 Physical strength/actions
 Psychological manipulation
 Intelligence
 Class
 Gender
 Seduction
 Setting
How does Clegg use his physical power to control Miranda?
He uses chloroform to kidnap Miranda because he thinks he cannot
have Miranda by using socially acceptable ways of meeting her, ‘I can’t
ever get to know her in the ordinary way, but if she’s with me, she’ll see
my good points.’ (page 19)
So Clegg uses chloroform to control Miranda and to prevent her from
escaping.
Clegg controls Miranda by controlling her
environment. Miranda is trapped in a soundproof
room in the basement of an isolated cottage. Miranda
is trapped behind a ‘two inch seasoned wood’ door with
‘sheet metal on the inside.’ (page 24) The door is sound
proofed and Miranda is not given access to newspapers
etc so she has not idea of what is going on in the
outside world. Clegg creates his vision of domestic
bliss with his prisoner. Clegg sets himself up as the
benevolent gaoler, while Miranda acts the role of
prisoner or ‘slave’
Please complete the discussion questions provided
 A voyeur is someone who derives sexual pleasure by observing others in
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secret. Often the object of voyeurism is undressed or engaged in some kind
of sexual activity. The key factor in voyeurism is that the voyeur does not
interact personally with the person being observed.
Clegg is also a voyeur and uses this to disempower and humiliate Miranda
Clegg admits his voyeuristic tendencies early on in Part 1 (page 15).
Clegg begins to use the camera as a form of punishment whenever Miranda
disempowers him. For example, Miranda attempts to seduce and have sex
with Clegg in an attempt to escape. However, Clegg is unable to complete
the act and feels ashamed, ‘She made me look like a proper fool…I felt she
was despising me, I was a freak.’ (page 100)
Clegg punishes Miranda for making him feel inadequate, by taking
photographs of her when she is drugged and feels powerful knowing that
Miranda is not aware that he has the pictures of her. ‘The photographs (the
day I gave her the pad), I used to look at them….I could take my time with
them. They didn’t talk back to me.’ (page 103)
Clegg also uses the camera to punish
Miranda when she attempts to
escape. Miranda and Clegg have an
argument and Miranda attacks him,
he drugs her with chloroform again
and takes pictures of her in only her
underwear, ‘She looked a real picture
lying there with only strips of nothing
on…It was my chance I had been
waiting for. I got the old camera and
took some photos…they came out very
nice…it was almost a point in my
favour.’ (page 87)
Clegg feels disempowered when he cannot
perform sexually. In order to shift the balance of
power back in his favour, his photographs
Miranda as punishment.
Photographed Miranda cannot argue with him
and he feels powerful looking at her image. Real
life Miranda reminds him of his own lack of
education, his lack of sexual success and his
lack of class. Photographed Miranda cannot
speak and so Clegg can project his own fantasy
of Miranda and control the interaction.
Please complete the discussion questions provided
The money relieves Clegg’s
anxieties about
approaching beautiful
women, because he now
feels that beautiful women
will be attracted to his
money. Thus he now feels
equal in power. The
beautiful women are no
longer more powerful than
he is
 A proletariat with money will not be accepted by the
bourgeoisie. He has wealth, but no education. He is a
proletariat, with money. (A cashed up bogan remains a
bogan in spite of his wealth.) This is why Clegg is
resentful of the bourgeoisie because even though he is
as wealthy as they are, he knows he is still considered
inferior.
 A proletariat with money will face conflict with his
fellow proletariats as they may accuse him of
becoming bourgeoisie.
Miranda is privileged and has never
known what it is to be poor or to be
lacking in social class. It is hypocritical
of her ask someone like Clegg, who has
experienced class prejudice, because she
has never been judged or treated
differently because of her social class.
A rich man does not know poverty and
therefore never thinks of the value of
money. A member of the upper class
does not know what it is to be treated
differently and therefore never thinks of
class.
The ‘New People’ are not being ‘mean’, they are behaving
according to their class circumstances:
 The ‘New People’ are most likely reluctant to give money
away because the memory of being poor is still fresh. They
grew up learning not to waste money, so do not want to
give their hard earned money away.
