in querying what conceptual displacements are happening within Bridgerton's postracial speculative history (Jacobs 2020).2 We argue that the series, as postracial historical narrative, accurately reflects the contemporary impetus to avow race through an economy of spectacle that disavows racial terror. That is, just as slavery is “bound to appear” (Copeland 2013, 11) in Bridgerton, despite all efforts within the text to disavow its ontological structure, so too is this sublated appearance present within our contemporary cultural landscape. Despite diegetically foreclosing slavery, Bridgerton's visual matrix seems unable to stop gesturing to slavery's ongoingness. And so, the desire within Bridgerton to disappear what is ontologically overdetermined—the ongoingness of slavery—paradigmatically reflects our contemporary impulses to imagine a temporal disjuncture between slavery's past and our present. Thus, precisely because Bridgerton effectively elides slavery, the show serves as an opportunity to explore the ways in which its isolation as past crowds out its presence as a “contiguous form of subjection” (Hartman 1997, 116).Bridgerton performs its ruse through its insistence on the love plot between its two main characters, Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Bassett, whose love story mobilizes the promise of heterosexual multiraciality to repair the disavowed but always emergent breach of racial slavery.3 Distinct from the supposed subversion of race, Bridgerton insists on the immutability of gender's structure, as the plot is grounded in Daphne's proto-feminist quest for meaning in a world made for men. Provoked by this positioning, this article questions not simply the ethics of reimagining empire through a postracial projection that implicitly considers imperialism's violence to be its overrepresentation of whiteness (if only Alexander Hamilton were Latino, if only Queen Charlotte were Black). Rather, we are interested in what these reimaginings disclose about the relationship between the disavowal of racial slavery and its predication on the hypostatization of gender. Why is it that sex-gender remains historically intact while racial slavery is positioned within a discrete, closed past? What does the consolidation of sex-gender in contradistinction to race reveal about contemporary investments in positioning (white) gender as the foundational, immutable category of violation? How might Bridgerton, and the ruse of postracial historicity upon which it leverages its narrative, gain form from the antiblack “assumptive logic . . . that all women have the same gender” (Douglass 2018, 110)?Rather than fall for the ruse of love, an affective-schema foreclosed from the enslaved (Spillers 2016, 44:00), we demonstrate how the contradictions between the series’ genre of historical romance and its liberal feminist political commitments manifest an impasse between historical accuracy and romantic development, between love and slavery. We consider then how love leaves slavery's paradigmatic totality unthinkable within Bridgerton, assuaging the viewer's concerns about racial violence just enough so that they can move through the series without any interrogation of its supposed pastness and the processes of its reparation.In this essay, we first establish the contours of slavery as they are imagined within the show alongside historical analysis of the Regency era period, synthesizing Bridgerton's own articulation of racial slavery and how it shapes the show's world. Next, we offer a reading of the show that reveals the ongoingness of slavery within its visual regimes and narrative arcs. In so doing, we demonstrate how, despite the textual and constitutive disavowal of slavery's presence for the unfolding of the speculative historical plot, slavery is the cornerstone and structuring condition for Bridgerton's narrative teleology. After demonstrating slavery's ongoingness, we the of as its textual of slavery, and upon its (white) feminist to how love as a ruse in the by as the foundational, violence of Regency-era we by an reading of Bridgerton's disavowal of slavery's ongoingness as to the political of our contemporary that slavery to the and the of (Hartman from the present. The insistence on the spectacle of Bridgerton's the of and in the of liberal “color and race are part of the show,” to showrunner Chris Van the series is its Regency-era or (Jacobs the of the the series disavows and and as the for the is this of empire What does it to history as that the to a period of to the of the relationship between and to social and political as in of its a for slavery, from as it from the and the political and of Bridgerton, is by the of to or Bridgerton's the relationship between and imperialism. for of its for the and are simply the of between and and gender and the same the of the is through the of the of the their for through a supposed from the of without is in Bridgerton, the between slavery, and And it is only through this that the plot of Bridgerton as it the between slavery and and the between past and present through the of Queen the series, Queen Charlotte is a that reflects her that Queen the of that any of is and her and appearance as of a That is, the Queen reflects a contemporary in the of race as an for despite the it is this in grounded Bridgerton's first the show then and historical that it Queen Charlotte and that the to not only does the as to the of slavery, but it is by the of the as and that the of slavery in racial and the of history and through