First Published for Kate and Anthony Week 2023 on 12 May 2023
In the gazebo scene Anthony says these words to Kate 'all I find myself being able to breathe for is you', it is in essence Anthony's first love declaration to Kate.
This line calls back to episode 3 when Violet, in the depths of her depression after Edmund's death, tells a devastated Anthony that 'Edmund was the air that I breathed, and now there is no air'. That this from Violet came almost immediately after she told Anthony she wished that she had died in childbirth, further devastated Anthony, but also set him on his path of not wanting to marry for love, and not wanting someone to love him as his mother had loved his father.
So when Anthony tells Kate that all he finds himself being able to breathe for is her, he is acknowledging the love that he has for Kate is as strong as the love that Violet had for Edmund, it shows Anthony's growth and his surrendering to love and acceptance that he will love Kate no matter where she is.
This theme of the breath is prevalent with Kate and Anthony in season two, and is something that the production team worked on, specifically the sound engineers. At times of Anthony and Kate being physically close we not only see them breathing each other's air, but we hear it as the sound of their breath is amplified and becomes a part of the story of Kate and Anthony.
I have seen some viewers, in their rush to show their disdain for season 2, ridicule this aspect of their characters, mock the importance placed on breath and say how disgusting they found it. This shows not only a lack of understanding of some of the central themes for season 2, it shows a gross ignorance in understanding the importance that the human breath plays in many cultures.
I alluded to the importance in breath yesterday when discussing the dances of Kate and Anthony, and in particular the final move of the 'Wrecking Ball' dance, where Kate and Anthony are close, and sharing each other's breath. In many cultures the breath symbolises life, it is spiritual, and in some cultures the sharing of the breath is something that is sacred and seen as being a gift from the gods.
For me personally, I am most familiar with its cultural and spiritual importance within the Polynesian cultures, specifically that of the New Zealand Maori and Native Hawaiian cultures. The sharing of breath, is the sharing of life, it is the way that they greet each other.
For Hawaiians the traditional greeting, honi, where the two people greeting each other touch their foreheads and noses, welcomes each other into their space by sharing the breath of life.
This greeting is similar to the New Zealand Maori greeting, which also involves touching foreheads and noses, and the sharing of the breath, to welcome a person, where they are seen, not as a visitor, but as Tangata Whenua (one of the people of the land). This is a spiritual greeting and the sharing of breath is seen as coming directly from the gods.
The Inuits also greet each other in a similar manner, called Kunik, though this is usually only reserved for family members, as opposed to the New Zealand Maori and Hawaiians who use it more widely. In the Inuit culture the Kunik involves pressing your nose and upper lips to the other person, and breathing in the scent of the person you are greeting.
These are not the only cultures around the world that use the sharing of breath in greeting, whether for those that are family, friends, or honoured and revered guests, this act is spiritual and intimate. It connects those that are sharing their breath, and it symbolises their life force.
So for me, the addition of the breath in Season 2 with respect to Kate and Anthony is symbolic of their life force. Kate is Anthony's life force, and he is hers, their sharing of breath throughout the series is a physical representation of this, just as Anthony's words 'all I find myself being able to breathe for is you' is a verbal representation of this.
The depiction of this could have been something that was played for laughs, humour, and essentially mocking the beliefs that believe in the breath of life, it is a credit to Chris van Dusen, Jonathan Bailey, and Simone Ashley that it was done in a sensitive and serious way. It is just sad that some so-called Bridgerton fans deem it something to be mocked and made fun of.