 Secondly, the ‘New People’ may reason that nobody ever
gave them money for free, so why should they give their
money to others?
 Thirdly, the proletariat is used to being a wage earner,
whereby his labour helped profit the his bourgeoisie
employer. So the ‘New People’ are conscious of not giving
away their money in case someone else profits from it.
 Miranda is not consciously behaving in ways that are prejudiced.
She collects money for charity and is aware that class distinctions
exist and feels this is unfair.
 However, her status as a daughter from a bourgeoisie family and
a privileged member of the upper class means that her actions
would be perceived by the proletariats as being condescending
and hypocritical. What would a wealthy young woman who
holidays in France and socialises with the beautiful and rich,
know about being poor, ugly and lacking in education?
 She is also impatient with Clegg’s apparent inability to
understand academic concepts etc, but forgets that Clegg did
not have access to higher education nor was he exposed to
sophisticated ideas. It isn’t his fault that he is a ‘Caliban’.
 Her actions are offensive to the proletariat.
On one hand, perhaps Clegg unconsciously
chose to kidnap a girl from the bourgeoisie
class as a way of seeking revenge for the way
the bourgeoisie have ignored him. Clegg feels
inferior to the bourgeoisie, so kidnapping a
girl from that class is almost a way of seeking
revenge or trying to assert some power over
them.
On the other hand, perhaps Clegg hopes that
in earning Miranda’s love he can marry her
and thereby gain access to bourgeoisie
society.
 At the resolution of the novel, Clegg has begun stalking his
next victim. A girl who is a proletariat. Clegg describes her
as ‘…a common shop-girl.’ Clegg goes onto to explain his
choice, ‘…that was my mistake before, aiming too high, I
ought to have seen that I could never get what I wanted
from someone like Miranda, with all her la-di-da ideas and
clever tricks. I ought to have got someone who would
respect me more. Someone I could teach.’
 Clegg realises that Miranda’s social status (and education)
meant that he did not have as much power over her as he
expected. Now he wants someone who is lower in class
than him so he can feel more powerful.
Please complete the discussion questions
Miranda uses seduction to disempower
Clegg. Clegg is incapable of a physical
sexual encounter and when Miranda
exposes his weakness he feels
disempowered and Miranda feels
powerful. She notes that, ‘He can’t do it.
There’s no man in him.’ (page 242)She goes
on to exalt in her newfound power, ‘The
power of women! I’ve never felt so full of
mysterious power. Men are a joke.’ (page
248)
This gives Miranda a newfound confidence
that she is capable of outsmarting Clegg
and escaping.
Miranda’s discovery about Clegg highlights
a greater social issue in society. Men who
are incapable of performing sexually are
considered to be ‘unmanned’ (i.e. not
masculine). And face great shame as a
result.
Miranda uses her intellect to torment and antagonise
Clegg:
 She refers to Clegg as ‘Caliban’ (referencing The
Tempest) implying he is a grotesque animal/monster
lacking in the same intellect as a human man.
 She tries to ‘teach’ him thereby putting Clegg in the
inferior role of ‘pupil’, ‘I am making him cook better…’
(147). ‘I tried to teach him what to look for in abstract
art…it’s hopeless. (229)
 GP teaches Miranda a number of new ideas and
behaviours which Miranda lists in her diary, some of
these ideas/behaviours are: ‘…you have to be Left
politically’, ‘…You cut off all the old that’s gets in the
way’ (meaning you cut ties with your family), ‘…you
don’t go to silly films; even if you want to; you don’t
read cheap newspapers; you don’t listen to trash on the
wireless…’ (143-144)
 Essentially GP is moulding Miranda into his ideal.
 Miranda believes GP is her superior and follows his
directives, putting GP in the position of the
omnipotent teacher.
 Clegg realises the power Miranda’s intellect gives her.
However, instead of educating himself, Clegg decides
to look for a new victim who has less intelligence than
himself so that he may play the role of teacher this
time, ‘I ought to have got someone who would respect
me more. Someone ordinary I could teach.’ (282)