POSTMODERNISM MURIEL SPARK

amazement.s,helives up to her role of "English Lady tiger"
almosttoo well; sheappearsasa fierce tiger in living up to this
public image,andis indifferent, or rather,callous to sex. In a
different way he andhis presssecretaryhave contrived, Annabel
gradually provesherself to be a tiger, ruthlesslyusing her husband
andhis mistress,her neighboursand evenher baby to maintain
her public image,improving her performance- in life. Shemay
havesomethingin her to be a "lady tiger" - "so ruthlessaboutlife,
so squeamishaboutdeath" (PI 93) in essence,asLuigi puts it -
or/and becomeonethrough her practice.

Simply fitting in an image,in a part, Annabel's malleability
is her ability. It is the economyof her art of image-making.
Shepracticesthis art instinctively both on the screenandin life.
For this economyof method,her husband,Frederick, becomes
jealous andresentful.

Frederickwas continually overcomeby a dazzled
exasperationat her capacityfor achievingthe most
impressiveeffectsby the most superficial means. He was
infuriated that anyoneshouldbe deceivedby her. He was
firm in his opinion that an actorshould be sincerein the
part he played and should emotionally experiencewhatever
he was to portray, from the soul outward.
(PI 17)

As an actorhimself, no matterhow he theorisesthe acting skill, he
hasneverhad a chanceto display his ever-untriedtalent - if he
hasany- andhis wife, who cannotact but exist, is a star.
EmbitteredFrederick endlesslyreproachesthe gapbetween

250

Annabel's "Private life" andher "public image," of which he is a
necessarypart asthe ideal husbandof the "Lady Tiger." His
belief that nobodybut he knows her "inside out"(PI 17),that is,
her stupidity, shallowness,deception,is his only perverse
satisfaction. When her stupidity startsto melt away,he standsas
a kind of a mirror, through which shecanseehow the public
imageis growing, andwhich offers a negativeexemplarfor her.
While "Annabel was entirely awareof the image-makingprocess
in every phase"(PI 27), "Frederick hardly knew what was going
on"(PI 25), involved in her public imagemuch deeperthan he

realises.
For all his criticism of Annabel's superficiality, insincerity,

and deceptionin a film and in life, ironically, it is Frederickwho
fails to seethe gap in his dual life andhis own hypocrisy. He
beginsto cultivate his self-imageof seriousnesson his public
image:the intellectual and attractivehusbandof the "Lady Tiger."
Holding up the seriousnessof his imageagainsthis shallow wife,
he refusesto seethe truth that he now enjoys a carefree
intellectual life he hasalways dreamtof, which Annabel's earning,
with her pubic image,hasrealised. It is the arrival of their baby
that breaksthe last bit of his equilibrium betweenhis conceptof
himself andhis actualway of living. The regainedsenseof unity
Annabel feelswith her baby changesher and destroysFrederick's
curious satisfactionwith their ambivalent,mutual dependence.
The baby servesher pubic imagebetter than he does;he is no
longer the only part of her "private" life, ashe haspresumed9o:

" Psychoanalysismay find the desirefor the imaginary unity with the mother in

251

The baby, Carl was the only reality of her life. His
existencegaveher a senseof being permanentlysecuredto
the world which shehad not experiencedsinceher own
childhoodhad passed.... Shefelt a curious fear of display
wherethe baby was concerned,asif this deepand complete
satisfactionmight be disfigured or melted awayby some
public image. (PI 35)
Frederick is 'jealous of the baby' (PI 96), asAnnabel acutely
perceivesand later confidently declares. He carriesout his
suicide scenarioto destroyher public image. He deliberately
sendsa wild setof peopleto her flat to createa scandalthat she
organisesan "orgy" when he kills himself, andleavesletters
accusingher. In addition, his old friend andhanger-on,Billy,
swiftly - he might anticipateor have someknowledgeaboutthis
suicideplot - getshold of theselettersto blackmail her.
Annabel practicesher art - at its best- to survive, to defend

both Annabel and Frederick. First, both of their mothersarealreadydead.
Second,thereis Frederick's letter to his deadmother. Annabel is bewilderedwhen
sheat first mistakesthe letter addressedto "Mrs W. A. Christopher" for oneto her,
andthen finds that he calls her "Mamma" unusually. Writing, "Since the birth of
our sonshe[Annabel] haschangedtowardsme enfirely"(PI 85), apartfrom his plan
of contriving an Italians' favorite letter from a sonto a mother,he seemsto replace
the loss of the motherby that of Annabel. Last, Gelda,a daughterof the family
doctor appearslike Frederick's agent. When the doctor comesto tell of
Frederick's death,he takeshis wife andhis daughter. For her ageGeldais
excessivelyattachedto her mother. ShedisturbsAnnabel's plot to preserveher
public imageby pointing out her insinceretearsandindicating asif shehad
organisedthe "orgy." In the voice of this "cynical enemy," Annabel "discernedan
echoof Frederick's voice, for everquestioningher sincerity, tauntiDg"(PI 66).
Against Annabel's fury, Gelda "stumpedthreestepscloserto her mother asif to
protect herself from Annabel"(PI 64). To this gesture,holding "her baby like a
triumphant shield," Annabel protectsherself "with a protective movementtowards
the baby" (PI 64). Here we may alsorecall Freud's observationin "On
Femininity": "Under the influence of a woman's becominga mother herself, an
identification with her own mother may be revived" (Freud, 1933,597).

252

herself from Frederick's deathplot. Right after his death,
Annabel tactfully arrangesthe bestpicture for the press
conference. It is a picture of a grieving widow with her baby
surroundedby sympatheticneighbours,"like somevastportrayal
of a family andhouseholdby Holbein" (PI 72), who is also
famousfor his seriesof woodcutstaking the motif of "the dance
of death"- the motif Frederickwas obsessedby. Shechanges
the grotesquemotif into a "bellafigura" (PI 73) asif shemocked
the effect of his deathupon her. There is anothervery different
picture which alsosymbolisesher fighting back againsthis death:
a portrait of a mother and a child. In one scene,with Billy,
Annabel seesa toy balloon, which has"a head,body and legs,but
no arms,,like an embryo ghosf' (PI 87), bobbing in and out the
window. It is a grotesquebut comical apparition like a parody,
again,of the motif of "the danceof death". WhereasBilly is
almostneurotically ftightened by this apparition,Annabel
playfully bats at it, holding the baby absorbedin this sight.

Annabel the "Lady Tiger" outwits all the male plots - the
exploitation of the film director, Frederick's suicide, andBilly's
blackmail - by steppingout of this role. Against all the oddsthat
shecould not give up the public image,shebeatsthe men like a
lady tiger in her own terms. Although Frederick usedto say,"I
might throw myself out of a window"(PI 43), he falls in the
"profound pit"(PI 56), "alone and dead"(PI 58). It is Annabel
who walks out of a window, the binding frame of the film screen,
of the patriarchalcinemaworld andof the disastrousmarriage.
Insteadof gazing"out throughthe openwindow at the stars"!,

253

hearingBilly's voice saying,"she's only a woman" (PI 118),she
walks out to survive. ThePublic Image endsat this point when
Annabel stopsbeing somebodyelse's art object andsurvivesthe
public image. Sheis no longer the "Lady Tiger," only a woman.

Annabel says,"I want to be free like my baby. I hopehe's
recording this noise" (PI 123),respondingto her male lawyer,
who tells her that babieshearpeople's voices "as recordnoises"
andthen "they sort of rememberafterwards" (PI 121). Shemay
begin to articulateherself andbe no longer suchan "empty shell"
asFrederick- who usedto put her into her place,with his words -
calls her,though still feeling "neither free nor unfree" (PI 123).
In the last scene,leaving for Greece,Annabel andher sonlook
more like fellow survivors than a mother and a baby":

Waiting for the orderto board, shefelt both free and
unfree. The heavy weight of the bagswas gone;shefelt
asif shewas still, curiously,pregnantwith the baby,but not
pregnantin fact. Shewas pale asa shell. Shedid not
wear her dark glasses. Nobody recognizedher asshe
stood,having moved the baby to rest on her hip, conscious
alsoof the baby in a senseweightlessly andperpetually
within her, asan empty shell contains,by its very structure,

11Sparkdoesnot oflen deal with the themeof motlierhood,but Annabel and her

baby seemsto be a rare exampleexpressingthe author's view of the mother-son
relationship- betweentwo newly-bom individuals, free andunfree- with a genuine
affection. Spark's autobiographyhasa brief accountof her son's birth: "When I
was expectinga baby,my husbandsuggestedv, ery earnestly,that I have an abortion.
He was beginning to feel uneasyandunstable. I reffised. My son,Robin, was
a day andhalf...
bdiodrnn't..e. xapfelecrttahalatbeoituhreorfI or my baby would I was at the end of my strengthand
survive, and,indeed,it was a miracle

that we both emergedstrong and healthy" (CV 127).

254

the echoandharking imageof former and former seas.
(PI 124-25)
Annabel genuinelyloves the baby. Sheis a woman and a mother,
and in the processof becomingwhat shehasyet to invent for
herself.
The novel doesnot tell if Annabel could perform any part
of her own, if shecould invent herself. Like her baby,Annabel
hasonly possibilities andpotentialities: it is her new beginning.
The subtle changein the expressionof her feeling, "neither free
nor unfree" to "both free andunfree," may add a little light to it.
Sheis a professionalactress,a star,but in the last scene,
abandoningthe "Lady Tiger" role, shestandsunrecognised,asa
little nobody. In terms of art - the art of inventing herself asher
own art object- shemakesa contrastwith Miss Brodie and
Alexandra, who areno professionalactressesb, ut greatheroines
both in their lives and in their arts. Sparkbrings the
inseparability of life and art to its extremesin thesetwo figures.

