An Existentialist Analysis Of Muriel Spark's The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie

Muriel Spark, a female Scottish, is an influential and creative figure among the postwar novelists; she was regarded as a Catholic writer, a satirist, and moral philosopher. She is famous for her delicate perception, outstanding wit and remarkable invention; she makes an attempt at literary works with various genres, covering a wide range of subjects. Her masterpiece, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, makes her reach the summit of her writing career. Throughout her literary career, she has attracted a divided critical audience.Spark is a quite exuberant writer and she published multiple works, including poems, short stories, children's stories, biography and literary criticism. She is good at using her writing style and has carried out her themes remarkably with experiments of all kinds of modernists forms. With her innovative talents and stylistic brilliance, Spark has proved herself to be an outstanding novelist.Muriel Spark was a remarkably prolific writer. From her first novel The Comforters published in 1957 to her last novel The Finishing School in 2004, Muriel Spark wrote 26 novels in her life. Among her works, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie which just cost only eight weeks to accomplish, was regarded as the most famous novel. It was also considered as one of her most critically acclaimed novels and the one that first brought her widespread popular attention. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie brought Spark great reputation and various criticisms from many critics as well. There are many scholars both in China and abroad researching Spark's works, especially researching her masterpiece—The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Some critics often compare the writing technique of Spark with that of Earnest Hemingway—they both share the iceberg writing style using simple language to express profound meaning; The study on Spark is rather abundant and deeper, but not all-side. However, there is none analyzing Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie systemically related to Sartre's existentialist thoughts.Under the rationale of Sartre's existentialist thoughts, the author analyzes Spark's reflection in her The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Sartre's existentialistic thoughts especially Sartre's view on freedom.This thesis is composed of five parts:The first chapter is the introduction part, the life and works of the writer are introduced and the structure of this thesis also; in addition, this chapter also provides comments on criticism of Spark from various perspectives. and proposes a new perspective.The second chapter is the theoretical framework, offering the readers some brief introductions of existentialism as well as Sartre's main thoughts on existentialism, especially Sartre's thoughts on freedom.The third and fourth chapters are the main parts of this paper:relationship between Sartre's view of freedom and Brodie, and especially Sandy's freedom of choice. These two chapters also involve the detailed analysis of the existentialist elements in the novel. The prime of Miss Jean Brodie shows that Miss Brodie is a typical spinster image after the war. She doesn't have a clear idea on freedom and it is just her misunderstanding on freedom that leads her to the ridiculous behavior. In analyzing this figure, Sartre's basic ideas of freedom will be illustrated along with the analysis of the protagonist Jean Brodie. Sandy has a clearer insight into her teacher—Miss Brodie and she rejects Miss Brodie's way of teaching and living, then she makes an ironic choice by betraying her teacher Miss Brodie.Finally the writer comes to the conclusion:this thesis mainly expounds the theme of seeking for the freedom. In the process of analyzing, we can find that on the one hand Miss Brodie is free to shape her own way of living; and on the othqr hand Miss Brodie must take on the responsibility of what she chooses, because there is no absolute freedom. Through the study of the two characters, the reader can not only have a look at their fates but also give a careful reconsideration on humans＇living conditions as well as the nature of our existence.