The Viscount Who Loved Me

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapters 2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-14

Chapters 15-17

Chapters 18-20

Chapters 21-22

Epilogues

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Character Analysis

Anthony Bridgerton

Anthony grew up in a household full of love, but he is haunted by his father’s untimely death, a trauma which convinced him he will die young too. Without his father to teach him how to be a great man, Anthony enters adulthood with no clear guidance, and he is unconfident in his ability to forge his own path. He becomes a “Rake,” attending parties late into the night, and keeping several mistresses. Anthony also becomes intensely devoted to his family, essentially becoming a father figure to his youngest siblings. This parentification led to Anthony neglecting his own needs, including processing his grief, and he became logical in all things. When he finally decides to marry, he refuses to marry someone he loves, because of the grief his eventual young death will cause his bride.

Anthony’s perspectives change when he meets Kate Sheffield, the elder sister of his intended. At first, Anthony loathes Kate for her efforts to keep him from courting her sister, but they eventually warm to one another when they realize they share many of the same values, like devotion to one’s family. On their wedding night, Anthony is devastated to think Kate might be afraid of him or have been hurt by another man in the past; his intense worry shows how much he has come to care for her. A short time into their marriage, Anthony pretends to have a busy schedule so he can avoid getting closer to Kate, since he is afraid to let himself fall in love with her. He believes that putting literal distance between them is the best way to avoid his feelings. A conversation with his brother, Colin, makes Anthony realize that if he is going to die young, he ought to live his life as joyfully as possible, and part of that joy includes loving Kate. When he rushes to tell her, Anthony sees Kate’s carriage flip over in a road accident. He fears that without her, he will have nothing to live for, and that scares him worse than the possibility of his own death. Anthony decides to no longer live in fear, but to live in love with Kate instead. The novel’s epilogues reveal that Anthony not only outlives Edmund, but he and Kate go on to have children and a long, happy marriage together.

Kate Sheffield

Kate’s mother died when she was three years old; though she repressed all memory of the event, the trauma of it still profoundly affects her in adulthood. Kate is deeply afraid of thunderstorms, to the point of having panic attacks and traumatic flashbacks to the night of her mother’s death. Despite now being an orphan, Kate puts her needs aside and takes care of the family’s affairs for Mary and becomes a parental figure to Edwina. Like Anthony, she is parentified at a young age, and as a result she is incapable of putting herself first.

Kate considers herself much less beautiful than Edwina, and though she pretends not to care, she is hurt by the ton continually adoring Edwina and ignoring her. Kate wants to feel chosen and loved, but she has resigned herself to the life of a spinster. When she meets Anthony, Kate firmly believes he is an irredeemable Rake, because she read about him in the Lady Whistledown gossip columns. Kate is confused by her desirous feelings for Anthony, even more so after he suddenly kisses her. Instead of wondering what the Viscount could want with her, Kate’s main concern is that Anthony will certainly make a poor match for Edwina. As Kate and Anthony become closer, they form a friendship and respect one another. Kate does not consider the possibility that Anthony might be drawn more to her than to her sister, because Kate is so used to everyone choosing Edwina and even putting Edwina first herself, that she does not choose herself and think of herself as worthy of anyone’s desire or love—even her own self-love. She feels she is a terrible person for enjoying Anthony’s sexual attentions, and even on their wedding night, she is convinced his thoughts are on someone else. The main issue in the early stage of their relationship is their miscommunication: neither tells the other exactly what they feel or think, so Kate assumes that Anthony never wanted to marry her. Though she loves him, she feels unchosen.

In the aftermath of her carriage accident, Kate gently encourages Anthony, and they work through his fears together. Kate is a logical person, much like Anthony is, and she presents him with alternate reasonings that help dissuade his fears. In the epilogues, the reader sees how Kate has changed in their 15 years of marriage. She is still witty and humorous, but she is more joyful, especially in her playful interactions with Anthony.