Miranda almost grows up, but not quite. . .
"If not, I’ll die your maid. To be your fellow
You may deny me, but I’ll be your servant
Whether you will or no" (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 77-86)
These last few lines were at the end of Miranda's speech, where she expresses her undying love for Ferdinand. If you take a look at the first 3/4 of her speech, you can see that Miranda has undergone a change from a dependent naive little girl, to a stronger and more mature woman. But then she says that no matter what happens, she will always be Ferdinand's. This sort of undercuts the power of the first part of the speech. Just when she think she has stepped out of her shell and become her own women, we see her desperately clinging to Ferdinand, as if he is the only man she will ever love, regardless if he is the only man she ever sees or not. She places a lot of trust in Ferdinand with this speech, almost too much trust. Personally, I know that saying these words could come back to haunt you. Miranda almost seems too dependent of the people that she has met on the island, and will never be able to survive without them. It would be interesting to see how she fares when they return back to Italy. . .
Comments
I thought the same thing about the Ferdinand-Miranda relationship in The Tempest. Their love seems "unreal" when one considers the immediacy of its formation and Miranda's sheltered lifestyle. I agree that it would be interesting to see what happens to Miranda's love when she is placed in the "real" world, a world outside the protective shell that the island has become for her.
Posted by: Ellen Einsporn | February 11, 2009 8:30 PM
This is a really valid point, I also noticed in this play that neither of the two women played major roles. In most of Shakespeare's plays he has a stronger woman role. I found the depiction of Miranda almost sad, because she seems to be in the dark a lot!!!
Posted by: Bethany Merryman | February 11, 2009 11:13 PM
I agree. I wanted to clap for her when she seemed like she had grown up and knew she could take care of herself, but wanted to throw something at her when she went back to groveling. GAG!
Posted by: Jodi Schweizer | February 12, 2009 10:17 AM