I Rewatched Bridget Jones’s Diary and Can’t Believe I Never Realized How Much of a Girl’s Girl This Side Character Actually Is

It's a small moment, but one that really stood out to me during this rewatch. I then thought back to Perpetua’s other scenes and realized she’s really not the snobby work nemesis Bridget first presents her to be. She says nothing about Bridget’s inappropriate office attire (like the “forgotten” skirt and see through top) and doesn’t publicly or privately scold her for coming to work late with a hangover. And when Bridget’s romance with Daniel goes down the drain, you can see Perpetua in the background of multiple scenes always keeping an eye on Bridget.

I think Perpetua truly cares about Bridget’s wellbeing. Not the in the way that a best friend would, but in the same way that a stranger at a bar might recognize another woman in distress and keep one eye on her at all times. She’s the type of girl’s girl you’d call upon to pretend to be someone you know to save you from a creepy man. The type who doesn’t mind being mean to protect another woman, and who knows that even if she and Bridget are never destined to be friends, that doesn’t mean it’s ok to stand aside and let Daniel be cruel to her.

She’s more of a Samantha, and less of a Charlotte. Unlike Bridget’s close friends, who are always there with encouraging words (and wine and cigarettes), Perpetua won’t hold Bridget’s hand and cry with her. But she will give Daniel a piece of her mind on Bridget’s behalf. We all need people like that—that specific brand of girl’s girl—in our lives, whether we call them friends or not.

In the same way the Lorax speaks for the trees, these women speak out for other women when they cannot do so themselves. They are unafraid of being labeled “bitchy” or “intense.” And while Bridget was doing an excellent job sticking up for herself while quitting Pemberly, simultaneously giving Daniel the old heave-ho, perhaps it was Perpetua’s show of solidarity that gave her the courage to whip out that iconic and incredibly satisfying final goodbye—“If staying here means working within ten yards of you, frankly, I’d rather have a job wiping Saddam Hussein’s arse.”