The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: Final Essay

The Relationship between Miss Brodie and the Brodie Set

The novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, written by Muriel Spark, talks about a group of six girls growing up with a debased teacher. Miss Brodie is a teacher who desires for attention and agreement with a bad influence on her students, who Sandy eventually betrays.

      Sandy betrays Miss Brodie. Sandy does this because she thinks Miss Brodie considers herself almost as a holy God. Sandy thinks “[Miss Brodie] thinks she is Providence” and “she is the God of Calvin” (129). Because Sandy already studies psychology – the study of human emotions and thoughts and always looks through her small eyes -- showing her deep deliberation, she must be accurate on her accusation on Miss Brodie. Therefore, she reports to Miss Mackay that Miss Brodie practices Fascism, which is illegal, which eventually caused Miss Brodie’s retirement (133-134).

      Miss Brodie needs attention and agreement from her Brodie Set to ensure her control over the Brodie Set. She teaches them the information of Mussolini and Fascism (45). When she talks about it, she looks proud and supportive (45). Clearly, she talks in an almost exaggerated way for the agreement from her students. When Mary is reading a comic book in Miss Brodie’s class when Miss Brodie is talking, Miss Brodie becomes angry and makes fun of her (8). Miss Brodie desperately needs, not only agreement, but also attention from her Brodie Set to confirm her Brodie Set’s loyalty towards her.

      Miss Brodie has a bad influence on the Brodie Set. Miss Brodie herself is an improper person. Miss Brodie is bossy because she once tells her favorite girls to go to supper no matter what events that they already planned (6). She never discusses her plans or affairs with any other teachers (7). This indicates that Miss Brodie is an independent and haughty woman. The Brodie Set, who are still changing and adapting to the society around them easily because of their age, bewilderedly copy the behaviors of Miss Brodie. However, she is a horrible leader the Brodie Set follows. Therefore, she has a bad influence on the Brodie Set. Miss Brodie also directly makes her Brodie Set girls do different corrupted things according to their hobbies and advantages. For example, Miss Brodie tells Rose to seduce Mr. Lloyd, who is already married (112) because Miss Brodie herself is no longer able or attractive enough to make Mr. Lloyd fall in love. Miss Brodie supports Sandy to sleep with Mr. Lloyd (118) which leads to the beginning of an affair. Miss Brodie is a bad influence because she has a perverted personality and she teaches her students to do evil things.

Miss Brodie is a pernicious and immersion-and-concurrence-thirsty woman who Sandy betrays. A person should not be corrupting and greedy, because if there are too many people like Miss Brodie, the world would become an unpleasant and lawless place.