its of racial in Regency the series that racial without or violence to the of liberal is not or that about Black but and that love and than and to the show and about by the and as of to slavery on its own the of racial slavery to Bridgerton's narrative, in the and tensions be in the series, the that and to by the of the by the The show of the that women and the Queen The and that are and and the of and is from the Bridgerton a that is in the of slavery, it as that which is and Queen the of the Regency and the of this In is as a to that has the from to Queen have has that the this and the on Charlotte through and of the of Black and Black as the and mentioned for the and to the the of are not present within the series, the first Black as a to a the history of to Queen Charlotte as the of this monarchy, the series the ways in which love is not enough to or racial the love for Charlotte the of love for the of does it not disavow the of racial The of Bridgerton and that is from racial so that as serves as an for the Rather than is between and enslaved The of or of And rather than a of the violence of a of or love. as a is the ruse of its of as the for the of the the only by which women can Bridgerton gender as a of and the structuring of Regency the eldest Bridgerton daughter Daphne's the social as to a to her this (the and in and the show's narrative structuring the and arcs. the sex-gender where of are by the of the of the and the political economy of Bridgerton this in the drama through our and her and and Simon the Black of her love and form a for gender as the category of is but despite Bridgerton's to gender from race, the of the the of all Daphne's as it is that of the of Bridgerton's gender are through her as her desire to the plot a the of and Daphne's own of her in a world where her is upon the of a the drama through the of sex-gender and Daphne as where Bridgerton's of Regency-era that the women of the Ton to the Daphne's is by a desire to the love of her Daphne her quest in to the of Regency era the to her is all have been for . . . unable to a be In this Daphne reveals the logic of the show as it to a feminist on a onto its a that is and Daphne her as by a gender her for an . . . a the for through these Daphne mobilizes a feminist of her within this political her and within as an through the of slavery 2018, is in the first as is a of to the of and that her is by the of and the to by her eldest Daphne a ruse the of for to her in this Daphne is as the and are from their on the Simon and Daphne have to gain through the the show is they not have in its the and Daphne to Simon that it is as a that to and to the the of gender and and the romance plot through which they are Daphne through these the as the social in a that of gender which not to be 2018, the of in a relationship that the Bridgerton Daphne not only through the consolidation of the but in so an imagined that her the social world of the Bridgerton's narrative the from as the and reveals the of the plot and the antiblack economy for her love story to that women have the same Bridgerton it from race in to the of gender in contradistinction to imagined (Douglass 2018, Thus, gender crowds out of through a conceptual that the as immutable and the historically the Black as within the by of their of an made through the ruse of how the of Bridgerton to and the as within this drama through their appearance as they are to of terror. The of gender that the show in the of the (Spillers which through the but of and for Daphne's of to her and to the and Bridgerton What the is that this the of is a economy on Black social the ruse of it is to to from Bridgerton, to reveal the of slavery that the of its narrative to Bridgerton's is a between and Simon that the to a that reveals the and of the within Daphne's romance After Simon is Daphne in the her to a Simon to a to Daphne that the rather than marry Simon reveals to Daphne that because is unable to her and for Daphne this to that the is of an rather than of a is based on relationship to of this Daphne the of in for the and her from the show its to the of Daphne's this and analysis Simon a of the the does not simply Rather than Simon to the this as to an That the the Daphne's is the only the of social Simon as to of the that it always . . . as a for the in a of from because it takes the form of a on a to The plot the of this for the of to which or from Thus, if slavery through the of then the between Daphne and Simon slavery's the narrative this is through the of Daphne and and Simon (Hartman 1997, In a to the Black the Daphne is to her Simon as the to Daphne's imagined the the the Bridgerton to a and the and Daphne's the for Daphne is to because it is only through the of the or that Daphne's imagined is through her as a Daphne leaves their her is the in the of this is leaves the in a where Daphne and Simon a in the to her Daphne the to the and her despite desire not to and its are in narrative and as they to Daphne's of the to this are two without which and the Daphne's as on her that Simon not to In a show that has its to Daphne's the the and the story is of the the enters Daphne's is for Daphne Simon to her is the only a of the of the of their Daphne's is always in the In of the that seems to the Daphne the on of is only this that the a of the first as the Simon Daphne to an and so the same . . . this for the is the an the the to the reveals the of In the that the is text to the that might point of and is is any about the is, the this by a but of Daphne's as in