The novel's extract "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", written by Muriel Spark, presents two different notions of education: the nonconformist individuality of Miss Jean Brodie's set and the team spirit and school loyalty insisted upon by the headmistress of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls. Although published in 1961, the novel is set in the 1930s, which is a decade leading up to World War II. From prior knowledge of historical events, this period is known to be mainly preoccupied with the fascist governments that came to power. The novel's extract shows the emerging influences of the Brodie girl's upbringing. Through a gendered reading, it also focuses on how gender affects peer socialization and identity. Narrative elements such as setting, characterization, structure, and diction are used to reinforce these ideas.
Gender separation in schools can have negative consequences on peer socialization. At the very beginning of the text, the narrator addresses "the boys" and "the girls" as though to illustrate their differences. Both groups, assuming they are students from the setting, are on the brink of sexual maturity. Sparks' use of the metaphor of " the protective fence" of bicycles suggests a sign of sexual tension. This may be due to the separation of boys and girls according to their gender. As noted from the school's name itself, "Marcia Blaine School for Girls", it is a single-sex school rather than co-educational. Thus, the interaction between the two groups isn't seen as common. For the members of the Brodie set, the boys represent a way of life different from what they've known at Blaine with Miss Brodie, who are instead taught by males. Since boys learn how to get along with other boys and girls learn how to do the same with other girls, the same-gender peer preferences become stronger. These are seen as concerns for the author in that it strengthens gender separation and the promotion of gender-typed behaviors and interests, especially in a school environment. Normally it is expected that schools would make students more knowledgeable in regard to topics of study. However, Sparks questions the system and how it has potentially made them less emotionally and intellectually aware. The novel thus shows how the gender segregation cycle makes it less likely for boys and girls to really interact and learn from each other, as there is "the impression that at any moment the boys were likely to be away" and promotes gender stereotypic beliefs, attitudes, and biases about and towards the other sex.
Identity is shaped by gender and relationships, and these influences can be very powerful. The second paragraph of the text continues to describe the girls in school and how gender separation in schools can have negative impacts on stereotyping. Through characterization, they are said to be wearing "Panama hats, and hatlessness was an offense". While there is no description of what the boys are wearing, the fact that they are speaking to ...