255

CHAPTER VII

INVENTING TBEMSELVES

"Sandy was fascinatedby this method of making patterns with

facts..."

- ThePrime of Miss JeanBrodie

The Paradox of Miss Jean Brodie in Her Prime
Among all novelsby Muriel Spark, ThePrime ofMiss Jean
Brodie and The,4bbessofCrewe arethe only novels namedafter
their heroines.92 Both novels havebeenadaptedfor the cinema,
madeinto a film - and in the caseof ThePrime ofMiss Jean
Brodie, an adaptationfor the screenfollowed on an adaptationfor
the stage. Not only arethe eponymousheroinesthe starsof
thesespectaclesb, ut also"The Prime of Miss JeanBrodie" and
"The Abbessof Crewe" aretheir own plays, which they makeout
of their lives. Apart from the magnetismof their visual presence
asperformers,their arts areso different that the two works form a
vivid contraston the themeof practicing art in life, for which
Spark alsodiscoveredan inspiring real-life example:Emily

"I must admit that thereis a male characterwho plays the "title-role": Spark's
secondnovel, Robinson(1958). However,of course,this novel as"a kind of
adventurestory" (CV210) refersto the genreof Robinsonade. "Robinson" is also
the nameof the island in which the story is set,andwhich is contrived to representa
mental topographyof isolatedindividuals. I differentiate this novel from Miss
Jean Brodie and TheAbbessnot for convenience,but for the whole point of the
latter novels: how eachof the heroinescanbe unmistakablyJeanBrodie and the
AbbessAlexandra.

256

Bronte 93 In inventing her characters who practice art in lif e, her
.

imagination seemsto have flourished over the figure of Emily,

who looked as if she "had consciously laid out the plot of her life

in a play called Emily Bronte" (EB 314). Her remarkable

analysis of Emily Bronta, which illustrates how the excessof the

legendary genius had taken a dramatic shape of real-life spectacle,

in turn,, has taken various shapesin her novels. By her art of

fiction, Spark has had Miss Brodie and Alexandra stage their

spectacles, suitably dramatic representations of the excessmade

visible in the field of art - and of art itself as excess. Spark's
vision of excessin tenns of art seemsto have a significant place

in her fiction, from which she sets out to realise a possibility of

the individual subjectivity - through the paradox of Miss Brodie
in her prime to the defense- plus Confileor - of Alexandra.

In ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie, by the economyof her art,
Sparkpresentsher heroine in romantic attire. Miss Brodie has a
passionfor overtly emotional,romantic artworks - from TheLady
ofShalott to her self-image;a far cry from Emily Bronta's or
Spark's radical high fiction. Her almostna*fvepassionassuch
nonethelessis expedient,for it effectively impressesher audience,
girls of an impressionableage,andenhancesher dramatic
appearanceasher own work of art. Besides,Miss Brodie hasher
veritable associationwith the Romantics:their tendencyto enact
principles in their works, which "amountedto beliefs so

11As to Spark's argumenton the Emily figure, seethe section,"Suggestively
Possible:Behind the Legend," in Chapter11.

257

passionatelyheld, that it seemednecessaryto prove them to others
by putting them to the test of action" (EB 249). Miss Brodie
who enactsher principles of larger-than-life heroineand elects
"herself to gracein so particular a way and with more exotic
suicidal enchantmenf' (PMJB 97) doesnot fall short of the figure
of Emily, who enactedthe cult of superhumanassheenduredher
last illness in a heroic but suicidal way. Miss Brodie invents
herself on the principles of no ordinary excess,to the point of
destruction,t,o the point of absurdity- and so comesthe end for
the prime of Miss JeanBrodie, aswell asfor the life of Emily
Bronte.

The "Prime" of Miss Brodie canbe well translatedinto the
"originality" of her art. The ephemeralnature of being in one's
prime and of being original is both a possibility and a limit.
Spark's autobiographytells how sheherself worked on this
possibility in creatingMiss Brodie and alsorefers to the limit on
the part of her character. Talking aboutMiss ChristinaKay who
hasbeenwell known asthe original Miss Brodie, Sparkdoes
credit to her originality asa teacher,asa soleperformer in a
classroom,which is "essentially theatre" (CV 57). Sparkfrankly
admitsthat Miss Kay's quality asan excellentteacher/performer
enteredinto her fictional characterand enrichedit with some
details. Yet, shealsostatesthat "Miss Kay wasnothing like
Miss Brodie":

But children are quick to perceivepossibilities,
potentialities: in a remark,perhapsin someremotecontext;
in a glance,a smile. No, Miss Kay was not literally Miss

258

Brodie.,but I think Miss Kay had it in her,unrealized,to be
the characterI invented. (CV57)
Sparkbuilt up "the character"on "possibilities, potentialities" she
had perceivedin Miss Kay. Her creationis what Miss Kay could
havebeenand- exactly becauseit is thepossibility - what she
was not. Miss Kay was neverthis charactercalledMiss Brodie,
in whom Spark's creativeimagination carriedthis possibility into
effect. The characterasthe effect is no copy of Miss Kay, or of
anybodyelse- but original Miss Brodie.
There canbe always a new beginning, a possibility to create
somethingoriginal - different evenfrom its "origin" - but onehas
to keepbeginning. This is why Sparkassuresher readersthat
none of Miss Kay's former pupils has failed to recognisetheir
adoredteacher"in the shapeof Miss Brodie in herprime" (CV 57
[my italics]). Despiteher tastefor a ratherunoriginal art, Miss
Brodie makesherself her own original work of art - and an
original individual: Miss Brodie in her prime. However, at the
end, shetakesher prime asan absolutestateof being, insteadof a
seriesof activities in her practice of art and in her life. Moreover,
in the pursuit of her own originality, paradoxically,shecomesto
try to producea copy of her self-image.
It is the excessproper to the great-heroineprinciples that
makesMiss Brodie move from her grandeurto her absurdity. So
original is shethat sheestablishesan institution of original
individuals, basedon her originality. Shenot only turnsherself
into a greatheroinestandingabovecommonnobodies,but also
encouragesher pupils to becomeheroines- "original" like

259

herself Above all, sheelectssix girls to "the Brodie set." Each
of them,,showing some"originality, " is famousfor something-
suchasgymnasticability, sex,extremelytiny eyes,andeven,
stupidity (the Brodie set is no elitist group by any conventional
standard). The girls benefit by Miss Brodie's excessin a shape
of art, in a shapeof pleasure,asit transfiguresan ordinary life into
an extraordinarydrama. Becausethey areMiss Brodie's girls,
they becomespecial:entitled to a more exciting andmore
exhilarating schoollife than any other girl's and destinedto form
"one big Miss Brodie" (PMJB 91)- or to be her little copies.

Sparkoncesaid of her heroine,"completely unrealised
potentialities - that's what JeanBrodie represents"(1-3,1970,
411). JeanBrodie is not only Spark's characterbuilt up on the
unrealisedpossibility but alsothe characterwho builds up herself
on her "unrealisedpotentialities." Shepracticesher art in life to
realiseher unrealisedpotentialities- unrealised,alsoin a sense
that sheherself is unawareof - by instinct and insight. Sheacts
more andmore on this effect over the girls - andherselfunderthis
effect - to the extentthat they look predestinedto realiseher
unrealisedpotentialities. This, most lucidly, appearsin her
desirefor seeingher possibility to be a greatlover in one of her
girls, RoseStanley,whom sheassignsto be "a girl of instinct."
Similarly, sheassignsSandyStrangerto be "a girl of insight,"
who is expectedto inform her aboutRose's accomplishmentin
her role. Miss Brodie declares,"my prime hasbrought me
instinct and insight, both" (PMJB 95), for thesegirls arehet-s.

Here arisesthe controversysurroundingSpark's heroine.

260

Miss Brodie hasbeenoften comparedto ajustified sinner(she
electsherselfto an object of art, a larger-than-life heroine) and
evento the God of Calvin Himself (sheelectsher girls aswell to
their fate to be hers in practicing her art). The irony is that the

generalconcernwith ThePritne ofMiss Jean Brodie hasbeento
judge Miss Brodie in the light of innocentand guilty, right and

wrong, or good andevil while her popularity hasjustified her as a

delightful work of art.94 The moral concem with the

controversialheroinehasnot much changedsincecriticisms in the
1970s. Thosecriticisms, more or less,repeatthe argument
constructedin the novel itself and also follow the view of Sandy
Stranger,who is the most significant observerof Miss Brodie and
her betrayer. The critics seemto have fallen into the same

defectivevision asSandy'sthough they acknowledgethat they
cannottrust Sandy- "with her tiny eyeswhich it was astonishing
that anyonecould trust" (PMJB 89). However, a more

contemporarytheory might catchup with the significanceof what
this avant-gardeartist startedin her 1961novel, including her
argumentin the field of ethics.

" For instance,David Lodge, ponderingover whether sheis "a good teacheror a
bad teacher", or "a good woman or a bad woman" (Lodge 161), explainshow Miss
Brodie "misappliesa private fiction" and "turns it into a myth" (Lodge 170). In
shorý her unawarenessmixes up somethingfalse with somethingabsolute. In this
regard,he comparesthe heroinewith her creatorto suggestthat JeanBrodie's
assumingthe God-like omniscienceis "dangerous", but that of the author,who can
tell a humanplot from the divine plot, is "useful" (Lodge 170). He concludesthat
Miss Brodie is "a dangerouslyinnocentone": "dangerousandvolatile because
ignorant of real good and evil" (Lodge 171). In his skillful book,Muriel Spark,
PeterKemp too concedesthat Sparkhad to face the problem, asMiss Brodie's girls
did: "Attempting authorshipin ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie, SandyandJenny
were saidto be facedwith the problem of presentingtheir teacherin both a
favourble andunfavourablelight" (Kemp, 1974,92).

