Strange Love
Comments(4) The following post is by Melissa Williams:
Is it me or is Miranda a slave, just like Caliban and Ariel? Prospero has in some ways physically enslaved Caliban and Ariel, but one of his great successes was his ability to have mental dominion over Miranda. He seems to have done so purposely. Because of this she is so naive. When she offered to marry Ferdinand, she also offered to be his servant should marriage plan not work out, which shows her inexperience. Miranda mentioned that other than her father, Ferdinand is the only man she has ever laid eyes on. Ferdinand has had other women but, what about Prospero? Now that there are no women other than his daughter Miranda within reach, does he secretly desire her(sexual cravings are only human)? If not her, is he sexless or interested in the same sex? I found it odd that with all the desire going on( Caliban supposedly trying to rape Miranda, Ferdinand and Miranda being in love with each other) Prospero’s desires for companionship fail to be recognized.
-MW
Well in my opinion Miranda is definitely chattel. Prospero even says he gives Miranda to Ferdinand as a “gift” when he marries her off. But to me Miranda is treated more like something you can find in aisle two rather than the Daughter of Prospero, and Damn sure not like the princess-dom that she was born in to.
Another thing I wanted to comment on was the difficult scenes they have in this play. Like the scene where Juno’s chariot is-not only on stage-but it ascends and is hovering over the stage. The scenes sound wonderful on paper but how did this actually look in the 17th century rendition.
I was a little confused though, in regards to Prospero’s sudden reformation, it takes him but a moment to jump from day to night, and I mean like literally a moment seeing how the duration of this play is only six hours.
And one last thing-was this play in the genre of Comedy ?? Or does it fall into another realm ??
Hello Classmates 🙂
I gave Prospero a more lenient reading for a few reasons. In the generally male-dominated patriarchal system, not only were fathers and husbands granted supreme authority over their daughters and wives, women were also viewed as the weaker sex, both physically and morally. Especially during Shakespeare’s time, a woman’s virginity was considered her greatest virtue before marriage; after marriage, her fidelity was considered her greatest virtue. While a man’s adultery was/is not judged (or his virginity prior to marriage), a woman’s was/is scrutinized. This double-standard may have influenced handbooks, who were generally male, and thus may be reflected in Prospero’s treatment towards Miranda and beyond.
Welcome to the modern world!!!!!!!!!!!