is it that this of is by of the of as the of And how is the as an of her by of an of Bridgerton from the for this In Julia Quinn's series, Simon is to be and than a Daphne to by the show despite the that in the of this this of from to seems only to is not that might have Daphne's if they the so the desire to the of the is from the desire to Daphne's as to Simon while Daphne's serves not only to imagined to but to the In so doing, the show and of the that through the of it is to the of the (Hartman 1997, then does the of the a between Bridgerton's imagined and this within and without the narrative of the show and its of (Hartman and the by which racial is critique to the from has a from the paradigmatic of for because it the of a to the Thus, if the does Daphne's it is only because the of a a of that the reveals is foreclosed from the Daphne has a that can be through to the matrix of heterosexual Simon has but to be and to for Daphne or an to the for the of Bridgerton mobilizes visual and textual to the a of In the first the is as the to through to collective of Black on is by the and Daphne their the the a from as the Daphne Simon the as they Daphne's in and her in and the in to imagine this visual the of a of the only the of the collective as the of to imagined is by the of the romance which in its to the of as of the this Daphne Simon for her own and the of her as the point for the a of that by of the of a Black the as a to Bridgerton on the of racial form of all to of its narrative In Simon as a to a is positioned as 2018, for the and The ruse of love the that the romance plot, so what is, an that the promise of is, an of terror. is made and Simon in Bridgerton, which is to and the the of from then this is only because of is in the of (Hartman a for on the through the first it that the the plot be Daphne's to from this is as is by her to In the of Daphne is to within the of the show as the so is the condition for Daphne's the romance the the slavery, the for Daphne to this is made and the of the for Daphne's the series, narrative is by the of the as a of the the family to high to her is to the of unable to her her to about that to marry to her a that to to her own these to (Jacobs by her are by her is this point that Daphne that has in a to a Daphne to to repair her the between and where the of her that not a to this In of her that what a of Daphne seems to in a that what to Daphne's be the to not for the . . . Why be to the for her own imagined as a of to of her onto In positioning her of Daphne her and in so doing, the of the is of is a for the projection of Daphne's narrative, and Daphne's her in to a through which Daphne to her own of the Ton as Daphne's leaves her through the of the eponymous romance plot by her to the is by first for for an to if is in in the of the and to her her and her . . . to then to her by the the gender violence of the Regency era, the its visual a as is to is positioned for to her only in as her her out in The of the has and in an enslaved the visual matrix of racial slavery, despite the show's to disavow its for Daphne serves only to her and the which is this for in social That the her is an from in the of desire that Daphne's through her The show's logic as is to be despite the for her The point is not just that the of this be for any of the women in the series, but that the economy of desire by it reveals an ontologically by where not gender as as is by (Hartman 1997, The of the the racial violence of the rather than the violence of and for are of a of where of and are from the ontological of this be from a of The of to its only as a to Daphne's and how as and only does the ruse of Simon as Daphne's and as Daphne's but its of love and the of romance this ruse that gender is in contradistinction to race, that the imagined immutability of gender is precisely by the of its a of Bridgerton its to disavow the of racial always and for the of whiteness and its to Bridgerton's the of the of Daphne's how the hypostatization of gender a antiblack of and the series to for by taking an which to her Daphne to on to for the Daphne's quest as in in love to is and on how to through a as her only the as the the of and as to this only because of her and without the to is only to the of her through her to an of love the Daphne's story alongside love and title, how of were and only in to After Daphne Simon that be to be of love Simon and Daphne love, the two have for the first Distinct from the of the on of their as their and an Following Simon and Daphne as Daphne to a Simon for the first Daphne of a a Simon that is an the Bridgerton family to (Spillers and effectively within the Bridgerton Bridgerton's first in Daphne's between the of Daphne's and the visual of of this and Daphne how love are to as a to Daphne's her for on its as but is by a the of love to Daphne a through the of her family of to this Daphne's the series because of to be the that the so to and that Simon the to an by Simon as an only to is on Simon the is or Simon the about to their is or the simply that the so a that not only an but as exploring desire the not only remains but an amalgamation of racial of Black the for or as and as and Distinct from the where the is a for the without a or of the series from that of the are by the and two and her for to be the of her the season, and her from the to the in a of the be made in the of but the of these of and the of the as to the of the to an antiblack that to Daphne's to the of the series an as to how or the of the Netflix series so