261

JoanCopJec,through her reading of Lacan, comesup with
an important suggestionat the end of ReadMy Desire: "Another
logic of the superegomust commence"for "an ethicsproperto the

woman" (Copjec, 1994,236). In searchof a new theory of
sexualdifference,Copjecmeticulously examinesLacan's
forinulas of sexuation95to demonstratehow Lacanhasexposed
the failures of languageto representthe existenceof both women
and men on a different basis.16 Shetakesnotice of the analogy
between"the Kantian accountof the dynamical antinomiesand

the Lacanianaccountof the male antinomies" asthey "both align

themselveswith the psychoanalyticaldescriptionof the superego"
(CopJec,1994,235). What shepoints out by this, in short,is a
kind of sophistry,which makesa conceptof a thing - suchasthe
world,,the male subject,andthe superego- possibleat the
expenseof its existence.

15A translationof this usedby Copjecis asfollows: The male sideof the formulas-
"There is at leastonex that is not submittedto the phallic function" / "All x's are
(everyx is) submittedto the phallic function"; The female side- "There is not onex
that is not submittedto the phallic function" / "Not all (not every)x is submittedto
the phallic functioif ' (Copjec, 1994,214).
96Copjec startswith "The FemaleSide: MathematicalFailure," in which she
demonstratesthe mode of logic in terms of the mathematicalantinomiesfirst given
by Kant andhow it is applied to discusswomen (comparedto phenomenaof the
world and signifiers themselves). Then shemoves on to "The Male Side:
Dynamical Failure" to reveal the othermode of logic that illegitimately affirms the
existenceof men. Sheinterpretsthe impossibility to signify woman asthe whole
conceptinto the lack of a limit, endlessdifferencesof its being that escapesthe
systemof signification within the system:the failure of "ajudgment of existence"
(Copjec, 1994,225). Although shefaithfully returnsto Lacanianterm, the Other,
to say that "the woman is a product of a 'symbolic without an Other"; "She, or the
symbolic that constructsher, is fraught with inconsistencies"(Copjec, 1994,227),
sheseemsto find this failure concerningthe femaleside lessnegativethanthe
prohibition to the existenceof men. The whole conceptof man is madepossible
by imposing a limit that excludesinconsistentand heterogeneousphenomena,that is,
includeseverything "exceptbeing" (CopJec,1994,231). The male subject,in short,
is a big fraud: "the universeof men7'is "an illusion fomentedby aprohibition"
(Copjec, 1994,235).

262

To elucidatethe phrase,"a fearful object of which we
actually haveno fear," Copjeccites from Immanuel Kant, from
his TheCritique ofJudgment:

He meansthat from our position in the phenomenalworld,
we can formulate only thepossibility of this terrible force
andnot its existence,just aswe can formulate only the
possibility andnot the existenceof God, freedom,the soul.
This possibility of a realm beyond,unlimited by our
phenomenalconditions,is precisely dependenton the
foreclosureof thejudgment of existence.
(Copjec, 1994,236)

Shearguesthat the prohibitive father figure of the superego
elevatesitself to "this possibility of a realm beyond" in the same
way. This unfigurable figure at oncerules andescapesfrom the
systemof signification: "it merely imposesa limit that makes
everything we do and say seemasnaughtcomparedto what we
cannof' (CopJec, 1994,236). The logic of the superego-
denotingthe prohibition to men andthe impossibility to women -
works to maintain the assumptionof the existenceof the male
subjectby imposing a limit, whereasit excludeswoman from this
limited universeof the possible. Sincethis logic hasbeenled to
"the notorious argumentthat presentswoman asconstitutionally
indisposedto developinga superegoandthus susceptibleto an
ethical laxity" (CopJec,1994,236), thereneedsto be a new logic.

As if to foreseedevelopmentsof currenttheoriesdecades
before, Sparkhaslong developedher own theory of individual
difference- ratherthan sexualdifference- for a new ethicsproper

263

to any individual. In termsof demythologisingand subverting
the logic establishedon the psychoanalyticalaccountof the
superego,Miss Brodie is oneof the bestexamplesamongher
characters. The artist knows no failure of representation.
Besides,sheis a brilliant logician. One of Spark's charactersin
Not to Disturb points out, "When you saya thing is not
impossible,that isn't quite asif to say it's possible"; "Only
technically is the not impossible,possible," and anotherreplies,
"We arenot discussingpossibilities today" (ND 203). Nor is
Spark. Shereturnsher version of superegofigure to the world of
phenomena- the artist's own systemof signification - by setting
a symbolical time and a symbolical place. Representing
unrealisedpossibilities andpotentialities,Miss Brodie existsin
her prime, on her stage.

Sparkdragsthe unfigurable figure that is supposedto
signify the unfigurable into the field of vision, most notably, in the
figure of Lise, the heroine of TheDriver's Seat. Lise represents
the domainof the unconscious,the unknown desire,the
inaccessibleOther in her attemptto createher masternarrative,in
her deathdrive, and endsup a simulacrum. Although Miss
Brodie too displaysthis dangerousside of excess,self-destruction,
which Sparkpursuesin TheDriver's Seat,this novel herefocuses
on "the prime" of Miss Brodie, the realisedpossibility in excessof
life - in art practicedin life. With her unawareantinomianism
andher excess,the figure of Miss Brodie apparentlyaligned
herself with the superego. Shehasnothing but her belief in her
excessiveprinciples to authoriseherself, and still, shehassucha

264

greatinfluence over the girls that "her actionswere outsidethe
context of right andwrong" (PMJB 77). Miss Brodie in her
prime, unlike the inaccessiblefigure of Lise asa simulacrum,
elevatesherself to an object of art asher own original creation,the
larger-than-lifeheroineto whom no moral laws apply.
Furthermore,(not unlike the "lack of moral concern" of Proust's
writings) "an excessivelack of guilt" of Miss Brodie - asher own
artwork - is saidto have "the side-effects"that are"exhilarating"
(PMJB 77) to her girls.

What is really radical about ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie
is the artist's attemptto changethe way of looking at people,life,
the world, ratherthan the controversysurroundingthe
"dangerous"Miss Brodie. In this novel Spark introducesthe
figure of the performer,an individual aseffects and an artwork on
the surface. For this idea, shedevelopson the essenceof the
individual, Miss Kay who was "the ideal dramatic instructor," but
"never actedat all" (C V 57), and integratesit into the broader
view of what makeseachindividual. Sheprovides a formation
of individual -a possibleversion of a natural performer- in a
dynamicsof uncalculatedeffects;Miss Brodie produces,
perceives,andrespondsto herself assucheffects. Through the
figure of this heroine,Sparkcriticises the ineffectivenessof
judgment accordingto good and evil, and opensup a new
dimension,namely,that of art, in the field of ethics. What she
offers is the way of seeingthings, aswell as art in the light of
intelligence and absurdity.97

11Sparkstatesthis clearly in one interview: I don't believe in good andevil so

265

That ThePrime ofMiss JeanBrodie asa radical experiment
hasbeenlargely overlookedby no meansinvalidatesSpark's
careful devicein the making of her most popular heroine,who is
to appealto intelligence- not to emotionscalled "profundity" -
and alsoto give "pleasures"shementionsasfollows:

I don't write very emotionalnovels but in describing
emotionsI tried to get acrossthe pleasuresof childhood
especially,andthis extraordinaryschool1went to.
(1-11,1998,229)

In ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie, sheproducedall the
"pleasures"shetalks abouthere,andthey haveobviously
entertainedher readers. Nonetheless,whetherthe novel would
appealto intelligence or not, after all, had to rest with her reader's
intelligence. It is useful to take a look at one of Spark's earlier
experimentsto reconsiderthe performer figure of Miss Brodie as
a greatinvention to get across"the pleasures"without making the
book an"emotional novel." Sparkhasbeenalways clear about
her aim in eachexperimentandhasgot her economyto develop
on any previous experimentin inventing a new one.

By the time when Sparkwrote ThePrime ofMiss Jean
Brodie, shehad rapidly and energeticallyproducedfive novels,
eachof them asa new experiment,for no more than severalyears.
In terms of the themeof practitionersof art in life, TheBallad of

much any more. No onemakespactswith the Devil, asthey did in the Middle
Ages. Now, thereis only absurdity and intelligence. I'm surethat whoeverwas
responsiblefor that massacrein Bel Air hadno senseof actually doing evil, but
ratherthey were vindicating somethingwhich was preciousto themselves. They
had a codewhich they were vindicating. If we are intelligent, we will call it
absurd" (1-5,1970,8).

266

Peck-hamRye(1960) might be the most interestingand,though
seemingunlikely, most relevantto ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie.
In TheBallad ofPeckham Rye,Sparkexploredher way of
employing the schemeof the nouveauroman:

What I loved aboutRobbe-Grillet -I tried it of coursein
TheBallad ofPeckham Rye andI think it cameoff - he
would write a book without oncesaying "he or she
thought"or "he or shefelt." Thoughtsand feelingsnot
mentionedbut they arethere:he mentionedonly what they
said anddid.... It hasa strangeatmosphericeffect.
With TheBallad ofPeckham RyeI never oncemention
thoughtsand feelings, only what peoplesayand do.
(1-11,1998,216)

In addition to the effect of this scheme,shematerialisedthe effect
of art through a strangelyproteancharacter,Dougal Douglas,who
functions to disturb the community of PeckhamRye andexpose
its residentsasthey are. He is catalytic in essencel,ike an
embodimentof a "demon" inside an artist, asFleur Talbot, tile
artist-heroineof Loitering with Intent, calls it: "a demoninside me
that rejoiced in seeingpeopleasthey were" (LI 12).

