Write a critical essay on the narrative technique adopted by Muriel Spark in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

The narrative technique adopted by Muriel Spark in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is the most famous work of Muriel Spark and is often taken as a representative novel that showcases her inimitable style. It was initially published in The New Yorker Magazine and was published as a book in 1961 by Macmillan. The novel has by now become a modern classic and Jean Brodie has become one of the most illustrious characters of twentieth century English fiction.

Spark’s narrative style lends the book a rare charm that infuses its characters with real life poignancy. It is believed that Miss Jean Brodie is partially inspired by Spark’s teacher, Christine Kay and this autobiographical element adds to the artistic beauty of the work. In the novel, human passion becomes the dominant motif and the various facets of human nature play out on the wide canvas of Spark’s creative genius.

Love and betrayal; admiration and jealousy; revenge and regret all become dichotomies that govern an individual’s life. The plethora of emotions artfully structured by Spark offer a highly intuitive glimpse into the desires and motives that goad an individual into action.

Perhaps the most striking feature of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is its remarkable and singular manner of narration. Spark employs an omniscient narrator to probe into the internal mindscapes of her characters. The narratorial voice is always felt as a lurking presence in the background of the story. The actions and motives of the characters are closely analysed and the reader is made aware of the complexities that lie beneath their attitudes and idiosyncrasies.

In fact, many critics have commented on how Spark takes the notion of authorial control to the extreme. She cogently monitors her characters and one gets the idea that the entire action has been orchestrated to the level of perfection. Of all the characters, it is Sandy whose mindscape is constantly analysed and she becomes the focalizer and the focalized in most of the situations. Sandy thus becomes the character in the diegetic world through whom the whole canvas of the Brodie world unfurls. Spark uses analepses (flashbacks) and prolepses (flash forwards) quite frequently in order to layer the narrative with thematic and structural signifiers. The story formally begins when the girls are still in Senior school and in complete awe of Miss Brodie. But in the course of a few pages, the reader learns that Miss Brodie has been betrayed by one of the girls who formed her elite group.

The identity of the culprit is also revealed before the end. However, the motive that prompted the betrayal is revealed only towards the end of the story and it is this dramatic revelation that provides the final climactic release in an otherwise relaxed narrative. The analepses and prolepses take the reader backward and forward in time and thereby aid in gaining a wider perspective of the entire canvas. The momentum of the narrative is sustained not only be the element of mystery but by the slow revelation of the various facets of a secret that has been bared earlier. It is not the identity of the girl who betrayed Miss Brodie that is guarded as a secret for it is made clear quite early on that is Sandy who gives the incriminating evidence against her teacher. But the motives that prompt Sandy to betray her mentor take centre stage as these motives finally become the pivot around which the entire story revolves. Another interesting aspect of narration is that the pace of narration remains almost even throughout the novel.

Spark succeeds in maintaining a uniform narrative tension. There are no sudden accelerations or decelerations but even without these shifts, the narratorial voice sustains the reader’s interest. And therein lies Spark’s genius as a writer because she succeeds in maintaining an even tone.

The secret of betrayal, the identity of the betrayer, Miss Brodie’s affairs, the affair between Sandy and Mr. Teddy Lloyd, The death of Joyce Emily are all events that are narrated in the same pace and tone. Spark does not use an accelerated pace to imply an urgency; instead these events, whether trivial or significant, are relayed using the same tempo. There are no moments of great discovery that jolt the reader into awareness. Brodie’s scandalous revelations and Sandy’s decision to betray Brodie are narrated in the same tempo as the weather of Edinburgh or the scenery of the city is described. Though there is an omniscient narrator, there is no crowding of information regarding the emotional turbulence faced by the characters. Brodie’s angst at being betrayed or Sandy’s emotional dilemma is never explained in detail. The reader is left to draw individual conclusions regarding the manifold details that lie scattered across the artistic canvas of the novel.

Write a critical essay on the narrative technique adopted by Muriel Spark in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The non-linearity of the narrative does not result in any sort of confusion as Spark writes with a great deal of clarity and her characters and plot sequences reflect this lucidity in presentation. In such a context, it is important to note that Spark’s authorial identity should not be confused with the identity of the narrator. The moral and ethical standpoints endorsed by the omniscient narrator may be mirrored in a particular character and from a post-modern standpoint, this cannot be taken as the authorial perspective. The narrator’s rather casual dismissal of Mary Macgregor as a stupid and clumsy girl is reflected in the comments said by Sandy as well.

The narrative also witnesses a gradual pile up of tension when Sandy acts as the focalizer. Her observations as a child and her contemplations as an adult reveal a deepseated conflict in her psyche. This conflict is further problematized when the narrative voice strives to maintain an objectivity that is different from the characters’ world view. Thus Sandy’s differing perceptions of Miss Brodie create a certain conflict within the main narrative as other students still hold the teacher in high regard. It may be argued that it is for this differing perception that Sandy becomes the main focalizer. Her initial awe and eagerness to please slowly give way to a growing awareness and unease which later metamorphoses into a bitter indifference.

Sandy’s internal monologues are peopled by characters from various literary works and her conversations form smaller narratives within the larger narrative of the text. These mini-narratives aid in establishing an alter-ego for Sandy where she can be herself without any pressures from the formidable presence of Miss Brodie.

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