Bridget "Bee" Vreeland
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| Bridget Vreeland | |
|---|---|
| The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants character | |
| First appearance | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants |
| Last appearance | Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood |
| Cause/reason | End of Series |
| Created by | Ann Brashares |
| Portrayed by | Blake Lively |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Bee |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 15-19 |
| Date of birth | September |
| Specialty | Soccer |
| Occupation | Collegiate Soccer Coach |
| Family | Franz Vreeland (father) Marlene "Marly" Vreeland (mother) (desceased) Pervis "Perry" Vreeland (brother) |
| Spouse(s) | Eric Richman (boyfriend) Billy Kline (fling) Peter (fling) |
| Relatives | Greta Randolph (grandmother) Pervis Randolph (uncle) |
Bridget "Bee" Vreeland is a main character in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series. She is portrayed by Blake Lively in the movie.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Bridget Vreeland is the second-born among her best friends Lena Kailgaris, Tibby Rollins, and Carmen Lowell. She and her friends grew up in Washington D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland. Her mother, Marly, a belle from Alabama has committed suicide (due to a mental illness) a few years prior to the start of the series, causing a strain in the relationship of her husband Franz and their children, Bridget and Perry. Bridget is noticeably closer to her friends than her immediate family and considers her friends her family. Bridget excels in soccer and is known as the superstar of the group. She is also the most daring and courageous, often acting on impulse rather than reason. She usually does not think twice before doing something no matter how dangerous it is, and despite seeming to be the strongest of the four, she is actually the most vulnerable, often making herself self-destruct when the consequences of her actions prove to be too much for her. Bridget's most notable physical characteristic is her long, pale, fairytale blond hair inherited from her mother and grandmother. Her hair is what makes men of any age look too long, provoke catcalls, and make hairdressers proclaim it a miracle.
[edit] The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
On the eve of their separation, Lena, Bridget, Tibby and Carmen are hanging out in Carmen's room when a sulking Tibby notices Carmen's pants, purchased from a trip to the thrift store. The jeans fit perfectly on Tibby and Lena, and after a dare from Carmen, Bridget tries them on too, surprised that despite her different build from her friends, they fit her perfectly too. After discovering that the pants fit perfectly on Carmen too, the girls decide they're magic and decide to share them for the summer. The very next day, Bridget leaves for Soccer Camp in Baja California, Mexico. Upon arriving there, a soccer coach, Eric Richman, immediately catches Bridget's attention and she relentlessly pursues him despite the camp's anti-fraternizing policy. In Eric's presence, Bridget shamelessly flirts even to the point of lying about her age and following him to a bar and flirts with him in front of the camp's other staff. Bridget becomes popular among her fellow campers for her great soccer skills and often shows off in the field, particularly in Eric's presence. These actions earn her the scorn of her soccer coach, Molly, who wants to turn Bridget from a show-off into a real player. Meanwhile, Eric continues to shun Bridget's advances until she passes by his cabin one night and the two of them become intimate in the beach. This encounter proves to be too much for Bridget and she ends up keeping herself in bed and avoiding everyone. After a scene with her coach where Bridget tells her that she has wasted Bridget when she was good, Eric asks Bridget to walk with him and tells her that their encounter was his fault and that if they would meet again under different circumstances, he would worship her the way she deserves. Despite this, she still feels hurt. She recognizes that Eric wants to make her feel better but her need is as big as the stars and he was down there on the beach, so quiet she could hardly hear him. Still feeling down, Lena arrives in Baja to take her home and try to make everything better.
