The Forming of Miss Jean Brodie’s Tragic Personality in The Prime of Miss Jean B

【摘要】《布罗迪小姐的青春》是英国现代女作家穆丽尔・斯帕克最著名的作品,自1961年出版以来就受到了外界的密切关注。该书主要描写了二战期间，爱丁堡女子学校的一位年轻女老师试图打破沉闷社会桎梏的经历。本文从不同层次和方面，即作者自身背景、宗教、女权主义来分析吉恩・布罗迪悲剧性格的形成,进而更加深入透彻地理解这部小说，解读二战后当代女性作家的心理和文学走势。

【关键词】悲剧性格；吉恩・布罗迪；女性主义;

1.Introduction

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is the best known book by novelist Muriel Spark. This novel was set in a girls’ high school in Edinburgh. In 1930s, the whole novel portrays a female teacher how to teach her pupils with her own unique teaching method. On one hand, the teaching method of Miss Jean Brodie enlightened them; but on the other hand, it has deprived of students’ freedom. As a tragic result, her most favored student betrayed her in her prime, leading to her early retirement and final death.

2.The influence of the author

2.1 Life background

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is the only one she set her hometown as the background. Muriel Spark was also studying in a girls’school in Edinburgh from 1930 to 1937.

Interestingly, this novel models the true story of Spark herself. Muriel Spark was born in Edinburgh; she attended what was then James Gillespie’s High School for Girls, the model for the Marcia Blaine School in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. There was one teacher in particular called Miss Christina Kay who influenced Muriel Spark a lot. And Miss Kay was somewhat the original figure for Muriel Spark’s most famous creationthe Edinburgh school Miss Jean Brodie.” Spark had also pointed out in his autobiography: in one sense, Miss Christina Kay doesn’t like Miss Jean Brodie, because she is more charming than Miss Jean Brodie. Muriel Spark based on her own life experience as the archetype of the character, in fact we can find that Miss Kay is the prototype of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark is a member of the Brodie Unit, and the story was happened in her elementary school, it was not a coincidence.

We don’t know how Miss Kay influenced Muriel Spark in detail, while writing the novel, Miss Kay’ image must be lingering in her mind.

2.2 Religious conversion

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a novel deeply rooted in the author’s own religious experience. In 1953 Muriel Spark was baptized in the Church of England but in 1954 she decided to join the Roman Catholic Church, which she considered crucial in her development toward becoming a novelist.

Penelope Fitzgerald, a fellow novelist and contemporary of Spark, wrote that “Spark had pointed out that it wasn’t until she became a Roman Catholic that she was able to see human existence as a whole, as a novelist needs to do.” (Hal Hager, 1999: 141)

With regard to religion, Miss Jean Brodie was not in any doubt, she let everyone know that God was on her side and so she experienced no difficulty or sense of hypocrisy in worship while at the same time she went to bed with the singing master. Feeling her fated one way or another, Brodie acts as if she transcends morality.

3.The influence of feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. There are a number of brilliant woman writers whose works gave voice to the feelings and aspirations of the educated women of their age. Charlotte Bronte is one of the greatest women writers, and her Jane Eyre is undoubtedly an outstanding women’s declaration of independence and love.