Sparkdevelopedand combinedthe two effects- aesthetic
(the nouveauroman scheme)andthematic (aboutthe effect of art
itself) - in the spectacleof Miss Brodie. Everything that is Miss
Brodie is on the surface;what shesaysand what shedoes,and its
effect, makeMiss Brodie:

And it was not a staticMiss Brodie who told her girls,
"Thesearethe yearsof my prime. You arebenefiting by

267

my prime", but onewhosenaturewas growing undertheir
eyes,asthe girls themselveswere under formation. It
extended.t,his prime of Miss Brodie's, still in the making
when the girls were well on in their teens. And the
principles governingthe end of her prime would have
astonishedherself at the beginning of it. (PMJB 42)
Unlike Dougal Douglas,who is the elusive, somewhat
supernatural,demon-likefigure, Miss Brodie is a concrete,
individual woman in the making. Sheis "growing," changing,
but not in sucha symbolically literal way asDougal Douglas
"'changedhis shape"(BPR 518), his part to play (or evenhis name
to DouglasDougal). And also,unlike him, what this woman
rejoicesin seeingis not peopleasthey are,but herself assheis -
assheappearson the surface.
Sparkemploysan acrobatictime shift, inserting
flashforwardsof different points of future into the presentof the
girls' schooldayswith Miss Brodie; her effect on girls andherself
asthe effect unfolds, interacting, growing, merging togetherin the
making of the heroine. Seemingrather contrived at first glance,
this time shift is essentialandtrue to the title: the novel is about
Miss Brodie performing in the presenttensein her own on-going
show,"The Prime of Miss JeanBrodie." Thoseflashforwards,in
which sheis pasther prime, "off stage", and alreadyended,are
thrown into like asidesof her girls, and in effect, do not breakthe
flow of the show. The flashforwardsemphasisethe lack of
distinction betweenher performanceandher life, andher figure as
the uncalculatedeffect. To constructthe rise and fall of the

268

heroine,its causeand effect - andthe authordoesnot think that
chronology is causality,anyway- or a balancedview of her is not
the primary concernof the novel. Nonetheless,the time shift
efficiently works to integratethe argumentasto judging Miss
Brodie, with the girls who areinside the show andalsoher
original audience. Among them, the narrative voice mainly
refers to thoughtsof SandyStranger,who forms andchangesher
view of Miss Brodie, respondingto her changingeffect.

Sandy'sfutile combatagainstMiss Brodie in termsof art is
the vital structureof this novel. From the outset,while Miss
Brodie castsher girls in her real-life scenario,SandyandJenny
also castandrecasttheir teacher,andwrite "the true love story of
Miss JeanBrodie" (PMJB 40). Outsidethe secretcollaboration
with Jenny,Sandykeepsobserving,analysing,spying on her
teacher. Shehasher own world of stories,largely learnedfrom
Miss Brodie, and in her mind sheplays the part of the great
heroine,largely mimicking Miss Brodie. Above all, like an
apprenticeartist, shestudiesher teacher'seconomyof art, and
later, fmds a similar method of an art teacher,Mr Lloyd, who
cannotpaint anybody's portrait without making his subjectlook
like Miss Brodie:

Sandywas fascinatedby the economyof TeddyLloyd's
method,asshehad beenfour yearsearlier by Miss
Brodie's variations on her love story,when shehad
attachedto her first, war-time lover the attributesof the art
masterand the singing masterwho had then newly entered
her orbit.... the most economicalwas the best ... the

269

most expedientandmost suitableat the time for all the
objectsin hand. Sandyactedon this principle when the
time camefor her to betrayMiss Brodie. (PMJB 90)
Sandyis fascinatedby Miss Brodie's "method of making patterns
with facts" (PMJB 66) when her life story andher performance
bloom with new elements:Mr Lloyd andMr Lowther, the singing
master. In fact.,Mr Lloyd becomesMiss Brodie's renounced
love, for he is married, a Catholic with his wife andmany children,
whereasshestartsan affair with Mr Lowther, a shy bachelorwho
wants to have a cosymarried life, which shedoesnot want.
The changein Miss Brodie's practice of her art, which is
accompaniedby the changein Sandy'sview of her, is signified by
the developmentof Miss Brodie's love story, which is juxtaposed
with the sex "research"by SandyandJenny. In addition to Miss
Brodie asthe main subjectof their research,a wonderful
policewoman,who questionedJennywhen shewas ffightened by
a man exposinghimself, entersinto Sandy'sworld of stories.
Sandyenjoysimagining herself asa right-hand woman to this
policewomanin the investigation of Miss Brodie's affair. The
new developmentsin Miss Brodie's story and in her own fantasy
lead Sandyto be "divided betweenher admiration for the
technique[Miss Brodie's economyof art] andthe pressingneedto
prove Miss Brodie guilty of misconduct" (PMJB 66). Her
ambivalencetowardsthe teachertakesthis new shapeof conflict.
This is aboutthe time when Sandyperceivesan "unfinished
quality aboutMiss Brodie" (PMJB 65), who beginsto show signs
of a further developmentof her real life scenario- especially,the

270

sign of seeingherself in Rose. It is alsothe time when both
SandyandJennygrow out of seeingeverything in the sexual
context,out of the interestin sex asa pure phenomenon:"it was
now rather a questionof plumbing the deepheart's core" (PMJB
72).

SandypersuadesJennynot to tell their teacherthe incident
of the man exposinghimself - perhaps,fearing that her teacher
might perceiveher perception,which hasresultedin her
policewoman-fantasyof exposingJeanBrodie affair. Sandyis
now interestedin investigatingMiss Brodie's "deepheart's core,"
finding out her secret,secretly. As "a girl of insight," in spite of
her attemptto contradictMiss Brodie's scenarioby taking over
Rose'spart to be Mr Lloyd's lover, sheimprovesher "original"
part to be "an excellent SecretServiceagent,a greatspy" (PMJB
97), asMiss Brodie predicts. Insteadof seeingMiss Brodie as
effects,looking for a causeof this woman, shealsoturns into an
amateurpsychologist. Shefinds that "many theoriesfrom the
books of psychology categorizedMiss Brodie" (PMJB 105)- this,
mentionedasif the author fendedoff suchcategorisation. Sandy
comparesMiss Brodie to the God of Calvin, makesher a caseof
psychoanalysis,andputs her into the context of right andwrong -
to find out nothing. Rather,sheblinds herself:

It was twenty-five yearsbefore Sandyhad so far recovered
from a creepingvision of disorderthat shecould look back
andrecognizethat Miss Brodie's defectivesenseof self-
criticism had not beenwithout its beneficentandenlarging
effects;by which time Sandyhad alreadybetrayedMiss

271

Brodie andMiss Brodie was laid in her grave. (PMJB 77)
After all, in later years,when defeatedMiss Brodie confidesin
Sandy,sherevealsnothing that her spy andbetrayerhasnot yet
known or seen.

Sandymay well bejealous of the uncalculatedeffect Miss
Brodie can achieve,asFrederick is exasperatedby the similar
effect Annabel- anothernatural performer- achievesin The
Public Image. Sandy'sbetrayal is much smarter- andnastier-
than the suicideplot of Annabel'sjealous husband:sheagain
mimics Miss Brodie, the economyof her art, to "put a stopto
Miss Brodie" (PMJB 109). Sandyusesthe fact informed by
Miss Brodie herself. "sometimesI regrettedurging young Joyce
Emily to go to Spainto fight for Franco,shewould have done
admirably for him" (PMJB 108). The girl tried to practicethe
idea, andon her way to Spain,shewas killed in the train when it
was attacked. Sandyknows that her teacher'sinfatuation with
Fascismis merely an absurdextensionof her romantic vision, but
shegoesto Miss Mackay, the conventionalheadmistressw, ho has
cravedfor any information to get rid of radical Miss Brodie.
Sandytells her that Miss Brodie teachesFascism. Miss Brodie is
defeated.h, er prime ends.

Does Sandycongratulateherself on the economyof her
method in the betrayal? Mr Lloyd, not knowing her final
betrayal,but being awareof how shehad inducedhim to take her,
insteadof Rose,congratulatedher on the economyof her counter
plot againstMiss Brodie's. Thinking of this art master,whose
((canvaseson which shehad failed to put a stopto Miss Brodie"

272

(PMJB 109),sheconcludes,"if he knew aboutmy stoppingof
Miss Brodie, he would think me more economicalstill," and is
"more fuming, now, with Christianmorals, than JohnKnox"
(PMJB 109). This echoesSpark's Proust essay,which criticises
"Christian creativewriting" for its "attempt to combatmaterialism,
[which] reflects a materialism of its own," its own "dualistic
attitudetowardsmatter andspirit" dueto the moral concern.
Sandyjudged andbetrayedMiss Brodie by draggingher into the
context of right andwrong. Sandydid so by placing herself
outsideof the context of right andwrong, which waswhat Miss
Brodie's uncalculatedeffect had achievedandwasthe very cause
of Sandy'sbetrayal. As if to cometo termswith her own
contradiction,Sandyentersthe Catholic Church, andbecomes
SisterHelena,famousfor "her odd psychologicaltreatiseon the
natureof moral perception,called 'The Transfigurationof
Commonplace"':

Sheclutchedthe barsof the grille as if shewantedto
escapefrom the dim parlour beyond .... Sandyalways
leanedforward andpeered,clutching the barswith both
hands,andthe other sistersremarkedit and saidthat Sister
Helenahad too much to bear from the world sinceshehad
publishedher psychologicalbook which was so
unexpectedlyfamed. (PMJB 36)
Sandy'spracticeof art in life doesnot take her anywherebut
behind the barsof confinement.
"Tbe Transfigurationof Commonplace"is, indeed,Miss
Brodie.,and alsowhat shedoesfor her girls. Sheis a liberating

273

work of art. Shehasher art to invent herself The narratortells
that "It is not to be supposedthat Miss Brodie was unique at this
point of her prime" (PMJB 41), that sheis just one of well-learned
spinsters,"great talkers and feminists" (PBJB 42), in 1930s
Edinburgh. However, shedoesnot compromiseon common
options for the "war-bereavedspinsterhood"(PMJB 41). She
becomesunmistakablyJeanBrodie, by taking a risk, choosinga
traditional school like Marcia Blaine's, rather thanprogressive
schoolswhich would havebeensuitablefor her kind, fighting all
the way through. As well asfighting againstMiss Mackay,Miss
Brodie - "always a figure of glamorousactivity" (PMJB 99) - on
stage,grandly and gracefully, treadson her colleaguessuchasthe
appropriatelygauntMiss Gauntandthe two sewingsisterswho
represent"the effect of grim realism" (PMJB 54). Sheis an
artist, "a changerof actuality into somethingelse" ("DN' 33), in
Spark's words. Jennytestifies, "she was always so full of fight"
(PMJBIIO). Even Mary Macgregor,a scapegoatinside and
outsidethe Brodie set (assheis "famous" for her stupidity),
recalls her yearswith Miss Brodie asthe happiesttime that has
"nothing to do with the ordinary world" (PMJB19) in her
disappointinglife.