[edit] The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
A year after her heartbreak from Eric, Bridget has become self-destructive and has greatly changed. The active, daring, and soccer aficionado Bridget has now quit soccer, became a couch potato, dyed her beautiful, blond hair into a shade of ash brown and is now just a shadow of her former self. Early in the summer, Bridget finds five letters in her father's desk, all addressed to her and her twin brother, Perry, from their estranged maternal grandmother, Greta Randolph. Impulsively, Bridget packs her bags for Alabama to meet Greta. Upon arriving there, Bridget picks up the alias Gilda Tomko and offers to do odd jobs for Greta. Unaware of Gilda's real identity, Greta tells Bridget to clean out her attic so that it may be suitable for renting out. In doing this job, Bridget is able to reconnect with her grandmother (although not disclosing who she really is) and learn about her Marly growing up and the events leading to her death. Bridget learns that her mother was very popular in Alabama during her youth and from the cheerful pictures of her mother back then, Bridget finds it hard to believe the story's real tragic end. During Marly's college days, she was sent to a mental institution for attempting suicide. Bridget learns that her father was her mother's college history professor and their relationship cost him his job and caused them to move to Washington D.C. after their marriage. Greta also tells her (still under the identity of Gilda) that during the last years of Marly's life, she tried to persuade Franz, Bridget's father, to get help for Marly but he shuns Greta and tells her not to contact their family. During her stay, Bridget also reconnects with her childhood friend, Billy Kline and rediscovers the pleasure of playing soccer. When Bridget's job in the attic was done, Greta asks her to move in there and Bridget gladly accepts. During a rainstorm, the power goes out and seeing Greta inject herself with insulin reminds Bridget of the last years in Marly's life and she runs out of the house in the rain, remembering the moment she saw her mother dead. Shortly before dawn, Bridget returns home and Greta combs her hair, just like all the times she has done when Bridget was young. Bridget asks Greta if she knows who she is and Greta admits she has known all along. Greta and Bridget form a close relationship. Upon learning about Lena's current state, Bridget goes home instantly but promises her grandmother to go back with Perry. Billy helps Bridget with her bags at the bus stop and they kiss. Bridget then returns home to comfort Lena, just as Lena had comforted her the previous summer.
[edit] Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Bridget goes to soccer camp in Pennsylvania, and is shocked to discover that one of her fellow coaches is none other than Eric Richman. She finds her feelings for him reawakening, but is stunned by the discovery that he has a girlfriend, Kaya. Bridget plans to begin avoiding Eric, but her plan is shot down when she and Eric are made partners, causing them to see each other constantly.
Not wanting to upset Eric, Bridget selflessly puts her feelings aside and restrains herself to being Eric’s friend while respecting the relationship between Eric and Kaya. The two develop a friendship despite Bridget’s uncertainties.
Later, Bridget comes down with a fever, and Eric finds her in her cabin very ill. Eric carries her to his cabin and he takes care of her. They fall asleep together, and Bridget wakes up to find Eric holding her. Feeling guilty, she tries to break the hold quietly, but her attempts wake up Eric. Bridget feels confused and betrayed when he leaves the camp for an unknown reason, and decides that she won’t hope for his attention anymore. As much as she prided herself on making this summer with Eric different from the first one (where she went after him and had to have him), it began to feel the same because once again she is left wondering why he left her. She trains her soccer team hard, and they go on to defeat Eric’s in the championship.
Bridget later questions Eric about his leaving, and Eric reveals that he returned to New York to break up with his girlfriend due to his feelings for Bridget. At first, Bridget asks Eric if he gets closer to her just to leave her, but he lets her know otherwise. He tells her that he thinks they were always meant to be. Afterwards, they become a couple.
[edit] Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
Bridget feels slightly at odds with the idea of being "taken," and because of her somewhat brash and spontaneous decision-making attitude, she decides to take a trip to Turkey to help with an archaeological dig along with several classmates from Brown. Since Eric, her boyfriend, has made the decision to coach in a soccer camp in Mexico and Bridget has no intention of sitting around and waiting for him to come back. Bridget meets a handsome professor in Turkey to whom she is wildly attracted, and he to her. However, he is unattainable as he is married with children. Despite his marital status, the two share a kiss. He tells her that he has a "monstrous attraction" to her. The professor's family makes a surprise visit to celebrate his thirtieth birthday, and Bridget, seeing this, realizes that she can't carry on the fling with her professor. This is because she knows that she would be ruining the one thing that she wants: a family. She realizes it is time for her to grow up and mature. She also realizes that she is becoming the person she'll be for the rest of her life; she doesn't want to be like this. Upon returning home, she tries to piece her family's life together. She tries to become closer to her twin brother, Perry, who has dropped out of college and become somewhat of a social recluse, but doesn't want to pressure him. Eric calls her and surprises her with his arrival, and Bridgette is pleasantly surprised when her father and brother help her clean the house. Eric stays the night at her house and they end up having sex. After Eric leaves the next morning, she begins looking through old boxed up memories in her basement and finds mementoes of her mother and her younger self. She realizes that her father does care because he has taken the time to save these things. She comes to terms with who her family is, and buys Perry a rabbit, hoping it will help him venure into the outside world more. She also realizes that her family does have something to give.
