Here’s what ‘on the shelf’ means when Eloise says it in Bridgerton season four

Everyone is confused

1 hour ago

Ellissa Bain | Entertainment

Season four of Bridgerton is finally here after an almost two-year wait, and people are already confused by the Regency slang after Eloise said she was “on the shelf” in the first episode.

The new season picks up right where the last one ended and heavily revolves around the “spare” Bridgerton brother Benedict, who finally meets his match at Lady Bridgerton’s masquerade ball.

In the opening episode, we see the whole society attend the masquerade ball, including Eloise who tells her closest friend Penelope that she has put herself “on the shelf”. But what does that mean? Here’s a full explanation.

Credit: Netflix

So,what does Eloise mean by ‘on the shelf’ in Bridgerton?

“On the shelf” is an old English term that means a woman who is past the age they were expected to get married. In season four, Eloise is 20 years old, which seems young by today’s standards, but was considered a very old age to still be single in the 19th-century Regency era, when Bridgerton is set.

Eloise is saying she’s too old to find a husband, so is choosing to stay single instead. The Bridgerton daughter doesn’t have any intention to marry or find a potential suitor, so she is now “on the shelf”. If you got to that age without finding a husband in the 1800s, you’d be considered unwanted, like unsold goods.

The term isn’t used much anymore, and it’s often considered quite derogatory towards women, similar to the world spinster. A spinster is an older woman who has never been married. If Eloise got a few years older and still wasn’t married, she would then be considered a spinster.