The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

What is the significance of Edinburgh as a setting in this novel? How do the girls relate to the city that surrounds their school? For Sandy in particular, how is learning about the city part of her process of coming of age.

What does Miss Brodie mean when she talks about her “prime”? How, and to what extent, does this meaning change when she applies it to the girls’ lives? Use context clues as you make your argument.

What are Miss Brodie’s “principles of education,” and how are they different from those of other teachers? What do they convey about her relationships with the girls in her set?

Explore the dynamic between Sandy’s relationship with Miss Brodie, Sandy’s spiritual evolution, and Sandy’s betrayal of her teacher. How do these three things influence one another throughout the novel?

Critics have noted that Muriel Spark’s novels often focus on the presence of the marvelous or miraculous within mundane or everyday life. Where do you see this playing out in this text? Where, and to what end, does this theme overlap with the novel’s other themes?

What does Miss Brodie’s story about her ancestor, Willie Brodie, say about her own beliefs and lived experiences? To what degree does Willie Brodie’s fate replicate itself in Miss Brodie’s fate?

What roles does religion play throughout the novel?

Analyze the role of a text mentioned within the story. How do the references to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped or Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” (or any other text referenced within the novel) contribute to the novel’s meaning?