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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English And Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in English Language and Literature Bc. Šárka Zlámalová, DiS. Conforming to Society: Female Characters Finding Their Identity in Selected Muriel Spark’s Novels Master’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. 2019 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement For sharing her knowledge, patience and advice with me, I would like to express my thanks to my supervisor prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................... 5 I. Memento Mori ............................................................................................... 9 II. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie ................................................................... 24 III. The Public Image ........................................................................................ 36 IV. The Driver's Seat ........................................................................................ 45 V. Reality and Dreams .................................................................................... 53 VI. The Finishing School .................................................................................. 62 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 70 Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 78 Primary Sources ............................................................................................ 78 Secondary Sources ....................................................................................... 78 Summary ........................................................................................................... 82 Resumé ............................................................................................................. 84 Introduction This thesis focuses on providing the answer to the question of how Muriel Spark’s female characters find their own identity within a society and what role, if any, is played by their education or upbringing. This thesis aims to collect and present evidence of an underlying theme in six selected Muriel Spark’s novels—Memento Mori, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Public Image, The Driver's Seat, Reality and Dreams and The Finishing School. The thesis also remarks upon key elements from Spark’s personal life that might have influenced the process of shaping her fictional characters. This thesis is divided into six main sections, each section focusing on one of the selected books. The aforementioned Spark’s books were selected to evenly represent her oeuvre over the years, analysing several of Spark’s well-known masterpieces as well as some of her lesser known and not as often commented upon novels and novellas. The chapters are listed chronologically, according to the publishing date of the given books. Therefore, the first chapter discusses Spark’s early novel entitled Memento Mori (1959). The analysis is focused on the situation of three female characters—Dame Lettie Colston, Miss Jean Taylor and Charmian Piper—contrasting the situation of the three women of an advanced age who occupy a very different social status, yet who all find it complicated to form a connection to the society around them. The chapter also draws a link between Spark’s own experience with her elderly grandmother and the topic of her novel. 5 The following chapter depicts the complex identity of one of Spark’s most famous characters, Miss Brodie from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961). The chapter reveals how Miss Brodie refuses to adhere to the social role drawn for her by the conventional society and analyses the consequences that befall her for it. Miss Brodie’s character is compared with the character of Sandy, one of her students. The inspiration for creating Miss Brodie’s character is also explained as detected within Spark’s autobiography. The third novel on which this thesis is focused bears the name The Public Image (1968). The third chapter, accordingly, illustrates the deception of the novel’s protagonist, Annabel Christopher, and explains how the secrets she is hiding define her identity. Although it might not seem so at first glance, the same elements that have been already employed by Spark in her previous novels are to be found in Annabel’s case as well. Once again, there are striking resemblances between Spark’s own experience and the topic of her work. The fourth chapter of this thesis strives to analyse the puzzle that represents a woman simply known as Lise, the protagonist of The Driver’s Seat (1970). While Lise is intentionally crafted by Spark to pose as a misleading and unreliable character of the story, there can still be found certainties among the ever-present sense of mystery. Lise’s desperate attempts at controlling her own fate provide one such instance, her determination to follow through with her plans even though it means she has to pay the highest price provides another. This thesis also points out the similarities between Lise’s approach and the approach of the other analysed characters in the preceding novels. 6 The penultimate chapter of this thesis introduces the character of Marigold Richards from Spark’s novel Reality and Dreams (1996) and explains how her disappearing could be compared to Lise’s actions. The thesis also brushes upon Spark’s own complicated family relationships that could have been a source material for her writing, including both Spark’s divorce from her husband Oswald Spark and the later fallout with her son Robin Spark. It is outlined how these events are reflected in the fictional family ties of Tom Richards, his wife Claire and her two daughters Cora and Marigold. While Marigold is not a main character of the novel, she is still the driving force behind the story. It is Marigold who refuses to accept the role that the society expects her to abide by. Instead, much to her father’s disapproval, Marigold sets on the complicated path of defining her own identity. The sixth chapter offers the analysis of Spark’s final novel, The Finishing School (2004). The chapter assesses the character of Nina Parker who, over the course of the story, matures from being her husband’s obedient wife (and a compliant enabler) to being her own person. This novel, albeit not often acclaimed by the critics, is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to analyzing Spark’s writing, seeing that this is her last completed and published novel. At the time of its creation, Spark acknowledged that this might be her last story to tell. Therefore, the key elements that have fascinated Spark throughout her writing career resurface and unite in this crucial book. Because of this, the analysis of The Finishing School aids the understanding of Spark’s stimuli and motivations for her work as well as her perception of the pre-set social principles. 7 The conclusion of this thesis offers a review of how all the aforementioned female characters find their identity, draws a comparison between the individual strategies the characters utilise in doing so and also summarizes the findings of this thesis. It is argued on the following pages that there is an underlying theme among all the discussed novels, a theme that Spark draws upon from her personal experience and a theme that is repeated in several variants throughout Spark’s oeuvre; the theme of the society determining the female characters’ identities. 8 I. Memento Mori This chapter inquires into Memento Mori (1959), an early novel of Spark’s. Albeit the novel introduces multiple characters, this thesis focuses on Dame Lettie Colston, Charmian Piper and Miss Jean Taylor, since these three aging women are the most prominent female characters of the story. With these women, the novel propounds three different characters’ stances towards accepting their social role within their respective social circles. This chapter detects these themes and denotes how they form a part of what is to become Spark’s pattern when providing her character’s identity. Memento Mori is a story about a mystery in which several elderly characters receive anonymous phone calls that always relay the same message to them. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the message, eponymous with the title of the book, translates from Latin to English as ‘remember that you must die’, or, rather literally, as ‘remember to die’ (“Memento Mori”, Online Etymology Dictionary, def. 31170). Therefore, the phone calls serve the purpose of being ‘reminders of the fleetingness of life’ for the elderly characters (“Memento Mori”, Online Etymology Dictionary, def. 31170). Even though Spark does not use the term ‘whydunnit’ until referring to The Driver’s Seat, her later novel that will be discussed on the upcoming pages, the term is still applicable to the mystery of Memento Mori. There are no simple answers to finding out who is the person (or the entity) behind the unsettling phone calls since every character perceives the caller to be someone different, depending on the character’s personality and their approach to life and death. The identity of the caller changes along with the identity 9 of the person on the receiving end of the phone call. The characters
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