The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie
'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie unfolds several dimensions of the female role. Set in Edinburgh in the 1930s, we are presented with a protagonist whom is a striking female role model in her domineering, manipulating and sexual powers, powers which we see her use to obtain her desired plans for her 'Brodie set,' the 'creme de la creme.' We see Miss Brodie play a God like figure in the novel, leading, teaching and imposing her opinions on them in hopes they will become like her. She strongly echoes Mussolini the Italian fascist, and we also see several contridictions in her character in terms of believing education is 'to lead out' but actually carrying out actions to draw them in and never let them go. This literature subverts conventional ideas of gender; this all woman narrative novel gives us great scope for interpreting it as a text with lesbian thematic implications, as her pupils are strangely obsessed with their glamourous school teacher. There are also several texts referred to within the primary text which bring out ideas of woman. This essay will explore these ideas and will speak the voice which Miss Brodie is trying to say; Miss Brodie, or essentially, the author, Muriel Spark.
Our protagonist Miss Jean Brodie (immediately drawing attention to 'Miss;' every time her name is mentioned it promotes spotlight on her unmarried status)is a repellent and omnipotent woman of her time. This literature subverts a conventional idea of woman because unlike many literature texts, the central purpose of woman does not focus around them serving men, but to be powerful and dominating. Miss Brodies' characteristics are swallowed by the readers as shocking and unusual; echoing that the text itself and it's ideas of the authoritative woman are different and unusual. The idea of woman in this text is certainly not innocent or fragile. The glamourous yet classy school teacher mirrors a God like figure in the novel; she quotes; 'O' where shall I find a virtuous woman, for her
Our protagonist Miss Jean Brodie (immediately drawing attention to 'Miss;' every time her name is mentioned it promotes spotlight on her unmarried status)is a repellent and omnipotent woman of her time. This literature subverts a conventional idea of woman because unlike many literature texts, the central purpose of woman does not focus around them serving men, but to be powerful and dominating. Miss Brodies' characteristics are swallowed by the readers as shocking and unusual; echoing that the text itself and it's ideas of the authoritative woman are different and unusual. The idea of woman in this text is certainly not innocent or fragile. The glamourous yet classy school teacher mirrors a God like figure in the novel; she quotes; 'O' where shall I find a virtuous woman, for her
Bibliography: ascism in Italy, Bolton King, London, Williams and Norgate LTD, 1931The Faith and Fiction of Muriel Spark, Ruth Whittaker, The Macmillan Press LTD, 1982, Hong KongThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark,1961, The Penguin Group, USATheorizing Muriel Spark, Patricia Dunker. Palrave, New York, 2002http://victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/frauenhofer.html)