Kanthony Sorting Hat
Ok, I’ve been thinking way too much about this so I finally wanted to put my thoughts down about the Bridgerton mains and their Sorting. Warning: I do have very specific thoughts about Sorting habits that may not follow your ideas, but I use the Houses mostly as personality references.) See below:
Anthony—I genuinely made this post because of him. I usually start under the assumption that most protagonists are Gryffindors because it’s true 95% of the time, but for Anthony, it was actually easier for me to start with what he was not. He’s not a Ravenclaw. (Boy’s an idiot.) Eventually, I managed to piece together what was happening, but it required looking past several personas that he has built up. Essentially, the key to Anthony was Kate.
Anthony Bridgerton has spent his entire adult life trying to think of his duty. But when he’s around Kate, he shifts out of that persona and becomes this competitive, emotional, reckless person that is his true self. That person has honor, too (just see the Pall Mall scene where Kate dares him to cheat and he says “But I would know.”) but it’s a different type of honor than what he associates with his familial responsibilities.
Essentially, what I think happened after Edmund died was that Anthony adopted a Hufflepuff model (based on his father, who I think was a Gryffinpuff, and his mother, who is a pure Hufflepuff). His hard work with the bills and clannishness around his family is I think a typical example of this. Unfortunately, due to his Gryffindor instincts, he is not a very good Hufflepuff—it is a serious source of strain on him and he often overcompensates. In short, by the time Kate arrives on the scene, he’s basically Slytherined himself (the natural result of Gryffindor drive and Hufflepuff duty). This is fascinating because…
Kate—Kate has literally done the same thing, except she has a Ravenclaw model instead of a Hufflepuff (given that the only thing we know about her dad is that he was a secretary, I wonder if she got that from him). She performs a Ravenclaw role (teaching Edwina, managing the finances) but still feels out of place in her Hufflepuff family (Edwina is not actually a Hufflepuff, but I will get to that later). This is why it feels so odd to us as viewers when Mary says that Kate has always valued an independent life, and when Kate keeps talking about being fulfilled as a teacher in India. We keep seeing the free, emotional Kate who goes for impulsive morning rides and loves beating the Viscount fair and square. (God, their Pall Mall mud scene is so great at revealing their characters. Just the most unhinged Gryffindor lunacy.)
However, Kate in London is operating on a different level, since she’s got so many opposing forces to deal with (Lady D., the Sheffields, Anthony). So she also starts resorting to her Gryffindor instincts, particularly when Anthony emerges as such a threat (as she sees) to Edwina. Mary and Edwina act like Kate is not being her typical sensible self when it comes to Anthony, and I think that’s true—I think she’s also Slytherined herself accidentally.
Which is why all of their scenes are so crazy. Ostensibly, to their families, this should be a reasonable Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw interaction, which is why everyone is kinda nonplussed that they hate each other so much. They are trying to Slytherin each other, but because both of them are NOT Slytherins, they keep failing miserably until their Gryffindor side emerges. The poetry reading—Anthony tries to cheat until a look from Kate makes him bare his intentions! Kate’s manipulations constantly come crashing down because she doesn’t actually know how to manipulate people at all—she’s just built enough of a reputation in her family as “the smart one” that nobody realizes what an idiot she’s being until it’s almost too late!
Just look at their gazebo scene—that is both of them throwing away their models and being pure feral Gryffindors for one night. They both have to be their true brave selves to get what they want! -is emotional-
Kanthony TLDR: Both insane Gryffindors trying so hard to be anything else that they almost forgot who they were. Except around each other.
Note: I said Edwina is not a Hufflepuff. She’s actually a Gryffindor who got Hufflepuffed so hard by Kate and her mom for so long that I think she thought she was a Hufflepuff. That’s basically the point of her scene with Kate where she tells her they don’t know who they are. I think she also almost Slytherined herself given how betrayed she felt (again, Hufflepuff + Gryffindor can make for an ugly mix) but sorts it out by the final scene. But real Edwina is so brave! (Just look at their dance scene at the Featherington ball, or any of her confrontations with Kate and Anthony after the wedding).
This got insanely long but I can keep going for other characters (I have a ton of Benedict/Eloise/Colin/Pen thoughts as well.) I can also expand on this. Please let me know if you’re interested!
