The Ending

The song is titled "Jean" written by American poet/composer Rob McKuen.

If you're of a certain age, you might remember the cover version done by Oliver (of "Good Morning Starshine" fame).

While the theme is used in the film, Oliver had a hit around 1970 or so with the sung ballad.

You bring up some interesting points about Sandy. I have never read the book upon which the play and movie are based, but in it, Sandy becomes a nun. Years after the fact, she writes a book and tells of her experiences with Ms. Brodie.

Here is my interpretation of Sandy/end of the film:

Sandy is very intelligent and perceptive. She starts out very much as one of Ms. Brodie's "special girls". Although not really given much emphasis, there is a passage of time in the film-- several years in fact.

As time goes by, Sandy matures and begins to see past the overly dramatic and overly romantic Ms. Brodie. She see's that Ms. Brodie is having an affair with Teddy, the married artist, and is also stringing along the milk toast music teacher.

Additionally, she has fascist sympathies, her romantic views blurring the brutality of the movement.

Worst of all, her influence over simple and impressionable Mary McGregor leads the young girl to go to Spain to fight in the conflict there. Tragically, this ends in the girls death.

As Sandy points out, Mary was simply a sop to Ms. Brodie's ego-- impressionable and eager to please. A blank canvas that Ms. Brodie felt she could paint on. Indeed, all her "special girls" were treated in much the same way.

As the film opens up, Ms. Brodie has a problem. Teddy, the married artist, has six children and no intention of leaving his wife. He and Ms. