You can’t blame her for anything she does.

If there is one thing that everyone has accepted about Bridgerton, it is that the show is far from accurate when it comes to the historical period in which it is set. And many fans believe that this is a blessing in disguise, as it allows the series to remain relatable to modern audiences and implement blind casting when it comes to leading roles.

From Ariana Grande covers at the lavish balls to the extensive use of highlighters in makeup, Bridgerton remains a Regency-style fairy tale at best. Perhaps this is exactly what makes the show’s most historically accurate character seem so cold and rude to those around her.

Is Portia Featherington the Villain?

The Featherington family has been present in Bridgerton from the beginning and has always played the opposite role to the Bridgertons themselves. Compared to the loving and welcoming Bridgertons, the Featheringtons have always been portrayed as cold and indifferent to the family’s third daughter, Penelope.

Portia Featherington, the matriarch of the family, is often criticized by fandom for the way she treats her daughters, Philipa, Prudence, and Penelope. In reality, however, her motivations are the most historically accurate for Regency women. As a widow and facing a financial crisis, she’s doing everything in her power to keep the family afloat.

Like many women of her time, Portia herself entered into a loveless marriage to a man who ended up being a gambler and had no regard for his family’s needs. She had to take care of her daughters all by herself, including their social presentation and marriage prospects. With little luck in this regard, she knew she had to act.

Dressing her daughters in bright colors, showing them off, and even trying to marry them off to distant but blood-related men is an exaggeration, of course, but teaching them to look after their husbands’ needs first and foremost is not.

And while fans hate the advice she’s given Penelope throughout season 3 so far, she was simply acting like any loving Regency mother would. After all, marriage was the only way for women to move up the social ladder, and that’s what every mother wanted for her child, no matter how strict she came across.

If you want to see Portia’s reaction to Penelope’s hasty engagement to Colin Bridgerton, be sure to tune into Bridgerton season 3, part 2 on Netflix on June 13.