Welcome to the second day of Bright, Young, & Luxe....
Today we're talking about Penelope, the girl we all love to hate!
by Tiffany @ For Those About to Read...
Penelope: Love or Hate Her?
Even though my favorite cover in the Luxe series features Penelope, I do not like her. It’s hard to like a character who single-handedly manages to ruin everything you want to happen in a story. Nevertheless, there are moments when I feel sorry for her.
Let’s start with everything Penelope has done that would cause a reader to dislike her. She knowingly attempts to destroy Elizabeth and Henry’s wedding, she forces Henry into marriage by attempting to ruin Diana’s reputation, she is fake and selfish, after marrying Henry she decides to have an affair, and she fakes a pregnancy to keep Henry from divorcing her.
Even though Penelope has done so many hateful things, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her at times. She was involved with Henry before he announced his engagement to Elizabeth—and she really did believe that they would be married. Penelope caused so much trouble and ruined quite a few lives, but she was doing it in part because she has feelings for Henry (the other part is because she is a spoiled social climber). After she finally marries Henry, she was so lonely. He never spoke to her, refused to touch her, and was never affectionate. Sometimes, I couldn’t help feeling bad for her even though I know she is an awful person.
So what do you think? Is Penelope an awful person or simply misguided and deserving of our sympathy?
LC's Take: Hmmm... Penelope was definitely a piece of work! Haha. But you know, she actually grew on me as the series went along. Don't get me wrong,--she was never a "likeable" character in a "here's someone I'd really want to be friends with" kind of way-- but as a book character, I thought she was really interesting and multi-dimensional. After she got everything she supposedly wanted, she found out that she was not only still miserable, but now she was trapped in a horrible marriage to someone who would never love her. That definitely made me feel bad for her, even if it was her own greed and selfishness that led to her destruction, so to speak...
In the books, I did like Penelope and she was a lot of fun to read about. In real life, I would stay as far away from her as possible!
Also... check out the Bright, Young & Luxe Giveaway Hop here! --->
Haha Lea, I agree with you about wanting to stay far far away from Penelope in real life
ReplyDeleteSo far I've only read the first book in The Luxe series but I already dislike Penelope quite a bit, but even in this book I did have some moments where I felt sorry for her. Although I also agree with you on staying far away from Penelope in real life! lol
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Taylor
I think a "10 years later" kind of story would be interesting. The way the series ended left so many things up in the air. I would love to know what happened between Penelope and Henry after Diana sailed away. I would really like to read HER story in America. That would be so good.
ReplyDeleteBut honestly, I disliked the maid more than any of the characters! She made my blood boil!
Tiffany~ Yes, seriously, I imagine that getting anywhere near Penelope just might end with some horrible drama-fest-- and I might not be too ladylike with her, if she messed with me lol...
ReplyDeleteTaylor~ It's funny how she is one of those characters who you can hate and feel sympathy for at the same time, isn't it? I still am conflicted about her as a character!
Flashlight Reader~ That definitely would be interesting to read about, and see exactly where all the characters ended up. And also, I agree with you about Lina, the maid. Yes, Penelope was awful, but Lina stooped really low to get what she wanted, even going so far as to abandon her sister to the life she herself hated-- that for me, made her a really unlikable character!