Bridget Jones's Diary

Ticking clocks are a recurring motif connected to the societal pressure on women to conceive children. Bridget is surrounded by people who remind her that her biological “clock” (the age bracket in which she is fertile) is limited. For example, her mother’s friend Una reminds Bridget numerous times of the biological parameters on her fertility, declaring, “Can’t put it off forever you know: tick-tock-tick-tock” (172). It is unclear whether these comments are well-intentioned or designed to humiliate Bridget, but they do make Bridget feel inadequate and increase her distress over her single status. Such comments also contribute to Bridget’s low self-esteem and poor dating choices, as she is made to feel that her time is desperately limited. Her existential despair and plummeting self-esteem upon breaking up with Daniel illustrates the harmful effect of these pressures, for she wails, “Oh God, what’s wrong with me? Why does nothing ever work out?” (181). It is also important to note that even Mark is symbolically linked with the pressure on Bridget to find a man to marry, for Pam says of Mark that “he had a clock on his desk, tick-tock-tick-tock” (208). This detail foreshadows Mark’s role as Bridget’s future boyfriend.