Miss Brodie gives the girls their own peculiar andbeautiful
Edinburgh evolving aroundher - different from "other people's
Edinburgbs" (PMJB 34) - aswell asherself in her prime: the
woman assheis andthe woman Sandyseesat times:

Sandyfelt warmly towardsMiss Brodie at those
times when shesawhow shewas misled in her idea of

274

Rose. It was then that Miss Brodie looked beautiful and
fragile,just asdark heavyEdinburgh itself could suddenly
be changedinto floating city when the light was a special
pearly white and fell upon one of the gracefully fashioned
streets. In the sameway Miss Brodie's masterful features
becameclear and sweetto Sandywhen viewed in the
curiouslight of the woman's folly, and shenever felt more
affection for her in her later yearsthan when shethought
uponMiss Brodie assilly. (PMJB 98)
"Can't you seeshe'sridiculous?" (PMJB 107)- Sandyonce
naggedat the art master,andhe admittedthat he could seethat she
was ridiculous. Now, it is Sandywho must admit that shecould
seethat shewas ridiculous - andbeautiful.
Sandy's"art" basedon her cold-heartedlogic is symbolised
andsummedup in "her odd psychological treatiseon the natureof
moral perception," which is what shecanmake of "the
transfiguration of commonplace"practicedandrepresentedby
Miss Brodie. Unlike her teacher,shecanmakeneither a great
heroinenor an artist, not evena passionateart-lover. Sheends
up a nun clutching the barsof the grille, that is all shecaninvent
for herself. When Jenny,at her visit to the convent,mentions
Miss Brodie as"sinner ..... Oh, shewas quite an innocentin her
way,' said Sandy,clutching the barsof the grille" (PMJB I 11).
Miss Brodie's innocenceprovesto be dangerousto herself
becausesheis ignorant of herjealous enemywithin, Sandythe
betrayer. As for Sandy,shedefendsherself very well againstthe
chargeof betrayal:"It's only possibleto betray where loyalty is

275

due" (PMJB I 11). Nevertheless,the defeatof Miss Brodie and
Sandy's confinementtell the ineffective effects of Sandy's"art."

Apart from Sandy'sbetrayal,this seemsto be the reasonwhy the
prime of Miss Brodie must go. In "The Desegregationof Art, "
Sparktalks abouta "socially-consciousart," which represents"the
victim-oppressorcomplex" and involves its audienceemotionally,
arousing"the sympathiesandthe indignatiotf'("DX' 34). She
arguesagainstthe catharticeffect of this kind of art, which makes
the audienceeither "more determinedthan everto be the overdog"
or engrossedin "the heroic role of the victim" - "a cult of the
victim" ("DA 35"). Even if the art is donebrilliantly, she
suggests:

we haveto give up someof the good manifestationsof art.
Goodthings, when they begin no longer to apply, alsomust
go. They must go before they turn bad on us. There is
no more beautiful action than the sacrifice of goodthings at
the intelligent seasonandby intelligent methods.
("DA" 34).
ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie is Spark's exampleof the effective
art "at the intelligent seasonandby intelligent methods". The
charismaticteacherwith her little fascisti comparedboth to
Mussolini and a Girl Guidesmistresscausesa senseof absurdity,
rather thanpublic indignation at her tyranny. Her defeatcausesa
kind of disappointmentat the endof a show,ratherthan sympathy.
As for Miss Brodie's socially unconsciousart, for all its effect, it
beginsno longer to apply, sinceher "passionatelyheld belief '-

276

"Belief is not intellectual" (I- 10,1985,446) - pushesher to
absurdity. For the sakeof intelligence, "Ibe Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie" must go eventhough "It was a good prime" (PMJB 52).
Spark, congratulatingherself on her success,hassimply repeated
that shegot boredwith Miss Brodie. However, the creationof
Alexandra the Abbessmight be a kind of reply - if not reprisal-
to Sandy'smoralisticjudgment of Miss Brodie in her prime.
Delightftilly and delightedly styling herself ajustified sinner,the
Abbessis not innocentin the way Miss Brodie is, and is too happy
with her convent- her stageandher creation- to clutch the bars
of the grille.

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"Think up your bestscenarios,Sisters".
- TheAbbessof Crewe

"A Paradox You Live with"
In TheAbbessof Crewe,for its epigraph,Spark citesfrom
"Nineteen Hundred andNineteen" by W. B. Yeats:

Comelet us mock at the great

Mock mockersafter that
That would not lift a handmaybe
To help good, wise or great
To bar that foul storm out, for we
Traffic in mockery.
Here, it may be also fitting to cite Spark's words concerning
"traffic in mockery" from "The Desegregationof ArC':

If someonederidesme,,I don't like it. But at leastI
canbegin to understandthe mentality of mocker. I can
mock back in sucha way that he might understandmine.
And so theremay be room for a mutual understanding.
But if he slides a knife betweenmy ribs I'm unlikely to
understandanything at all any more. ("DA" 35)
Therefore,,we needthe art of ridicule. Through TheAbbessof
Crewe, Sparkdemonstratesandproveshow deadlyand effective
this honourableweaponis. And so doesher heroineby the play
shewrites, directs,edits, and starsin.
Writing TheAbbesso. f Crewe,apparently,Spark"had some
fun with" transfonning the Watergateepisodeinto "a nun's

278

quarrel over a thimble" (1-10,1985,444). Yet, sheclaims that
the figure of Alexandra haslittle to do with Nixon,
understandably,for her heroineis electednot only to be the new
Abbessof Crewe,but alsoto carry out an artist's task. Spark
told her interviewer, "Nixon was very foolish in his handling of
the thing, trying to cover it up andthen all thosetapesthat came
out - it was too hilarious for words" (I- 10,1985,444). Then she
put it all into her words in her hilarious novel to show off how a
good artist canmake a real spectacleof "a nun's quarrelover
thimble." ShesentAlexandra to carry out the artist's task: "To
bring abouta mental environmentof honestyandself-knowledge,
a senseof the absurdand a generallooking-lovely to defend
ourselvesfrom the ridiculous oppressionsof our time, and above
all to entertainus in the process"("DA" 36-37). TheAbbessof
Crewe,asclearas"The Desegregationof Art, " is her manifesto in
a fictional form.

The Abbey of Crewescandalstartswith a conspicuously
trivial incident shortly beforethe election for the Abbess.
Alexandra, "who brought to the community no dowry but her
noble birth and shrewdspirit" (AC 264), and of whom late Abbess
Hildegarde approved,and SisterFelicity, whosehope is to make
"a love-Abbey" (AC 268) with her Jesuitlover, arethe candidates.
Alexandra hasno doubt that sheis to be the Abbess,which is her
vocation. Nonetheless,shefeastsherself upon "secref'
operationsfor the election with her two reliable associatesS, ister
Walburga,the Prioress,and SisterMildred, the Novice Mistress.
Useful andstupid SisterWinifrede andtwo Jesuitsserveher

279

purpose,too. The Jesuitssenda couple of their youngmen to
stealFelicity's love-letters,andthey stealher thimble instead.
As Felicity fussesover the theft of her thimble, this "scandal"
draws somuch attentionfrom the pressand the public that
Alexandra is amazedand amused. In the end shesucceedsin
being electedthe Abbess.

The figure of Alexandra emergesfrom somecuriousblend
of the figures of Mss Brodie and SandyStranger,or rather,fills in
the void of "mutual understanding"betweenthem. Spark,who
can createher characteron the possibilities andpotentialities of an
actualperson,might aswell createanotheron thoseof her own
fictional character. It is Sandywho seemsto havesome
possibilities, potentialities, to be Alexandra-though they must
havebeenenlargeda greatdealto the grand andnoble Abbess;
nobody would dreamof calling Alexandra by its diminutive,
Sandy. With her skill in logic andher tastein spying, Sandy
could have climbed up the hierarchical order of nunsto the
tyrannical Abbess. Alexandra's commandof languageis
characterisedby her powersof logic - evenmore ruthlessand
colder than Sandy's- which, however,melt into her passionfor
poetry. In addition to this, Alexandrahas Sister Gertrude- "my
devout logician" (4C 304) - asher consultantandher foe, who is
herself in line with the Sandyfigure. For spying aswell,
Alexandra hasher much advancedintelligence: her entourageand
her modem electronic equipmentfor bugging, tapping andtaping
the Abbey. Her spirit is = neitherpetty nor mean- much
shrewderandmore ruthlessthan Sandy's. Nevertheless,if

280

Sandyhad Alexandra's honourableweaponof ridicule, sheneed
not have "assassinated"Miss Brodie ("If the authoritieswantedto
get rid of her shewould haveto be assassinated"(PMJB 15)).

