From the Elm to the Church – How Space Influences Sandy’s Identity Construction

Abstract

Muriel Spark depicts a unique image of teacher in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with the character of Jean Brodie, utilizing the change in teacher-student relationship between Miss Brodie and her student, Sandy, as a cue for identity construction of the latter. This thesis intends to adopt Henry Lefebvre’s space theory to analyze this relationship and Sandy’s growth from the spatial perspective, discussing the active role played by space in the establishment of hegemony. Spark cares about the suffering among hypocrisy and autocracy in the special geographical space of Edinburgh and points out a tough but promising way for the strugglers.