Twisted Games

In these chapters, The Tension Between Love and Duty remains in the forefront of the plot as Bridget is forced to decide between her feelings for Rhys and her obligations to her country. Once the news of her relationship with Rhys becomes public, the resulting scandal makes Bridget feel the full force of the impropriety of the relationship. A further reality check arrives with Edvard’s untimely heart attack, and the stress of this event helps to convince her that she was wrong to be with Rhys, even though her heart has always told her otherwise. The narrative reflects her rising desperation as everything and everyone tries to convince her that she is incapable of governing her own life. As a result of this social pressure, Bridget is eventually convinced that she does not deserve the one person who makes her happy, and in her defeat, she reflects, “Future queens didn’t live for themselves, they lived for their country. That was the price of power” (351). She believes that the people around her care more about “the princess, the crown, and [Eldorra’s] image” (337) than they do about Bridget as a person, and in these chapters, Bridget begins to think this way as well, deliberately putting the crown before her own happiness. The Royal Marriages Law therefore symbolizes Bridget’s romantic struggles and her lack of control over her life, highlighting the issues surrounding her attempts to claim a Private Life as a Public Figure. When she breaks up with Rhys, Bridget believes that she is doing so to better serve her people, yet as the next chapters prove, she will come to realizes that obeying an archaic and unnecessary law does not serve anyone.

Contemporary romance tropes permeate this climactic section of the novel, which adheres to the conventions of the subgenre of “dark romance.” In dark romance novels, the characters often face more intense and dubious situations as their relationship comes to fruition. This certainly happens to Bridget and Rhys when the news of their relationship is leaked and Bridget begins to get blackmailed. The taboo nature of Rhys and Bridget’s relationship is common in this subgenre, as is their dramatic “third-act breakup,” which occurs for all the wrong reasons. Despite their full knowledge of the consequences should their relationship became public, neither character is ready for the whirlwind that ensues when their affair is uncovered. These intense social pressures explain Bridget’s decision to lie to Rhys about her feelings toward him, for she knows that doing so is the only way to convince him to leave her. The tragedy of their breakup is further amplified by the surrounding circumstances, and it is immediately apparent that both characters’ lives are irreparably changed once their secret is revealed.

Though Bridget technically has a choice between becoming queen and being with the man she loves, she feels that this choice is no choice at all, for it highlights how restrictive her situation really is. This is the paradox of Bridget’s role as future monarch. Although she will reign over a country, she will have no say over her own life. Initially, Bridget hopes to change this reality when she stands up to her grandfather and declares that she will not stop seeing Rhys, but when her defiant stand is immediately followed by Edvard’s heart attack, she mistakenly believes that her attempt at independence has nearly killed her grandfather. Compounded by The Lasting Effects of Guilt over the deaths of her parents, Bridget’s thoughts reflect a downward spiral as she thinks, “My mother died giving birth to me. My father died on his way back from buying something I’d asked him to get. My grandfather almost died because I’d refused to give up the one thing that ever made me happy” (350). As she ruminates on the tragedies of her past and her present, she blames herself for the deaths of her loved ones. Thus, the restrictions imposed by her duty and her guilt combine, paralyzing her and preventing her from committing to any choice that would jeopardize the crown.