Miranda the Novice


Miranda created by John W. Waterhouse

The fact that Miranda has little exposure to many men makes one wonder if it is love at first sight.  The only men she has ever seen before Ferdinand are Prospero and Caliban.  He is, “the third man that e’er I saw; the first the I e’er sighed for.” (I, ii, 446-447)  She really has no frame of reference to compare Ferdinand to.  When she first sees him, she proclaims that she, “might call him a thing divine; for nothing nature I ever saw so noble.” (I, ii, 417-419)  When the other men show up at the end of the play, Miranda says, “O wonder!  How many goodly creatures are there here!  How beauteous mankind is!” (V, i, 182-183)  She is in awe of every man she meets.  But, regardless of her inexperience with the opposite sex, Prospero can see that it is love at first sight.  He acknowledges it in Act I when he says, “At the first sight they have changed eyes .” (I, ii, 442)
 

The Tempest
Questions
Prospero's Magic
Pimp Ferdinand
Love at First Sight
The Wedding
Happily Ever After