Bridget Jones is a British woman in her thirties. She narrates the events of the novel through her diary entries, in which she admits her deepest insecurities and her hopes for the future. Bridget is insecure and somewhat chaotic, and her antics often epitomize The Desire for Self-Improvement that dominates the novel, for she endeavors to turn herself into a thin, cultured, and calm individual with a burgeoning career and a stable romantic partner. However, she always sabotages her own efforts by choosing overindulgence, committing humiliating social gaffes, and making poor choices that lead to heartache and stress. Although her diary is meant to chronicle her growth into a more mature and actualized version of herself, she instead captures her own self-centeredness, emotional chaos, social mayhem, and spiritual stagnation.

Bridget begins an affair with the attractive but deceitful and misogynistic Daniel, who epitomizes Sexist Attitudes in Contemporary Dating. This relationship brings Bridget short-term sexual satisfaction at the cost of months of frustration and emotional abuse. As the novel unfolds, Fielding reveals Bridget to be a ridiculous caricature of socially induced insecurities, and her most prominent worries are designed to enable the author’s biting criticism of the various cultural pressures on women.