Thursday, January 9, 2020

5th February: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie


Once again you have refused to believe how easy the cakes I make for you are!  Well, here's the Mincemeat Cake recipe!  Bon Appetit!

Mincemeat Cake
Serves: 10 - Prep:10min  ›  Cook:2hr  

Ingredients
225g (8 oz) self-raising flour, sifted
140g (5 oz) butter, softened - this is important as you are going to mix by hand
140g (5 oz) dark soft brown sugar 
85g (3 oz) sultanas - or similar
450g (1 lb) mincemeat - with a good glug of brandy, or similar tipple, stirred in
2 eggs, beaten

Method
1.    Preheat oven to 160 C / gas mark 3, grease and line a 20cm (8 in) round tin.
2.    Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
3.    Turn into prepared tin, bake for 1 and 3/4 hours. (Check with skewer/cocktail stick to ensure it comes away clean). Leave in tin for about 15 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

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The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie


In February, we will be reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,  which, before being turned into a play, was a 1969 British film based on the novel by Muriel Spark, and starred Maggie Smith in the title role.

Jean Brodie is a teacher at Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 1930s. Brodie is known for her tendency to stray from the school's curriculum, to romanticize fascist leaders like Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco, and to believe herself to be in the prime of life. Brodie devotes her time and energy to her four special 12-year-old junior school girls, called the Brodie Set: Sandy, Monica, Jenny and Mary.


Characters

Jean Brodie:  "She thinks she is Providence, thought Sandy, she thinks she is the God of Calvin." In some ways she is: in her prime she draws her chosen few to herself, much as Calvinists understand God to draw the elect to their salvation. With regard to religion, Miss Brodie "was not in any doubt, she let everyone know she was in no doubt, that God was on her side whatever her course, and so she experienced no difficulty or sense of hypocrisy in worship while at the same time she went to bed with the singing master."

Sandy:  Of the set, "Miss Brodie fixed on Sandy," taking her as her special confidante. She is characterised as having "small, almost nonexistent, eyes" and a peering gaze. Miss Brodie repeatedly reminds Sandy that she has insight but no instinct. 

Jenny:  In contrast to Sandy, Jenny is an attractive blonde with (according to Miss Brodie) instinct but no insight. Though somewhat undeservedly, Jenny is "famous for sex", and the art teacher Mr. Lloyd asks her to model for his paintings.

Mary Macgregor:  Dim-witted and slow, Mary is Brodie's scapegoat. Mary meekly bears the blame for everything that goes wrong.

Supporting characters
  • Monica – one of the set; famous for mathematics and her anger
  • Teddy Lloyd – the art master
  • Gordon Lowther – the singing master
  • Miss Mackay – the headmistress


Intertextuality!  Other things to bear in mind - in brief!

La Traviata:  An opera about a courtisan that was considered morally corrupt when it was first produced in the mid 19th Century.


The Lady of Shalott:  A poem about the cursed effect that the glance of Sir Lancelot has on the Lady of Shalott, imprisoned on an island.




Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Pre-Raphaelite poet and artist, renown for his affairs with various models and the wives of fellow artists.