Lady Bridget

She is introduced as Miss Bridget Allworthy in Chapter 2. She is described as a lady past the age of thirty, whom you rather commend for good qualities than beauty and who are generally called by their own sex, very good sort of women-“as good a sort of woman, madam as you would wish to know.” She was of a nature to condemn beauty. She never mentioned that perfection without contempt. She conceived the charms of person in a woman to be no better than snares for herself. She appeared to be so discreet in her conduct that her prudence was as much on the guard as if she had all the snares to apprehend, which were ever laid for her whole sex.

But the fact remained that Miss Bridget was much more than that what she appeared. She indulged in affairs with a few men, without them having ever being revealed to others. Thus, in many ways, she is a hypocritical woman. Her deceptiveness lies in her deliberate pretence. When Tom Jones is found as a little baby she pretends to harbor disdain for a bastard. She then lavishes her attention on the little boy as an obligation to her brother-Squire Allworthy. Its only much later that we find out that Miss Bridget is TomÂ’s mother. All this while she had managed to skillfully hide this big secret. It is she who bribed Jenny Jones into taking the blame of this birth on her shoulders. Even the snobbish Miss Deborah Wilkins was not allowed to learn this secret.

Miss Bridget did intend to reveal this secret eventually. While on her deathbed she writes a letter to her brother telling him that he is Tom Jones real Uncle. But this letter does not reach the Squire because of the conniving presence of Blifil. Lawyer-Dowling delivers the letter to Blifil and he does not give it to the Squire. Thus Blifil too learns that Tom is his half brother but this merely increases his jealousy. He reads the letter and makes sure the contents are not revealed to the Squire. Its only much later that we find this out when Squire Allworthy has a talk with Jenny Jones (Mrs. Waters) and Dowling. What we learn of BridgetÂ’s affairs, it has us surprised. Her passionate affair with Mr. Summers resulted in the birth of little Tom Jones. This fact changes the fortune of the unlucky Tom. His luck is now restored and he becomes the heir to Squire AllworthyÂ’s estate.

As a character she is not a popular one. Her hypocrisy and her secret affairs put her in dark light. She is not open hearted and straight forward. She may be considered a product of the repressed English society. While she upholds prudence she is the one who is most wanton. She abandons her own baby but is shrewd enough to ensure that it finds shelter in her own house. She watches on silently and happily, as Tom becomes the SquireÂ’s favorite. Thus her conscience remains clear as to the fate and fortune of her child Miss Bridget is indeed a discreet woman with an indulgent streak.

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