Diksha Sundriyal
The fourth installment in the Bridget Jones series, ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,’ takes the audience into a new phase in the eponymous protagonist’s life. There is no lack of chaos when it comes to Bridget. In fact, with two children to take care of, she has enough on her plate. At the same time, she is still grieving for her late husband, Mark Darcy, who passed away four years ago. Jumping back into the dating game, she finds herself meeting new challenges, but the most important challenge of all remains moving on and allowing her heart to open for someone else. A lot transpires by the end of the movie, and the curious presence of a white owl outside Bridget’s window points to a major shift in her life. SPOILERS AHEAD
The White Owl Represents the Lingering Presence of Mark Darcy
Those we love never truly leave us, and for Bridget and her children, this rings true with the loss of Mark Darcy. She got her happy ending with him at the end of ‘Bridget Jones’ Baby’ when they got back together for good and even got married this time. But then, his tragic death during a humanitarian mission in Sudan upended everything. While Mark is gone, Bridget’s love for him perseveres, and she finds herself imagining him around. She thinks about walking down the street with him to meet their friends. She imagines him singing the lullaby to their son, Billy, and bidding him good night. She imagines him in the crowd of audience when Billy performs their song at a school function. To her, he is still present in every aspect of her life, at least in spirit.
One could say that the owl represents a corporeal manifestation of Mark Darcy’s spirit, watching over the family he left behind. The creature is first noticed by young Mabel, who finds him outside her window every night. She has become so used to the owl’s presence that she never goes to bed without looking at him and bidding him goodbye. The same owl sitting outside their window every night comes off as a little weird to Bridget, but she doesn’t pay it much mind. In the end, on Christmas Eve, she and her children, as well as the new addition to their family, Mr. Walliker, watch the owl fly away, and that’s what establishes more meaning to its presence.
The white own, hence, is more representative of Bridget and her children’s grief. Throughout the movie, we see them, especially Bridget and Billy, struggle to let go of Mark. The young boy tries to make sense of his father’s absence while Bridget grieves for the loss of her great love. While she is encouraged to go out into the world and date other people, she finds it difficult to connect with someone the way she did with Mark. Moreover, she wonders if the next person will be able to play the role Mark left empty in her children’s lives. This is one of the reasons why she breaks up with Roxter, even though she has a great time with him in general.
By the end, Bridget gets together with Mr. Walliker. On Christmas Eve, it has been a year since they got together, and it becomes clear that this is it for Bridget. She has found wholesome love again, and it is going to stay. This love also allows her to move on from her grief and open herself to new possibilities in life. Above all, Walliker is also a perfect partner for her because he is a great father figure for her children. It perhaps also comes as a relief for Mark Darcy’s spirit, as he can now rest in peace knowing that his family is taken care of. More importantly, they have found closure and accepted someone new in their lives. The owl looks at Mr. Walliker, who is surprised and a little amazed to see him. As the owl flies away, in a sense, so does Mark’s spirit and Bridget and her children’s reluctance to let go of him.
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