Alexandra's associationwith Miss Brodie is a simple fact
that eachof them is a performer, an artist and an object of art.
As her own original work of art, Miss Brodie cannotbe more
different from Alexandra- evenan extremeoppositein terms of
the author's view of the effective art. (A faint reminder of the
romantic Miss Brodie canbe found, rather,in SisterFelicity, with
her propagandafor "love and freedom," with "her insufferable
charisma"(,4C 252).) Miss Brodie turnsherself into a larger-
than-life heroine,basedon her passionatebelief andin an
uncalculatedway, whereasAlexandra doesso by her cool
intelligence andin a well-calculated way. The differencein the
awarenessof their own effectsprovides a vital contrastbetween
"innocent" Miss Brodie, betrayed- "assassinated"- and
Alexandra with her armour of intelligence, unbetrayableand

unslayable.
While Miss Brodie's excessivelack of guilt explainswhy

sheis innocent- or rather,ignorant- in her way, Alexandra's
mockery at a senseof guilt makesher preparefor justifying any of
her words and deeds. It is their lack of moral concern,though in
different ways, that enablesthem to bring abouta particular kind
of innocence,to let their imagination and creativity playing freely.
And it is the moral concernthat hasmisled somecritics to
presume,for instance,that the themeof ThePrime ofMiss Jean
Brodie is "certainly the loss of primal innocence"(Lodge 172).

281

David Lodge follows the reverentialview he borrows from Frank
Kermode- "thejustified Miss Brodie presiding calmly over a lost
innocence"(Kennode, 1963,177) - and goeson to regard
"Sandy's nostalgiafor a lost primal innocence"(Lodge 172) as
the themeof the novel. However, all thejoy evokedby the novel
seemsto point to somethingquite opposite- innocenceregained.

So far asemotionsareconcerned,insteadof evoking the
nostalgiafor a lost innocence,Sparkbrings back the innocenceof
childhood anew,with its pleasuresand excitements,joys and
wonders,both in ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie and in The
Abbessof Crewe. In an interview in 1970,talking about The
Prime ofMiss Jean Brodie, shecompareschildren's perceptionof
things to artists' andrefersto a poemby TbomasTraheme,which
expresses"intimations of immortality" (1-3,1970,411) in
childhood. In anotherinterview, again,sherepeatsTraherne's
versesandexplainsthat childhood is important for an artist:

becauseeverything seemsso wonderful that you see
everythingasbeing new. There's a poem of
Traherne's... that describesthis feeling. .. "The corn was
orient and immortal wheat, which never shouldbe reaped,
nor was ever sown. I thought it had stoodfrom
everlastingto everlasting." It's the most beautiful bit.
The wonder of childhood, at seeingthings, seeinga field of
com - the excitementover quite little things. I suppose
it's probably somethingthat's clearer in retrospect...
(1-10,1985,443 [my italics])

Sparkevokestheseimagesof Traherne'spoem in the ending of

282

TheAbbessof CreweasAlexandra setsout on her new

perfonnance,her new 98.

adventure .

Our revels now areended. Be still, be watchful.

Shesails indeedon the fine day of her desireinto waters

exceptionallysmooth,and standson the upper deck,

straight asa white ship's funnel, marvelling how the wide

seabillows from shoreto shorelike that cornfield of

sublimity which never shouldbe reapednor was ever sown,

orient and immortal wheat. (AC 315)

The comparisonbetweenartist and children in discovering

marvelsis not a new idea. For instance,a writer (whoseworks

havenothing similar to Spark's) suchasJ.R.R. Tolkien theorises

this idea in his essayon fairy stories:"We should look at green

again, andbe startledanew" for "a re-gaining- regaining of a

clearview" (Tolkien 49). Here, then, appearsSpark'sparticular

focus on the merit of adult's matureview in this "regaining" -

somethingthat's clearer in retrospect. Sheseemsto praisean

intelligence acquiredthrough experiencesmore than an innocence

of childhood, sinceit is by the intelligence that an artist not only

gains a clearerview of things, but alsogives an expressionto

creativeimagination playing upon this view.

In TheAbbessof Crewe,the regainedinnocence- where
imagination meetsintelligence- makesAlexandra to be at once
terrifying andjoyful, and a woman who cankeep inventing

herself asher own object of art - with her ever clearerview of

91T1he paragraph opens with the first line of Shakespeare's The Tempest,Act IV,
Scene 1.

283

herself: self-knowledge. The Abbessof Creweis not merely a
position sheobtainsby unsurprisingly beating SisterFelicity, but
alsoher creation. With her hyper-self-awarenessh, er self-
referentiality asher own artwork - "I am becomean object of art,
the end of which is to give pleasure"(AC 313) - Alexandra canbe
called a postmodernsubject.

Alexandra satisfiesSpark's definition of the effective art by
her work of art, "The Abbessof Crewe"-and The,4bbessof
Crewe,its unabridgedversion. In this novel that employsthe
present-tensenarrative, oneparagraphwritten in the present
perfect is addedasan epilogue:

Shehasgiven the ordersfor the selectionand
orchestrationof the transcriptsof her tape-recordings.
Shehasgatheredher nunstogetherbefore Compline.
"Removethe versesthat I haveuttered. They areproper
to myself aloneand shouldnot be castbeforethe public.
Put 'Poetry deleted'. Sedulouslyexpurgateall suchtrivial
fond recordsand entitle the compilation TheAbbessof
Crewe." (AC 315)

On the whole, the narrativevoice perfectly matchesAlexandra's
in its style and its contents. Glorifying her figure without
reservationandrelentlesslymocking her nuns, this voice is
satirical.,harshandwitty, ironic and derisive, and elegant- the
qualities of the effective art given by Spark.

The novel occasionallyemploysfree indirect style, and in a
way it showsa gestureof aff-m-nationof Alexandra's subjectivity,
underlining this heroine asa characterand an author. Thesefree

284

indirect speechesin Alexandra's exaltedtone tell that sheknows
what sheis doing, namely,practicing her art: "What a pieceof
work is her convent,how distant its newnessfrom all the
orthodoxiesof the past,how far removedin its antiquities from
thoseof the present!" (AC 246). The author endowsthe heroine
with her own commandof language,aswell asher intelligence.
Besides,Alexandra is omniscient;shehasher nunnerybugged
andvideotaped- exceptfor the confessionals.

Why not the confessionals?- "Strangeasit may seem,I
thought well to omit any arrangementfor the confessionals"(AC
246), saysthe Abbess,without giving any reason. Sheis most
unlikely to take any interestin sins- terrible secrets- of her
lessernuns,but, apartfrom that, shemay shareher creator's
scepticalidea of secrets.

In an interview in the year of the publication of TheAbbess
of Crewe,Sparksuggestedthat the Watergatescandal,sideby side
with her recollection of herjob at the Foreign Office andher
experienceof being "blackmailed," had put things togetherto
make "her realisewhat secretsare" (1-7,1974,10). Compared
with the Watergatebusiness,shemight again admireSefton
Delmer's operationof psychologicalwarfare at the Foreign
Office: the world of Black Propagandain which sheplayed a little
part in the last year of the war. Thereshelearnt to usea green-
paintedtelephone,"scrambler," to gatherinformation from the
Allied spokesman. The Black Propagandawas a tremendously
impressiveart of deception,gatheringinformation, inventing lies
basedon facts, and sendingthem to a Germanradio stationto

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demoralisethe enemies. Then, thereis the famousstory of
Spark's refusal to buy back the love letters,which shehad written
to Derek Stanfordand this man sold to a dealer. The story
beginswith her shrieking, "Oooh!" "Blackmail! " and endswith
her finding that the letters are"mostly aboutWordsworth" (1-7,
1974,10). Therewere no embarrassingor shockingsecretsshe
would haveliked to keepto herself.

The power of secretslies in a myth, a belief, that they are
somehidden truth nobodyelseknows,and if nobodyknows, they
might aswell be lies, fictions, returning to their own myth.99
The other side of the myth of secretsis the idea of opensecrets:
truths known to anybody,but believedto be unknown -a fake
innocence,o, r ignorance,in otherwords. As to how "The
Americans createda greatbig national thing of' the Watergate
episode,Sparkremarked,"if they lived in Europeandknew about

corruption - all governmentsarecorrupt- they would realize that
it was like a nun's quarrel over a thimble" (1-10,1985,444).
Implying that they behavedasif they had known nothing about
corruption, thereseemsto be a subtlecriticism of their naYvetdo, r
hypocrisy - whether awareor unaware- in her tone.

In The,4bbessofCrewe, to symbolisethe art of war around
secretsand lies, "scrambler" returnsasa greenline, which
connectsAlexandra to Sister Gertrude,who is always away in

99Graham Greene's OurMan in Haiwna (1958), is a fimny and witty novel about
this idea. The main character, Mr Wormold, selling vacuum-cleaners at his shop, is
hired as a secret agent in Havana to send secret information to M16. Taking his
friend's advice, "If it is secret enough, you alone know it. All you need is a little
imaginatioif' (Greene 57), he begins to send fake stories, which haphazardly come
true, thanks to others' belief in them.

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someuncivilised comer of the world for her mission. Both the
press,who exploit - like a dealer- the much adoaboutno secret,
andthe public, who buy it, arecastas"the chorus" (AC 254) in
Alexandra's scenario. As for her nunsand confessionals,she
may well presumethat they aretoo transparentlystupid to have
any secretandthat, in the first place,they are incapableof
committing any sin which is good enoughto confess. Although
shebugseverywhereelse,all the tapesandvideotapesfor her are
not merely to gatherinformation, but, more essentially,to gather
materialsfor her piece of work, "The Abbessof Crewe."

