Quote 1

‘I’m unmarried because everyone sees me as a friend. No one ever has any romantic interest in me.’

Daphne speaks these lines to Simon in Chapter 5 as Simon hatches a plan that will suit both their needs. Simon dreads reentry into the London social scene and pursuit by the Ambitious Mamas and their eligible daughters. He assumes that Daphne is still unmarried because her brothers have scared off her suitors, but here Daphne admits that she is not considered desirable by anyone suitable because she is too accessible and easygoing. This revelation leads to the fake courtship that will temporarily relieve both characters of the pressures of courting and will make Daphne more desirable to potential suitors. These words also highlight the differences between Daphne and other young women that ultimately make her desirable to the duke himself and shed light on the effectiveness of a change in societal perception.

Quote 2

Really, if people weren’t so intent on keeping young women completely ignorant of the realities of marriage, scenes like this could be avoided.

This line is narrated in Chapter 14 on Daphne and Simon’s wedding night, and it highlights Daphne’s embarrassment at being ignorant about sex and its correlation to conceiving children. After an awkward and confusing conversation about whether or not Simon is able to perform “the marital act,” Daphne is forced to admit that she has no idea what occurs between men and women after they are married. Though she has had a brief discussion with her mother on the topic, she has learned nothing about sex and still doesn’t understand how children are produced. After getting over the mortification of Daphne’s assumption that he is impotent, Simon is both shocked and amused at her ignorance. Daphne, however, is humiliated and frustrated that both her mother and society have allowed her to be kept so unfairly uninformed. The scene highlights the unjust position young women of the period have been placed into, as they are being groomed for marriage yet kept ignorant in order to protect their propriety. It also calls attention to the idea that unmarried men are assumed to be sexually experienced in encounters with women who are not deemed marriageable.

Quote 3

Many a woman has been ruined by a single kiss.

These words are printed in the excerpt from Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers at the opening of Chapter 10. They illustrate both the importance of reputation in society and the power of words. Though none of the characters know who Lady Whistledown is, they are both intrigued and annoyed by her writings. Her words have the power to destroy reputations. In this society, particularly for a young woman, reputation is everything. Simon comes to London with a reputation as a rake, though the fact that he is a charming, wealthy duke allows people, including the discerning Violet Bridgerton, to overlook gossip about his past. As a young lady from a wealthy family, Daphne’s reputation is more tenuous. Though both she and Simon are expected to adhere to proper courting behavior, the kiss they share in the garden has the power to ruin Daphne’s life. With that kiss, Daphne becomes ineligible for marriage by anyone but Simon, and the prospects of the marriage and children she’s longed for are threatened. The quote does not address, however, the seriousness of Simon’s fate after the kiss because as a man, Simon has a choice: to save Daphne’s reputation by marrying her or to refuse and face Anthony in a duel. Though the duel will result in his death if carried through, since he will not shoot Anthony, society has at least empowered Simon with options. The quote demonstrates the serious potential consequences of a bad reputation in a society with little recourse for women.

Quote 4

‘Your father is still ruling you from the grave.’

Daphne speaks these words to Simon in Chapter 17 after they are married and Daphne learns that Simon’s inability to have children is emotional rather than physical. From their earliest meeting, Simon tells Daphne that he will never marry, and he later tells her that he can’t have children. These statements, based on a vow he made to himself to spite his father, show the powerful hold the former Duke’s rejection has had on Simon. Simon feels he can only win by denying his father an heir and refusing to be the man he wanted Simon to become. Though Daphne speaks these words after suggesting that she will withhold sex from her husband, indicating that she is punishing him for his refusal to have children, she is also attempting to help Simon understand the power of the grip his father still has on him so that he may learn to release it. Daphne now realizes that the former duke stands in the way of a chance for a happy life with Simon, and she speaks brazenly in an attempt to break the past curse of unhappiness that threatens to consume their present lives.  

Quote 5

‘I knew nothing but love and devotion when I was growing up. Trust me, it makes everything easier.’

Daphne speaks these words to Simon in Chapter 20 when he returns to London after abandoning his newlywed wife in Clyvedon. Themes of the impact of family run throughout the novel, with a stark contrast between Daphne’s family experience and Simon’s. Daphne has grown up as part of a loud, boisterous, loving family with three older brothers to look out for her. Her mother focuses on making a suitable marriage match for her daughter, but she wants to be sure Daphne marries for love like she and her husband did. Daphne’s dream of a future with a loving marriage and many children has been built on the foundation of her own family’s devotion. Simon, however, never knew his mother. His father has no emotional connection to her death during Simon’s birth and focuses only on the joyful fact that she has produced an heir. His joy is short-lived, however, when he learns that Simon has difficulty speaking, and he abandons his son and labels him unworthy of the family name or title of duke. In this chapter, Daphne encourages Simon to let go of the anger of his childhood and embrace his accomplishments as his own rather than as products of his father’s abandonment. Her reminder that love “makes everything easier” is a prompt to reach for the happiness he deserves in the present and future.

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