Miranda; Controlled and Suppressed During the 17th century, a woman’s agency was undermined by the fact that they’re female. Women were inferior to men simply because the bible said so. If the bible said that women were inferior to men then it must be true. They were the brides of kings and the mothers of future kings. Women were to be suppressed, controlled, and obedient. According to Suzanne W. Hull,
Male authors gave women directions on how to dress (with decorum befitting their rank), how to talk (as little as possible), how to behave toward their husbands (with subservience and obedience), how to walk (with eyes down), what to read (works by and about good and godly persons, not romances), and how to pray (frequently) (135).

In other words, women were to do what the men in their lives told them to do. They were to do those things no matter how outlandish a mans request may have seemed. A woman doing anything different than what was required of her was considered socially unacceptable and inhuman. These qualities can be seen a lot throughout most of Shakespeare’s plays. For example; Isabella in “Measure for Measure” wants to enter a nunnery because she does not trust that she will be able to uphold her virginity if she does not. If she loses that virginity, she will no longer hold any value. This same characteristic can be seen in “The Tempest” because Prospero spends a lot of time teaching Miranda how important her virginity truly is.
This control over virginity that men tried so hard to obtain was important when women were considered a form of political currency. Controlling their sexuality and behavior was especially important. Miranda is defined by her social system, her social system being her father Prospero, but her social system defines her as independent and self-defiant.
The social system that defines Miranda is her father, Prospero. Her father acts, as the social system requires him to act. He is her teacher and he is the agency that tells her what she is. When Prospero first appears in the play, he acknowledges himself as Miranda’s schoolmaster. Prospero proudly says, “Here in this island… / Have I, thy schoolmaster, Made thee more profit / Than other princes can, that have more time / For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful” (1.2.172-74). Prospero is saying that because of him, Miranda has learned more than most girls her age. Miranda responds by saying, “Heavens thank you for’t” (1.2.175). According to Hiewon Shin, “Miranda’s expression of gratitude supports his claim” (381). Shin continues to say that, “When Prospero and Miranda first appear on stage together, he abruptly commands her silence, after finishing the story of their past” (382), and Miranda quickly listens to what her father tells her to do. Furthermore, “When Miranda first sees Ferdinand and instantly falls in love with him, Prospero reminds her of her womanly duties” (382). Prospero instructs Miranda that she is not allowed to talk to Ferdinand. Since Prospero is Miranda’s social system, one would expect that he would make Miranda into the typical woman of the 16th century. A woman in the 16th century must be obedient and submissive to the men in their lives. He also teaches her that she must be chased. Prospero also teaches Miranda that she is considered a commodity on the island. The value she contains lies in her nobility and her purity. Prospero makes it quite clear to Miranda just how noble the women in that time should be when he says,
Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and
She said thou wast my daughter; and thy father
Was Duke of Milan, and his only heir
And princess no worse issued (1.2.56-9).
In this passage, Prospero is emphasizing to Miranda how excellent her mother really was. According to Prospero, she was an excellent example of chastity and nobility. He continues to emphasize that her offspring should be just as noble as she. In order to produce legitimate offspring, she must be a virgin when she weds. Also, she is the only female on an island full of men, so that is reason enough for her father, Prospero, to believe that she should be controlled. Her sole purpose, as a female, is to provide reconciliation between her father Prospero and Ferdinand’s father Alonso. This reconciliation will occur when and only when Miranda becomes the bride of Ferdinand. For this reason, Miranda’s primary value, to Ferdinand, is her virginity or her chastity. Her virginity determines whether she is worthy enough to marry. She must be pure at the time of marriage in order to bear legitimate children. This is obvious as soon as Ferdinand meets Miranda. Upon seeing her he quickly asks “Which I do last pronounce, is (O you wonder!) / If you be maid or no?” (1.2.423-24). Ferdinand is asking Miranda if she is a virgin. She needs to be an unmarried virgin so that she meets all the practical requirements of marriage. One of those practical requirements includes being the ability to bear legitimate children. In response to his question, Miranda says “No wonder, sir, / But certainly a maid” (1.2.425-26). Miranda quickly tells Ferdinand that she is, in fact, a virgin. If a woman had sex before she was married she was considered “damaged goods” and was unreliable. Miranda would be unreliable in the sense that she was not dependable on producing legitimate offspring.
Although there is a lot of evidence throughout The Tempest that proves that Miranda is controlled and suppressed, there are several instances where Miranda acts as if she is not. Accoring to Shin, “Miranda’s assertiveness and willingness to stand up to Prospero are also untraditional” (386). Shin believes that Miranda does not always act as if she is controlled and suppressed by her father. When Miranda sees how awful her father is treating Ferdinand, she is eager to stand up to him and defend Ferdinand. Miranda says,
There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple.
If the ill spirit have so fair a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with’t (1.2.455-57).
Her father demands her to be silent but Miranda strives to defend a complete stranger.
Another instance is when Prospero demands that Miranda not talk to Ferdinand, even though that is what Prospero wants her to do. Miranda does not listen to what her father says and talks to Ferdinand anyway and she instantly falls in love with him. She quickly falls in love with him because the only two males she has seen most of her life are her father, Prospero and Caliban. One of the very obvious occurrences in “The Tempest” that would make readers believe Miranda is not controlled is when “Miranda takes an aggressive role traditionally assigned to men and makes a marriage proposal to Ferdinand” (Shin, 386). Miranda states, “I am your wife, if you will marry me. / If not, I’ll die your maid” (3.1.83-4). Miranda is asking Ferdinand to marry her. Also, in Act 3, Scene 1, Ferdinand is instructed by Prospero to stack firewood. Miranda says, “If you’ll sit down, / I’ll bear your logs the while: pray give me that; / I’ll carry it to the pile” (3.1.23-5). Miranda offers to work in Ferdinand’s spot. Ferdinand replies by saying, “No, precious creature; / I had rather crack my sinews, break my back, / Than you should such dishonor undergo, / While I sit lazy by” (3.1.26-8). Ferdinand refuses to let Miranda do his work while he just sits around, but he does not take a break from his work either.
Another instance that shows how uncontrolled Miranda really is, is when Miranda first sees Ferdinand, she quickly tells Prospero “I might call him / A thing divine, for nothing so natural / I ever saw so noble” (1.2.415-17). Miranda quickly tells Prospero how hot she thinks Ferdinand is and she is not at bashful when she says it. Miranda is untraditional in a sense that she speaks her mind even if her opinion is not asked for. The last occurrence that could deem Miranda untraditional is when Caliban attempts to rape her. Caliban tries, but does not succeed. Miranda prevents Caliban from raping her. This is very untraditional for a woman such as Miranda because women in her time did not act that way. It was very unusual that woman, in this time, defended themselves and the fact that Miranda did so to prevent Caliban from raping her is very untradiational. If one were to focus on the political aspect of Miranda’s marriage, Shakespeare is allowing his readers to consider the alliances that women in the 17th century offered. Miranda would provide an alliance between Prospero and Alonso. For this reason, Prospero tries so hard to control his daughter and her actions to make sure that she does in fact marry Ferdinand. Ferdinand also wants control of Miranda and her virginity so that he is sure that his children will be legitimate children. In other words, Ferdinand wants to be sure that the children that Miranda bears are his. What better way to do it then to make sure she has not had sex with anyone else? After reading the play and discussing it in class, one could see the implications that Miranda would be controlled and suppressed. A reader should not be ignorant to the fact that on several occasions Miranda acts as if she is not.