What Spark,andher heroine,offer is indeeda very
aggressiveway to "a mutual understanding":"Traffic in
mockery." Alexandra practicesher art of ridicule to defend
herself from enemies,understandthem- almost internalisethem -
mock and offend them. Inside the Abbey, her nuns, including
Felicity, who areeternally mocked,areno enemies:their timid
hypocrisy is an easytarget of her ridicule. Shecannegotiateand
manipulatethe outsideworld - the public, the police or the media
- quite effortlessly,too. Sister Gertrudeis her only possible
enemy,an invisible companionof thejustified sinner,andher own
kind - her favourite versegoes:"I am homesick after mine own
kind." CreatingAlexandra, Sparkhad politically powerful and
important Abbessesin the Middle Ages in her mind. Especially,
"The GermanAbbesses[who] were greatscholars" (1-7,1974,10)
also seemto mergewith a kind of Kissinger figure (Sparkwas
rather intent on making him her character)in the richly complex
figure of SisterGertrude. While Gertrudeengagesin her

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somewhatdubiousmission anywherefar from Rome,Alexandra's
main aim is revelling in rebelling againstthe Vatican-a figure of
ultimate authorityý Alexandra's paradoxicalfigure is likened not
to the fallen angel,but to "blessedMichael the Archangel" (AC
310). Comeletus mock atthe great...

Sparkobserved,"Nixon had beencarrying on accordingto
the old Benedictinerule.,wherebywhat the superiorhassaidis the
justification for everything," and asks,"What other authority had
he?" (1-7,1974,10). Transforming"the big national" scandalof
the male politicians into a nun's quarrelover a thimble is a
hilarious idea evenfor the commonplaceexpectationthat those
who representauthority aresubvertedby, presumably,being
diminishedinto nuns. What hasturned out to be really hilarious
aboutthis novel is that suchfigure of authority is at onceridiculed
andmagnified by the formidable Abbess,who is not to be
ridiculed herself. Spark's heroineloves to stick to the old
Benedictinerule: what shehassaid is thejustification for
everything. Playing a part of her nuns' authority, Alexandra
announces,"The agesof the Fatherand of the Sonarepast. We
have enteredthe ageof the Holy Ghost" (AC 247). As a woman
and an artist, for whom the Holy Ghostis one of proper
representations,cansheget rid of the paternalfigure of authority
and surpassit by her own figure? And then, how hasthe
paternalfigure representeditself in relation to its authority?

The Americans' outcry againstNixon, the guilty master
whosejustification was liquidated with the self-authorised
authority, appearsto contrastwith their love for Reagan. In

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psychoanalyticalterms,however,they becomeone andthe same
father who interdicts excessenjoyment. The law of power such
asrepresentedby Nixon's groundlessauthority canbe also
instituted by Reaganasthe impotent master- underthe nameof
democracy. In her elaborateargumenton democracyin America,
CopJeclinks Reagan,the "innocent" and fallible master,to
Freud's conceptof the ideal father."' To examinethe particular
kind of totalitarianism following democracyasa modem form of
power, shedetects"America's senseof its own 'radical
innocence"' (Copjec, 1994,146) in its belief in democracy. Of

numerousparadoxesof democracy,Americans confront their

paradoxicalrelation to their master,whoseuniversalisingrole of
representingthem inevitably abolishesindividual differences-
which democracyis supposedto promise. Therefore,CopJec
suggests,they solve this dilemmaby choosingthe ideal father,the
impotent father,whosefailure to respondto their demandon it to
representthem,paradoxically,savestheir differences,lets them be
indetenninate.10'

A societygovernedby the law of the ideal father,"founded
on a nonrecognitionof the contradictionsit contains" cannotlast

'00In Tolemand Taboo(1912-1913),Freudexplainsthe shift from the primal father
to the ideal father in the parricide scenario:the bandof brothers- exiled sons- kill
and devour the father,by which eachof them equally identify himself with the
powerfiil father,andthen installs the ideal father that representsthe absenceof the
primal father. Freudreadsthe repressedwishesof the Oedipal scenarioin the
totem meal, the sacrifice of sacredanimal in placeof the deadfather,andthe incest
taboo, the interdiction that fendsoff conflicts amongthe brothersto maintain their
equality and the new installment.
10'Copjeclays stresson "die differential betweendemandandresponse"(CopJec,
1994,150), analysingAmericans' love for their masterin Lacaniantenris the object
a- somethingabsoluteandindeterminate,which the Other is but doesnot have,and
which keepsthe subject's desirealive.

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forever,andthe primal fatherreturns. Copjec's point is that this
totalitarianism coming back with the primal father is "a
specifically modem form of power ... becauseit is dependenton
the democraticrevolution's privileging of the individual, of the
peoplerather than the king, or someother leader" (Copjec, 1994,
158). Shemakesthis point asa significant insight into politics,
into the modem forms of power, enabledby Lacanian
psychoanalysis(which shedefendshere againstFoucault).
While shedeftly returnsto Freud accordingto her purpose,Slavoj
2i2ek arguessomethingsimilar, though from a very different
angleandwith a very different focus, in fully Lacanianterms.

The figure of father appearsasan evenmore complicated
andphantasmagoricconstructionin the sectiontitled "Fathers,
FathersEverywhere" in 2i2ek's brief study, TheArt of the
Ridiculous Sublime:On David Lynch's Lost Highway (2000).

He discussestwo films, RobertoBenigni's Life Is Beautiful, in
which an Italian-Jewish father protectshis son from an unbearable
reality of a concentrationcampby turning it into a fantasygame,
and'Momas Vinterberg's Celebration,which describesa brutal
rapist father. He parallelsBenigni's matemal, benevolentfather
to Vinterberg's father,who representsa lawlessenjoymentas"the
ultimate guaranteethat thereis somewherefull, unconstrained
enjoyment' (2i2ek, 2000,3 1). Ina perverseway, the violent
father too protectshis children from the real horror of the lack of
enjoyment. 2i2ek then points out: "What is missing is the father
asthe bearerof symbolic authority,the Name of the Father,the
prohibitory 'castrating' agencythat enablesthe subject's entry

290

into the symbolic order,andthus into the domain of desire. The
two fathers,imaginary andreal, arewhat is left over oncethe
paternalsymbolic authority disintegrates"(2i2ek, 2000,3 1).
Not unlike CopJec,he finds "strangely de-realizedor, rather,de-
psychologizedsubjects,asif we were dealingwith robotic
puppets"(2i2ek, 2000,3 1) in the aftermathof this disintegration
of "the paternalsymbolic authority."

The differencebetweenNixon andReaganis, indeed,a
moral matter,and Sparkwould seethem in the sameposition from
her ethical view. In her novel, Alexandra carrieson the old
Benedictinerule, asNixon did. But then,Alexandra is also an
actress,who excelsprofessionalactors(such asReagan),andputs
on what coincideswith Reagan's"psychological make-up"":"the
unwillingness to 'meddle' in administrativeaffairs, the inability or
unwillingness to recall details" (Copjec, 1994,147). Only with
her word, sheplays an "innocent" part, sincesheperfectly
understandswhat gamesheis playing: all that mattersis her word.
Playing a power game,shetranslatesit into its most proper form:
a languagegame,for a structureof power is to correspondto a
structureof language. Language- whateverit is representedby
itself. the Other,the symbolic order,the law of the father- is self-
authorisedpower. Alexandra studiesthe illogical logic of power
to gain powersof logic; shelearnshow to handleparadoxesof
power - paradoxesof languagemadeby and in itself - to enmesh
this power in its own paradoxesby her art. Shepresentsall the
paradoxesin theory and in practice,following Gertrude's"very
short seminar": "A paradoxyou live with" (AC 258).

291

Entering the Abbey of Crewe,whereAlexandra insistson
observingthe ancientBenedictinerules and leaming usesof
modem technologicalequipment(exceptfor its purpose),the nuns
enterinto the symbolic order of Alexandra's own. To Winifrede,
her scapegoat,shedeclares,"I'm your conscienceandyour
authority. You perform my will and finish" (,4C 246), without
any conscienceor any belief in her own authority - shecalls it
"My tyranny" (,4C 270), asit is. Sheusesher pretenceof
innocence,her "hypocrisy," to attackthe hypocrisiesand
snobberiesof thosewho areon moral high groundwith the idea of
conscienceandpiety, of democracywhich is akin to "bourgeois
individualism."

In the middle of the Abbey scandal,waiting for the
imminent election for the Abbess,Alexandra contrivesher
formidable speech. Shetells the nuns,"I am exhortedto appeal
to your higher instincts" (4C 291), referring to this asSister
Gertrude'sadvise,which in fact is to appealto their "lower
instincts." Shegoeson to make a distinction between"a Lady"
and"a Bourgeoise": "A Lady may secretlybelieve in nothing; but
a Bourgeoiseinvariably proclaims her belief, andbelievesin the
wrong things"; "A Lady is free; but a Bourgeoiseis never free
from the desirefor freedom" (4C 292). Sheimplies that all the
distinction is appliedto that betweenAlexandra andFelicity, and
that "a Lady" is to be aspiredto, in a way eventhe dimmestnun
canperceivethe implications. Thus, shecampaignsfor herself
while sheclearly pronouncesthat nuns including herself should
not participatein any campaignandeachof themwill haveto vote

292

"according to her own conscience"(AC 290). Mildred rightly
remarks,"You struck the right note,Alexandra. Novices and
nuns alike, they're snobsto the core" (AC 292).

