Muriel spark born in Edinburg,
Scotland is the creator of bizarre situations illustrating contemporary life.
She does so with wit, elegance and sense of mature fun that is unique in The
Comforters, Robinson, The Ballad of Peckham Rye, The Girls of Slender Means
and The Abbess of Crewe. She accepts the supernatural and
understands the power of spirit to influence the course of events. Violence is
part of her world, yet she views it with detachment, even impassivity. More
serious and perhaps her less successful works are The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie and The Mandelbaum.
The Prime of Miss jean Brodie is set in Edinburgh of 1930s and as
such,
directly
related to the history of fascism and aftermath of war.
In
the novel Muriel spark brings to life an eccentric, egocentric and charming
teacher in a private Edinburgh School during the 1930s, Miss Brodie. Six
students known collectively as the Brodie set move through the grades.
She collides with her students regarding her status in the school and trouble
she had with the headmistress. Miss Brodie sabotages school curriculum as she
grandstands her own passions both personal and academic.
It
is in putting this 1930s story in personal and historical perspective that some
of its darker meaning emerges. In the pre World War II days, autocratic, orderly
and foolish Miss Brodie is infatuated with Mussolini and Hitler. Inclined to
think herself as European, Miss Brodie praises fascism her very taste for it, a
sign of her cultivation. Deluded by the appeal of absolute domination with its
apparent order and efficiency, Miss Brodie forgets that each person however low
and powerful is a human being with rights. In her ridicule of Mary Macgregor;
in her irresponsible direction to Joyce Emily Hammond to go off and fight for
France; and in her attempt to sexually manipulate Rosy Stanley Miss Brodie sets
morality aside and denies the humanity of her students.
The
1930s were characterized by the rise of authoritarian ideologies the still
fresh moments of World War I and primarily by economic depression. One of the
effects of the great depression was an increased rate of unemployment which is
represented in the scene where Miss Brodie and her pupils walk through the slum
of Edinburgh old town:
A
very long queue of men lined this part of the street. They were without collars
in shabby suits…in England they are called the un employed.
These
images seem appropriate for a picture of contemporary Edinburgh and encourage
the reader to understand the text as a realist depiction of life in the 1930s.
Hence, spark’s representation of history of fascist ideology respectively can
be seen as,
an
attempt to render certain stories convincing.
Miss
Jean Brodie admires Hitler and Mussolini’s way of restoring economic order in
their countries. She is attracted to uniforms and applies almost fascist
methods to shape her set. By highlighting those preferences, Spark attempts to
describe how the increasing threat originating from Hitler and Mussolini went
unnoticed by the public and was even positively perceived. Miss Brodie’s,
unpleasant habits of manipulation,
reward for information and of changing the clear meaning of things,
are attitudes that resemble a fascist
dictator. Spark’s scrutiny of moral concern brings to the fore the struggle
between good and evil. Evil is shown to be the attempt to take over human
beings and we see it in Brodie’s exercise of moral and psychological power.
Sandy’s imaginative way of thinking makes her perceive that Brodie set was Miss
Brodie’s,
fascist…all
knit together for her need.
She is able to understand why Miss
Brodie disapproves of the Girl Guides who she imagines are a threat to her hold
over the Brodie set. Miss Brodie sees them as a rival fascist whom she cannot
tolerate. Sandy’s perceptions do not result in aversion for Miss brodie when
she is young. This impression however, remains in her subconscious and surfaces
before her decision to betray her teacher. As such, she was only interested
In
putting a stop to Miss Brodie.
Miss Brodie’s concept of education is
ostensibly,
a
leading out of what is already there in the pupils soul.
She dominates the girls rather than
responding to their innate gifts. The falsehood of her claims is documented and
revealed in their fantasies and in their minds which are filled with her
preoccupation. Miss Jean Brodie was of a nature that believed in enriching the
lives of her students but on the other hand becomes resentful if they made any
kind of attachment with other teachers.
Keeping
such kind of possessive attitude and turning the views of girls towards modern
side rather than classical aspect, she herself makes her character negative.
Just similar to that of Hitler, Miss Brodie fires the imagination rather than
intellect. Her admiration for Hitler and Mussolini further supplements her
image as an ideologue of fascism. As such her end was inevitable. It was the
tendency of Miss Brodie of swaying young impressionable minds to unethical ends
that was put to a stop by one of her more perceptive of her students. Hence, it
was the defeat of fascism as represented by Miss Jean Brodie.
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