Introduction
The text is from the short novel, “ The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie ” by Muriel Spark. In general, the narrative talks about the divide in education between the nonconformist individuality practice taught by Miss Jean Brodie and enacted by her set of six 10-year-old girls that go against the teachings of Miss Mackay that advocate for team spirit and school loyalty. At the age that Miss Jean believes to be her “prime” she ignores the regular curriculum instead choosing to teach her six favorite students on culture, art and politics in congruence with her personal proclivities. As is expected, Miss Brodie and her set are scorned for the contrary teachings and some faculty members plan to have the former relieved of her teaching duties. This particular excerpt shows a brief when Miss Brodie was instilling knowledge into the young minds bringing about the themes of authority and social groups, transfiguration, and educational divide.
Authority and Social Groups
The students at Blaine Junior School are quite young and naïve. It is believed they are approximately ten years of age hence making them believe the words and teachings of the Miss Jean Brody (Spark, 2009). Furthermore, she is depicted as an authority figure by the young girls. Her status is evident the in-music room where she stayed with her favorite girls as they engaged in a singing lesson. The behavior of Mr. Lowther, the choir master, also depicted Miss Brodie’s authority even in her love affairs. He twitched Jenny’s ringlets as she sang and seemed to be looking directly at Miss Brodie (Spark, 2009). This action was an attempt by the smitten music teacher to lure her into behavior that was contrary to the ways of people of Edinburgh.
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The Brodie set was the name given to the six girls who were considered favorites to by the teacher. Together they were a social group that unlike others was did not have anything in common. It is usually expected that a group of friends, particularly children in school to share some traits (Spark, 2009). Jenny was known for being beautiful and singing, Sandy for being her small notorious eyes and quite insightful as noted by her attempts to calculate very carefully the intervals between one ink-spot and another (Spark, 2009). The only thing that kept these girls together was the Miss Brodie who gave them general knowledge on things contrary to the curriculum. In so doing, she emphasized her authority in the social group even long after the girls moved to a senior class.
Transfiguration
As depicted in the excerpt Miss Brodie has reached a certain age that she believes is her prime. Though she is yet to be married, she has devoted herself to be integral in the learning process of these young girls. This is evident where Miss Brodie was always present when the girls were in singing lesson even though she did not teach it (Spark, 2009). This action was a clear indicator of the unusual teacher’s determination to ensure that no other teacher could have as much influence on the girls as she did. In this regard, after the lesson she informs the girl’s that they were her “vocation” (Spark, 2009).
It is possible that the Miss Brodie was feeling guilty for the sexual tension between herself and Mr. Lowther. It is for this reason that she felt the need to assure the young girls of her devotion to teaching them better and possibly more extensively (Spark, 2009). She stated that the girls were her vocation a clear sign that she intended to continue helping them to transform from common members of the society to become like Sybil Thorndike, a woman who was believed to have the attitude of noble people (Spark, 2009). This lesson was part of the transfiguration process that Miss Brodie believed would help her turn the young girls into “the crème de la crème”.
Educational Divide
The divide in educational curriculum is also presented in the excerpt both in abstract and physical nature. Upon reaching her “prime”, Miss Brodie identified that the young girls required the knowledge about the world hence her intention to teach art, culture and radical politics (Spark, 2009). It is for this reason that she selected girls of different personalities for her own pleasure. She would also keep guard of the students when going into other lessons as a measure of preventing them from taking on information she did not deem useful to their future lives. In this way, she kept track of what they learnt (Spark, 2009).
The fact that the senior classes were in a different building from where Miss Brodie taught highlighted the contrast of the learning process. On the one hand, the young girls learnt on general knowledge from art, sexuality and politics that could possibly make sense to the young minds (Spark, 2009). On the other hand, there was model science teacher, a Miss Lockhart, who sparked the interest of the young girls (Spark, 2009). Sandy in particular was lucky enough to find a lesson in progress where she marveled in the freedom of the lesson as opposed to the extreme freedom given by Miss Brodie. It is for their constant efforts to visit the senior classes that the teach stresses that art is more important than Science.
Conclusion
The excerpt shows the numerous efforts that Miss Brodie makes to teach the young girls how to think like adults. The themes depicted in this passage include authority and social groups, education divide, and transfiguration. Through her position as a teacher, the young girls are inclined to believe in what they are taught. She goes further to make a selection of girls that fit the personalities that she would like to have an influence on a clear indicator by the lack of common interests among the girls in the group hence making her the center of what brings them together. Every opportunity she gets seems an opportunity to transfigure the lives of these impressionable girls from the end of music class, to the geography lesson after the girls visit the science room to often. In this way, she completely contradicts the normal curriculum and employs her own.
References
Spark, M. (2009) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Harper Perennial Modern Classics Ed.) . New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
