Diksha Sundriyal
In the fourth season of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton,’ the focus shifts from aristocratic couples, giving us an upstairs-downstairs romance between Sophie Baek and Benedict Bridgerton. While Sophie is introduced as a lowly maid at Penwood House, run by Araminta Gun, it later turns out that she is the illegitimate daughter of Lord Penwood, making Araminta her stepmother. Flashbacks reveal that Lord Penwood had tried to give Sophie the same upbringing as Araminta’s daughters from her first marriage, but after his death, things changed radically for her. She was turned into a maid in her own house, which Araminta had total control over. Eventually, Araminta ousts Sophie from the house, but soon, she herself is forced to leave, as a new lady of the house comes to take her place. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Araminta Technically Lost the Title of Lady Penwood After Her Husband’s Death
In ‘Bridgerton,’ the society is patrilineal, which means that a male heir is needed to continue the line of succession. No matter how many daughters a Lord has, his title and estate cannot be inherited by them. The same happened for the late Lord Penwood as well. The only biological child that he had was Sophie, who was born of his affair with a maid who became his mistress. Because they were never married, even if Sophie had been a boy, she wouldn’t have been able to lay a claim on her father’s inheritance. After her mother’s death, Lord Penwood falls in love with Araminta, who has two daughters from her first marriage, Rosamund and Posy. After marriage, the girls become Lord Penwood’s daughters as well, but they still cannot lay a claim on his title.
The idea was for Araminta and Lord Penwood to have children of their own, preferably a boy, who could become his successor. But that never happened. Not only did Araminta not come to be with child for several years, but Lord Penwood’s sudden and tragic passing also put a stop to any prospects for producing an heir. This meant that the title would be passed on to the man who is closest to Lord Penwood by blood. This would make his younger brother or his cousin from his father’s side the one to inherit the title of Lord Penwood, and that is exactly what happens. While the title is passed on to another man, Araminta and her daughters are allowed to stay in Penwood House in the city because the new Lord prefers to live in the countryside.
At the time, he is unmarried, so he feels no need to move to the city house. It is likely that he visited the place, but he never turned it into his permanent abode. It isn’t until the second half of the season that we discover that the countryside that the new Lord Penwood prefers happens to be in Wales, which is where Cressida Cowper was sent away by her father after her failure to secure a husband and cause a scandal by claiming to be Lady Whistledown. At first, it seemed like a terrible fate for Cressida to be sent away to the countryside, living a life as a spinster with no prospects of returning to society. But this move turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as it is in the countryside that she meets and falls for Lord Penwood.
Cressida’s New Status Marks Her Return to Mayfair
One of the banes of Cressida’s existence in the past three seasons had been her inability to get married. Every time her prospects seemed to get better, the suitor she had her eyes on would be whisked away by someone else. First, it was the prince who almost got engaged to Daphne. Then it was the new Lord Featherington, who was trapped by Portia and later turned out to be a cheat. And the third season had her trying to court Lord Debling, who was more interested in Penelope. Her parents got so desperate that at one point, she was betrothed to marry a man several decades older than her, with one foot in the grave. She tried to get out of it by claiming to be Lady Whistledown, hoping that the reward money could help her set up a life as a spinster far away from London.
But it turns out fate had better plans for her. The move to Wales meant that she didn’t have to be in the constant rush of the societal expectation of finding a suitor. She could be more herself, perhaps a kinder version than the one the ton is familiar with. Perhaps this is what drew Lord Penwood to her, and their courtship eventually led them to get married. While the move to the countryside changed Cressida’s life for the better, her heart was still in Mayfair, being a part of the ton. So, to please her, the new Lord Penwood decides to ditch the quiet life in the countryside and move to the city. But this means that Araminta and her daughters cannot live in Penwood House anymore because there is a new lady of the house.
Cressida becoming the new Lady Penwood forces Araminta to find a different place for herself, leading her to occupy the house next to the Bridgertons, causing more trouble for Sophie. For Cressida, however, it marks her return to society, as her title and the wealth that comes with it give her a chance to build the bridges she had burnt in the previous seasons. It is her opportunity to redeem herself, and the change in her is apparant as she is no more driven by competition and envy. Even Eloise notices this new side of her, suggesting that becoming Lady Penwood is the best thing to have happened to Cressida.
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