Talk:Jean Brodie

Say NO to Proposed merger
I concur with the opposition to merging this page with the "Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" article. I have also added some pertinent information to the article, mostly on differences between the character in the original novel and Miss Brodie as she appears in the play and film (both written by Jay Presson Allen) based on the novel. The novel and play/film are markedly different, and the character is slightly different between them; but they are both marvelous creations.

I have also noted a fact that I stumbled upon quite by accident a couple of years ago. Jean Brodie, the character, was named after a real woman -- the common law wife of Willie Brodie, whose name was Jean. As eloquently recited in the movie by Maggie Smith, the real Willie Brodie -- from whom Miss Jean Brodie claims descent ("blood tells") was indeed a cabinet-maker and fashioner of gibbets, who was executed - possibly on a gibbet that he had designed and built himself - after he really did rob the excise office. The story of Jean and Willie Brodie was preserved for all time in a play by the Scots-Samoan writer, Robert Louis Stevenson.

By the way, one of subtle things the film could do that the book could not - which I did not notice until it was pointed out to me: Everybody in the film, especially at the school is dressed is shades and tints of grey; except for Miss Brodie, who wears shades and tints of lavender. (That said, this particular observation probably really *does* belong in the "Prime" article, so I did not note it here.) 10:58, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

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I strongly recommend that the page on Jean Brodie does not merge with the page entitled the The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Miss Brodie is spectacular character in fiction whose complexity is a wonder for literacy critics. At first glance she appears to be a typical Fascist and Calvinist (as I have noted) but at closer reading of the text she is a paradox even with these. For example, her hatred of John Knox and love of touring Rome is at odds with her Calvinist view. Her liberal teaching methods contrast with the ultraconservatives she supports. The list goes on!

This page could be expanded and I am sure it will be but to suggest that an article about Miss Brodie should merged with the book article while there is a massive separate article about Harry Potter (character) from the books (and Miss Trunchbull from the article about the Roald Dahl book Matilda) would reflect very poorly on the state of literature in the modern world. So please, do not merge these articles together. --S G McCombe 23:26, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

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 * I agree with S G McCombe: these two articles should certainly not be merged.--Mais oui! 23:47, 21 January 2006 (UTC)


 * The book's article needs improvment, maybe someone could at least add the most salient points from this article to it. Kappa

Say YES to Proposed Merger
While the Jean_Brodie page does have a little new info on the real-life Jean Brodie, it does not appear to be enough for a separate article. Also, Jean and Willie Brodie are not exactly major historical characters.

Most of the Jean_Brodie page is either repetitive of the info in Prime_Of_Miss_Jean_Brodie, or could easily be merged. Specifically, the character analysis as seen in the novella, play, and film; and thoughts of Calvinism and Fascism as presented in Spark's work. None of these areas relate to the real-life Jean Brodie - they all relate to the character created by Muriel Spark.

(Yes, I am aware that the Harry Potter characters each have their own pages - wait, Harry Potter has his own Wiki! http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page. But let's not talk about what that says of our society...)

In addition, the Jean_Brodie page could use source references. How do you know that Jean Brodie was the common law wife of Willie Brodie? Who was Willie Brodie? The documentation appears substandard. It could even merit that dreaded note from the administrators: "This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed."

June w (talk) 05:52, 24 April 2008 (UTC)