At the endof her speech,Alexandra states,"I don't speakof

morals, but of ethics. Our topics are not those of sanctity and
holiness, which rest with God; it is a question whether you are
ladies or not, and that is something we decide" (4C 292). If this
sounded like blackmail - if not voting for Alexandra the Lady,
you are not a lady - to the nuns, that is the problem of their
conscience, of their proclaimed belief - they may believe in the
wrong things. If they had a clear moral conscience, they could
not feel blackmailed. Therefore, Alexandra herself has no
problem with her conscience. She takes advantage of their
hypocrisy that they are subject to the religious doctrines and the
moral standards lest that they should feel a senseof guilt. She
manipulates the nuns on this senseof guilt implanted by their
authorities who have set those rules while she discredits such
higher authorities in her own view. Similarly, she aims at the
nuns' snobbery by using the Lady/Bourgeoise distinction, which
is just a figure of speech. She titillates the nuns' bourgeois
individualism, which does not recognise their class consciousness
in their idea of democracy. Besides, she is not so democratic as
to believe that people can be ladies equally by birth, as "a
Bourgeoise" evidently alludes to Felicity - whose birth is in fact
as noble as her own. 102

"' Fleur Talbot in Loitering u4thIntent gives an exampleof Spark's useof the word
"democratic." Fleur saysof one Sir Quentin: "His snobberywas immense. But
therewas a sensein which lie was far too democraticfor the likes of me. He

293

Alexandra's speechappealsto the nuns' lower instincts, as
is expected. However, it could haveappealedto their higher
instincts (assheclaims), only if they had any. Literally, shetells
no lie, andshemeansall that shesays,whether it appealsto
higher instincts or lower instincts. Speakingof ethics,she
speaksof freedom:thereis somethingwe decide. By one speech,
Alexandra finishesFelicity off with her campaignfor love and
freedomandbecomesthe Abbessof Crewe.

For Felicity's followers - sewingnunswith no imagination
or intelligence- her cheapfantasyof "a love-Abbey" was a
sufficient idea of enjoyment,and skipping the servicesand
running off to sleepwith her Jesuit,aswell, might be a sufficient
idea of freedom. However,they alreadydisplayedtheir
discontent- "a traceof individualism at long lasC'(AC 282) -
abouther disproportionatefury at the theft of her thimble. Then
Alexandra puts her "love and freedom" campaignin its place,by
cunningly suggestingthat it is simply un-ladylike morals. In her
conversationwith her closestnuns,Alexandra sumsup Felicity:

Her sewing-box is her alphaandher omega,not to mention
her tiny epsilon,her iota andher omicron. For all her talk,
andher mooneyJesuitandher pious eyelashes,it all adds
up to Felicitiy's little sewingbox, the norm shedeparts
from, the north of her compass. (AC 262)
Alexandra points out why Felicity's campaignis impossible:"One
who hasnever observeda strict ordering of the heart cannever

sincerelybelievesthat talent, althoughnot equally distributed by nature,could be
later conferredby a title or acquiredby inherited rank" (LI 20).

294

exercisefreedom" (AC 262). There is no desirewherethereis
no repression,in psychoanalytical terms. But then, celibacy is
not written in Alexandra's orders. To her, sex is only a practical
matter,and so shehashit on an ideaof restoring the traditional
systemof having lay brothers,insteadof domesticnuns,to
provide her nunswith "eachher Jesuif' (AC 272).

In her own symbolic order, Alexandra cunningly performs
the role of authority. When Alexandra forces frightened
Winifrede to sign the confession,shecalmly andthreateningly
accusesher: "I would be quite horrified to think you had beena
hypocrite all theseyearsandhadn't meantthem":

"Even thePope," saysthe Abbess,"offers the very same
damagingtestimony every morning of his life; he admits
quite frankly that he hascommitted sins exceedinglyall
throughhis own grievousfault. Whereuponthe altar boy
says:"May almighty God havemercy on you." And all I
am saying,Winifrede, is that what is good enoughfor the
SupremePontiff is good enoughfor you. Do you imagine
he doesn't meanpreciselywhat he sayseverymorning of
hislife? " (AC310)

As a matterof fact, Alexandrabrings forward the chargeof being
either a hypocrite or a sinner,againstthe Popehimself Her
languageis constructedon her recognition of contradictionsof
authorisedpower, and shechoosesher logic accordingto not only
peoplesheaddressesb, ut alsoeachof their relationshipswith
their authorities. The consciouslytyrannical Abbesscomposesa
shrewdparody of the authorial figure to eachof them in her own

295

authorial figure.
The Abbessof Creweis the figure that neither interdicts nor

commandsexcessenjoyment,but is excessenjoyment. Her
languageis the languageof art, asshesays,"I'm in love with
English poetry, and evenmy devotionstake that form, asis
perfectly valid in my view"(AC305). Her Abbey, her creation,
to which shedevotesherself, is to take the form of art - even
though deletingher loved versesby greatpoetsof past. Shecalls
this art from that is "basedon facts" scenarios:"A good scenario
is a garble. A bad one is a bungle. They neednot be plausible,
only hypnotic, like all good arC'(AC 302). Her languageof art is
her art of war, which needsnojustification but her words, her

myth:
Garbleis what we need,now, Sisters. We are leaving the
sphereof history and are aboutto enterthat of mythology.
Mythology is nothing more than history garbled;likewise
history is mythology garbledandit is nothing more in all
the history of man. (AC 300)
Entering into the symbolic order of Alexandra is entering

into her scenario,i,n which all nunsplay themselves,andthey are
supposedto know "the Eyesof God areupon us" (AC 279). Of
the practice of the three-hourlyritual strictly observedin the
Abbey, Alexandra says:

It is absurdin modem times that the nunsshouldhaveto
get up twice in the middle of the night to sing the Matins
andthe Lauds. But modem times comeinto a historical
context,and asfar asI'm concernedhistory doesn't work.

296

Here, in the Abbey of Crewe,we have discardedhistory.
Wehave enteredthe sphere,dearSisters,of mythology.
My nuns love it. Who doesn't yearnto be part of a myth
at whateverthe price in comfort? (AC251)
"An unconscioussenseof guilt" (Freud, 1907,123) Freud detects
in religious practicesin his "ObsessiveActions andReligious
Practices"(1907) may apply to many nuns,but not to Alexandra.
Herjoy in the practice is visible - "How lyrically move her lips in
the tidal sway of the music!" (AC 307) - and sheincludesher
nuns in it, whetherthey like it or not. In her logic, this practice
is an absurdexcessand a pleasure,rather than a rule, andin
Catholic terms,,indeed,"interdict" meansan ordernot to join
thoseservices.
Consciouslytyrannical though sheis, Alexandra enjoysher
sisterhoodwith her loyal nuns. Although WalburgaandMildred
show somefear of Alexandra's art, the excessto makethemselves
of a myth, they collaboratein her creation,restingtheir hopeson
her. They choseher art to articulateandrealisetheir excess
dreams,to which sexualscenariosof desiredo not apply.
Walburgagainedher strength,"her virginity of hearC'(AC 263),
by educatingherself through her lovers, invariably greatly learned
men, in her youth. Mildred rejectedFelicity's Jesuitlover, who
first fanciedher,becauseher dreams"ran far aheadof the Jesuit,
far beyondhim" (AC 264). Thus,the threenuns cometo
entertainthemselves"in suchan evidenthappinessof shared
anxiety that they seemnot to recognizethe pleasureat all" (AC
264). After Alexandra's triumphant speech,"they join hands,

297

the threeblack-drapednuns,Walburga,Alexandra andMildred.
They dancein ring, light-footed; they skip round oneway then
turn the other way" (,4C 293).

Even though thereis no guaranteeof loyalty to Walburga
andMildred on the part of Alexandra (who is readyto scapegoat
Winifrede), Gertrudeseemsto supply somecontrastto the Abbess
with her female community. Gossipingabout"BlessedMother
Gertrude," the threenuns agreethat she"should havebeena man"
with "her moustache", "bursting with male hormones"(,4C 256).
When pesteredwith Gertrude's"should nots" and "ought nots,"
Alexandra airily points out the gap in her logic: it is not dissimilar
to that of the papal- paternal- authority with its moral system,of
which Gertrudeis disdainful. In the last call, Alexandra defeats
her "devout logician" andphilosopherby telling her that sheis
going to Rome to "plead her cause"(AC 313), bringing with her
the nuns' Confiteor. Gertrudeis quick to respondto Alexandra,
knowing what sheis up to: "I am outraged... to hearyou have all
beensinning away in Crewe,andexceedinglyat that, not only in
thought and deedbut also in word' (,4C3 14 [my italics]).
Indeed,that is Alexandra's point, asshehappily replies,"Yes, we
havethat in the confessions,Gertrude,my trusty love. Ofelix
culpa!" (,4C 314) -0 happy fault.

Alexandra's scenarioandherself asan object of art have
proved to be good art, giving pleasureand successftilly
hypnotising. When shewent on television, it "was a complete
successwhile shelastedon the screen";"The audiencegoggled
with aweat this lovely lady" (AC 312). The hypnotising effect

298

worked on the bishopsof the English Catholic Church:they had
got "soothedfeelings" at their meeting,but later they had "a
curioussenseof being unableto recall what explanation
Alexandra had given" (AC 313). They canwait for the
publication of transcriptsof her tapesand likely stagingand
screeningit, though. Alexandra's nunsareworking on editing
the tapes,following her orders. Reviewing thesetapes,they may
have a senseof guilt, or a chanceof self-knowledge- or ajoy in
having becomea part of the myth. Alexandra is on her way to
the next act, to play herself anewthroughher clearer
consciousnessf,or sheis not subjectto anybodyelse's symbolic
order. Sheis an object of art and a subjectwho commandsher
own language:a postmodernsubjectwho inventsherself.

299