I thoroughly agree with the statement. Prospero has a close and understanding relationship with Miranda. I believe that they understand each other to an extent; this initiates a certain amount of trust between them quote. Although Miranda questions her father’s decisions, ultimately she trusts his choices and is easily led to believe by Prospero that whatever he is doing is merciful, morally correct and is in her best interests.
I believe that Prospero truly believes that, and that what he is dong is best for his daughter. Prospero always tries to protect Miranda even if it means leading her to believe that a situation is more acceptable than it really is ‘So safely ordered, that there is no soul’. He sees Miranda as his ‘cherubin’. Therefore we are led to believe that Miranda is his metaphorical guardian angel. It was her that possibly saved Prospero and gave him the power and opportunities that he has today ‘Thou wast that did preserve me’.
This affectionate language shows that Prospero shows a great love for his daughter and that perhaps he knows that Miranda is his savour; therefore he must treat her with great admiration and affection. It is obvious that Miranda as well as his powers is what keeps Prospero going. I believe that although he has his powers, without Miranda, Prospero would not be as determined as he is now and that is what shows he is a sensitive, concerned and compassionate father.
Miranda is a sensitive character and although we see her pleading with her father as she is against his actions, he soon convinces her that his actions lead to no harm. Due to the fact that Miranda discontinues her worrying, she trusts her father’s reassurance and therefore respects him Heavens thank you for’t. And now I pray you sir’. The respectfulness and understanding in the relationship is shown in the language that they use.
Although Prospero occasionally puts Miranda back in her place, he uses considerate, comforting and respectful language Lie there my art. Wipe thou thine eyes; have comfort’ While Miranda fights for what she believes is right and pleads with her father in a distressing manner, when Prospero reassures her and advises her not to worry, she directly discontinues to worry and question her father. These uses of language between the father and daughter show that they both understand and respect each other greatly. It is also clear that Prospero truly loves and cares for his daughter.
Prospero is a tyrannical with Caliban. He treats him with no respect and shows no consideration towards his new slave ‘Upon thy wicked dam, come forth’. This relationship is beyond the customary master/slave relationship. Although Prospero treats Caliban as his slave, Prospero takes the authority to another level of ruthlessness. Caliban is seen as inferior and something that isn’t worthy of any consideration or adequate treatment. To Prospero, Caliban doesn’t deserve treatment of that of a human. We can see this because of the way that Prospero treats his other slave Ariel. Although Prospero treats Ariel as his slave, he has a greater level of concern and admiration for him ‘But are they, Ariel, safe?’. Therefore it is apparent that Prospero sees Caliban as nothing more than an undeserving brute.
However I believe that Prospero would certainly not have this authority over Caliban if it were not for his powers ‘I’ll rack thee with old cramps’. The island that Prospero now claims as his could be just as much Caliban’s as it was him who was the first on the island and before Prospero arrived, he was the only one there and therefore he was never told what to do. The theme of colonialism and the idea that Prospero discovered the island is one of the reasons that Prospero bullies Caliban. Prospero also knows that he has the power and can get Caliban to perform anything, without his magic I believe that he wouldn’t have the power to accomplish Caliban for the authority of the island and maybe even Caliban would succeed him.
Caliban feels that the island is his territory and cannot understand why he has to behave in a method that he is not familiarized with. We can see this when we discover Miranda’s attempted rape. I trust that Caliban only attempted this because that is what he is familiar to; he is acting like a usual creature that is accustomed to reproduce. However Prospero doesn’t understand this, and like a usual father he wants to protect his daughter. This is another reason for prospero to treat Caliban with no value and as a beast.
The language used between the two is obviously dominated by Prospero; however he doesn’t only command Caliban but he is also constantly insulting and abusing him ‘Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself’. Although Caliban attempts to fight back, unfortunately it is only words and Prospero can easily punish and overcome him using his authority gained from magic ‘Thou shalt be pinched’.
The case of Prospero being a sensitive father towards Miranda is shown during the phase when he is vindictive towards Ferdinand. Prospero is like this towards Ferdinand because on meeting Miranda, he immediately falls in love with her. Prospero believes he can use this situation for his own advantage and persuades Ferdinand to believe that he can only have Miranda at a price ‘One word more. I charge thee’ This use of his daughters love for the first real man she has encountered shows that Prospero takes pleasure in using his power to threaten vulnerable people and therefore can be quite wicked in his doings.
However can we believe that he is truly evil; as it is clear that Prospero has a great love for Miranda and eventually takes her thoughts and feelings into consideration. We could debate that Prospero is now used to the idea of being in control of anyone who sets foot on his island. This is due to the fact that when he arrived, the only sign of human life was a creature, which in his eyes was an uncivilised beast that attempted to rape his daughter. So can we sympathise with him for acting this way or should we empathize with those who he controls and mistreats such as Caliban, Ariel and Ferdinand.
Evidently I agree with the statement and believe that although Prospero is a tyrannical with Caliban and Ferdinand, he loves his daughter and in my view, exceptions can be made for his behaviour. However Caliban and Ferdinand deserve more respect due to the fact that they act within their instincts and characteristics of which they have no control over. Coincidently Prospero also has his own views and instincts on issues such as power and control over, what he believes to be, his own island.