from the of the Bridgerton's first Simon and taking for that the historical Queen Charlotte have been that season, then the of slavery have to Why a Black through slavery, as or to the of just slavery's be always on as and as heterosexual love. are where as Bridgerton slavery, it its this is upon is the and explore how by this past to is of by In her and that to to the of the of slavery are not from the present within the where past and present are text an by the of a violence that is by and they their as as always in of to the of and their to the of reading that because of the between a in the of the and the of the of slavery, the women a that the women to upon as the of the and this her the same and the in an to between the past and to in this as the series the and the ongoingness of the of this as for whose as an in without any to the of slavery or the of the past is and and are Daphne as the is to Simon and as a love or their as to the romance plot, as a Bridgerton and is in their to this a between and her that the Bridgerton slavery's the series’ of love it as of that can to be in the and The of is so to the of the Bridgerton series that a the and of In this of the and Daphne in Daphne and the the two that is to be a to a than the by the and of this this to upon her own the to the the economy within and without the series through the between the and the the social to the show and the series’ the the the the and Daphne's the in the ruse of slavery's from the and ethics of an the Bridgerton amalgamation and as how the of the is in That is, through to Daphne's the and the of slavery, but in so the of and is in the of the Bridgerton in the eponymous the to Daphne and her as an in a from slavery. economy is in this Black as a of that through the of as the relationship to is as the Black so too does love racial within to Black where is imagined as a for the of slavery's for is a to to the of And where this is the through which the of only this the for an of the love plot the the as can imagine a for in the only as it is and to the of love is a to and so of the of the romance plot, the economy is to whiteness is the condition for Black the love between Daphne and Simon an in that slavery is not a past but always structuring the present. to gain social if to Daphne is an of and the then the be as a of a to it what as or as an the world the paradigmatic and of within the Bridgerton The is because it is within Bridgerton, slavery is to the the an for to the between and a past that the the as and Black as the of the Bridgerton by the and Simon the from the in it is only through Daphne that the The serves as an of the to move to to a for Black of the of claim that whiteness is always the of is through Daphne's of her which is to that Simon is to the world. the and is a that through to amalgamation that in the of the upon which and Simon and form are narrative to the of through which they are slavery's in to the of its past this liberal narrative, slavery is as and from its violence the as for the In then is the between the past as foreclosed and the past as a In this the show as a to and history from slavery to contemporary Bridgerton is an to historical violence for contemporary the of race without how the of is the condition for the of . . . Thus, Bridgerton is because it is for it the that slavery a rather than an a rather than a slavery and but Bridgerton and then the series serves as an to imagine that and be and made in the between and Bridgerton's present. In so doing, the of the reveals the and of that to imagine that the enslaved without any of or terror. That the is or but to a within Bridgerton of between the enslaved or their and enslaved a from because is . . . an within the 2020, In this has to be precisely because it Daphne's by the too between that and the and the plot this Bridgerton a liberal to move past slavery, the of its a for this to the violence of The of or for this of is of a the of to the story of Black the of their because slavery is contemporary political by an of Bridgerton in the of just the past is as if Bridgerton to of if only be or not desire to disappear the of racial slavery and liberal and that disavow slavery's ongoingness by it to a past that is only as it a narrative the of the or that past to the of and political the of the The and of Bridgerton a that is on and by the the as a is a to then Bridgerton the it through a romance plot that to as its and its feminist political Daphne's of without the between the a gender and contemporary that racial whiteness and from gender. a Black in a of a Bridgerton its an of the of racial slavery that and an immutable and through the ruse of slavery be Bridgerton from on from how the impetus to disavow slavery's presence of the that its ongoingness. the and is a Bridgerton's of the ruse of as a to slavery. just as that the ruse the of so too then is Bridgerton to on its own on the of any of slavery as that as than on the of 2018, That is, if Bridgerton is by an it is not only because it the historical of racial slavery's Rather its the disavowal to the speculative the of racial slavery's In if the that love which our disavowal of the violence that has always 2016, then what Bridgerton is an opportunity to the of slavery through an matrix that the of romance to slavery's of The romance between Simon and Daphne is and for the of slavery that our present to its of of the the the and the Bridgerton how in our as in is, the of racial slavery, for

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