The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Apr 20, 2019 Ana rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: women-list, fiction, own

Dammit.

I thought third time would be the charm.

After having read two other novels by Ms. Spark (as well as a small memoir by one of her friends) and having found them all pretty dreadful, I thought that for sure this one would redeem her for me.

There are many writers who have "off" books, but I think I've now thoroughly given it the old college try.

There were moments of cleverness - thereby the two stars rather than only one star - but by style alone this could not be redeemed. And those charact ...more

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May 18, 2015 Kerry rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: female-author, about-a-woman, 11booksclub, about-a-girl

I liked this book a lot. I think it was written beautifully, and I love the way she lets everything become clear and how things become important. Also it's about Scotland and I'm so used to reading about England, so that was refreshing. ...more

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Sep 17, 2009 Jeff Scott rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001books, fiction, to-own

“Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.”

Muriel Spark has a way of conveying various meanings with quite a simple story. Jean Brodie, teacher, seems to have dictatorial control over her students. She has an unbreakable hold that constitutes faith and fanaticism. The story runs back in forth through time from when the children are ten until they’ve reached their adult years. This technique provides hints to the conclusion of the story.

Miss Jean Brodie has declared that s “Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.”

Muriel Spark has a way of conveying various meanings with quite a simple story. Jean Brodie, teacher, seems to have dictatorial control over her students. She has an unbreakable hold that constitutes faith and fanaticism. The story runs back in forth through time from when the children are ten until they’ve reached their adult years. This technique provides hints to the conclusion of the story.

Miss Jean Brodie has declared that she is in her prime and that her students will benefit from her “prime”. Rather than teach to the curriculum she tells the students of her vacation trips to Italy that highlight the great work of the fascists there. She forms tight bonds with her students later referred to as the “Brodie” set later in their school days as a result of her influence. It’s this influence that drives the story.

It’s obvious that any teacher can leave a strong impression on a child. Often, an adult can recall a particular teacher as one of the biggest impacts of his or her life. In this instance, Spark seems to infer how that can be very similar to a dictatorship. Jean Brodie’s goal isn’t to create intelligent independent girls, but to garner strict loyalty forever. The children’s dependence upon her in contrast to the senior school students in their science lab is also a demonstration of free will versus benevolent despotism. A teacher can also be a god. The trust of that child and the parent in this instance is infallible. Brodie not only fills in her own indoctrination, she eliminates the curriculum’s influence, and any other student group. The only escape is in the ink on the blouse to be removed in the science lab to be a witness to free will and free thought. There are also biblical references one could infer. The children are forever guessing at the behavior of older students and adults. Life is often a mystery to them, but it is this sense of wonder and belief that is lost in the knowing. It’s lamented at times in the story. It’s very similar to the biblical Fall of Man. There is a beauty to this subtle imagery by Spark.

Favorite Parts:
Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life p4
One's prime is elusive. You little girls, when you grow up, must be on the alert to recognise your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. You must then live it to the full. p. 6
The influences of one's teens are very important," said the man.
"Oh yes," said Sandy, "even if they provide something to react against." p. 21
She was surprised by a reawakening of that same buoyant and airy discovery of sex, a total sensation which it was impossible to say was physical or mental, only that it contained the lost and guileless delight of her eleventh year. She supposed herself to have fallen in love with the man, who might, she thought, have been moved towards her in his own way out of a world of his own, the associations of which were largely unknown to her. There was nothing whatever to be done about it, for Jenny had been contentedly married for sixteen years past; but the concise happening filled her with astonishment whenever it came to mind in later days, and with a sense of the hidden possibilities in all thing p. 52
Mr. Lowther never seemed quite at home in his home, although he had been born there. He always looked at Miss Brodie for approval before he touched anything or opened a cupboard as if, really, he was not allowed to touch without permission. The girls decided that perhaps his mother, now four years dead, had kept him under all his life, and he was consequently unable to see himself as master of the house. p. 59 ...more

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Dec 30, 2022 Crystal rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2019, 2022

I have now abandoned this book three times, so I’m finally making a note of it here so I don’t pick it up at another thrift store. I’ve read so many good reviews on this book, that I keep thinking it’s on I absolutely must read, but it is apparently not my cup of tea.

There are too many repetitive words and phrases, and I don’t like how the flashbacks happen mid-paragraph. While I think the story is one I would like, I can’t bear the writing style any longer.

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