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on a somewhat moral dimension with her being a “good” or “bad” person on a
given day based on whether she has stuck to the diet or not.
Bridget never quite manages to stick to a diet and it is an ongoing
procrastination of starting a diet “tomorrow,” which is also an ongoing struggle
with guilt and self-loathing because without the diet she is not being able to
reach that golden weight and figure that she wants. Early in the novel, right after
the Christmas holiday season, Bridget decides to lengthen the festive season for
just one more night and ends up gorging on sparkling wine, chocolate, mince
pies, Christmas cake and cheese. While she confesses her disgust for herseif, she
immediately attempts to bolster up her flagging spirits by thinking of the strict
diet she can Start the next day:
Now, though, I feel ashamed and repulsive. I can actually feel
the fat splurging out from my body. Never mind. Sometimes
you have to sink into a nadir of toxic fat development in order
to emerge, phoenix-like, from the Chemical wasteland as a
purged and beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer figure. Tomorrow new
Spartan health and beauty regime will begin (Fielding 16)
The next day does show a record of 700 calories, which is very Spartan
indeed—almost to the point of starvation. The next ten days coincide with a
reciprocated flirtation with her boss, Daniel Cleaver, with whom Bridget has
been infatuated for a while. These ten days also show records of calorie intake
that are less than or around 1000, and Bridget Claims that “love had eradicated
[her] need to pig out” (Fielding 19). From the eleventh to the twelfth day after
she launched her Spartan diet, she jumps from 998 calories to 3879 calories and
describes this hike in moral terms, going from “excellent, v.g. [very good],
perfect saint-style person” to “repulsive” (Fielding 25, 27). The reason for the
excessive calorie intake is Daniel cancelling a date Bridget had been looking
forward to and had gone to lengths to prepare for. After having somewhat
recovered from her disappointment, her immediate conclusion for Daniel’s
cancellation is that he is “probably out with someone thinner” and she promptly
goes to weigh herseif (Fielding 28).
Weight is a mania with Bridget and she weighs herseif several times in
the span of a few hours. The joumal entry for Tuesday, 7 March, Starts with the
usual record of her weight, calorie intake, and consumption of alcohol and
cigarettes, but also lists every item of food Bridget eats that day for breakfast,
lunch, dinner, and a snack. This entry begins with Bridget complaining about
her weight at 9 a.m., but instead of one figure under weight, she has “130, 128
or 131 lbs.??” She complains:
Argh. How can I have put on 3 lbs. since the middle of the
night? I was 130 when I went to bed, 128 at 4 a.m., and 131
when I got up. I can understand weight coming off—it could