The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex personalities within the narrative of Miss Jean Brodie, an unconventional teacher at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh. Miss Brodie, characterized by her strong beliefs and individualism, has a significant impact on her students, known as "the Brodie set." Each student exhibits distinct traits: Sandy Stranger, imaginative and contemplative, eventually becomes a nun; Jenny Gray, the prettiest, pursues a career in drama; and Rose Stanley, noted for her allure, breaks free from Brodie's influence to marry a businessman.
Other characters include Mary Macgregor, who tragically becomes a scapegoat and dies young; Eunice Gardiner, athletic and spirited; and Monica Douglas, who is academically gifted yet less conventionally attractive. The narrative also highlights Miss Mackay, the headmistress intent on ending Brodie's reign, and Teddy Lloyd, the art master with whom Brodie shares a complicated relationship. These dynamics create a rich tapestry of ambition, betrayal, and the consequences of one teacher’s influence on her students, ultimately culminating in Brodie's downfall. This character analysis invites readers to explore themes of education, power, and personal agency within the story.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Muriel Spark
First published: 1961
Genre: Novel
Locale: Edinburgh, Scotland
Plot: Moral
Time: 1930–1939
Miss Jean Brodie, an individualistic teacher of younger students at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, Scotland. Considered attractive because of her “Roman features” and brown hair coiling at the nape of her neck, Brodie is in her forties, an age that she regards as the prime of her life. She is an early admirer of Benito Mussolini, whom she credits with having eliminated unemployment and litter in the streets of Rome. She later extends her admiration to Adolf Hitler as well and is forced into early retirement. She considers her pupils to be “the crème de la crème” and has devoted her life to them. Her first lover, Hugh Carruthers, died during World War I; her second lover, Teddy Lloyd, is married. Longing for romance but deprived of it, Brodie attempts to live vicariously through the affairs of her students. Her plan for one of these affairs fails, however, and the other outlets for her passion—politics and her unusual approach to education—ultimately prove to be her undoing. Brodie dies shortly after World War II, still unmarried at the age of fifty-six and unable to understand how she could have been betrayed by one of her own students.
Sandy Stranger, one of the ten students who have become known collectively as “the Brodie set.” Distinguished in the junior school for her tiny eyes and her skill at elocution, Sandy does not outwardly appear much different from the other Brodie girls; they are all dressed in the same panama hat and deep violet uniform. She is imaginative, creating stories in her mind that involve herself and the characters from whatever book she currently is reading. Sandy later enters a convent, where she becomes Sister Helena of the Transfiguration. She writes a psychological treatise titled The Transfiguration of the Commonplace and becomes unexpectedly famous. Her sudden betrayal of Brodie is suspected by her former mentor only shortly before Brodie's death.
Jenny Gray, Sandy's best friend. The prettiest and most graceful girl of the Brodie set, Jenny enters a school of dramatic arts during what would have been her final year at the Marcia Blaine School.
Mary Macgregor, the least intelligent of Brodie's inner circle and their scapegoat. Mary goes on to become a shorthand-typist, joins the military during World War II, and dies tragically at the age of twenty-four in a hotel fire while on leave.
Eunice Gardiner, a small but athletic girl. Eunice is both a gymnast and a swimmer. While at the senior school, Eunice alone of her set does not share Brodie's contempt for the “team spirit” and competes enthusiastically in intramural sports.
Monica Douglas, who is skilled at mathematics and famous for her hot temper. Monica is one of the least attractive of the Brodie set, having a broad and very red nose, long dark hair worn in pigtails, and fat, stubby legs.
Rose Stanley, who is known for her sex appeal even while young. Rose is a tall girl with short blonde hair, pale skin, and a huge-boned face. Although something of a tomboy when she is eleven years old, she later uses her knowledge of boys' interests to make herself even more popular. Rose is groomed by Brodie to have an affair with Teddy Lloyd, but she manages to free herself from her teacher's influence and marry a successful businessman shortly after leaving school.
Joyce Emily Hammond, a newcomer to the Marcia Blaine School, sent there because no other school could handle her. Her family is extremely rich, and she arrives at school each day in a chauffeur-driven car. Although eager to enter the Brodie set, she is a misfit and insists on being addressed by both of her first names. Joyce Emily still wears the dark green uniform of her old school and is encouraged by Brodie to go to Spain to fight for Francisco Franco. She is killed, however, when the train on which she is riding is attacked.
Miss Mackay, the red-faced headmistress of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls. Miss Mackay objects to Brodie's teaching methods and has become her implacable enemy. Intent on ending Brodie's career, she tries to win the Brodie set over to her side. After several unsuccessful attempts to obtain evidence of Brodie's sexual misconduct, Miss Mackay receives from Sandy the necessary hint that politics, not morality, will be Brodie's undoing.
Miss Gaunt, a teacher at the junior school. As gaunt and forbidding as her name implies, she insists on complete silence in her classroom. Miss Gaunt regularly wears a dark green jersey and an unfashionable knee-length skirt of a gray material like that used for blankets. Miss Gaunt's brother is the minister of the local parish, a fact that only intensifies her air of rigid and confining respectability.
Teddy Lloyd, the art master at the senior school. Although Lloyd is married, he and Brodie share a secret love for each other. On a single occasion, they have a moment of weakness and kiss. Lloyd is half English and half Welsh, with golden hair and a hoarse voice. He lost his left arm during World War I. This mark of distinction and his general air of sophistication make Lloyd seem a highly romantic figure to the girls of the Blaine School.
Gordon Lowther, the singing master for both the junior and senior schools. He is Brodie's supporter and, for a time, her lover. Brodie begins her affair with Lowther only because she is trying to free herself from her love for Teddy Lloyd. Lowther is a small, short-legged man with reddish blond hair and a mustache. He is shy but has a smiling and gentle manner that causes others to feel kindly toward him. After the death of his mother, Lowther never can regard himself as master of his own house; he becomes dependent first on his housekeeper, then on the Kerr sisters and Brodie, and finally on his wife, the former science mistress, Miss Lockhart.
Ellen Kerr and Alison Kerr, sewing teachers at the Marcia Blaine School. With their fluffed hair, birdlike eyes, and nearly bluish skin, the Kerr sisters perfectly fit the stereotype of “spinsters.” Rather than teaching, they frequently do most of the girls' sewing for them. The Kerrs become, for a time, Lowther's unofficial housekeepers.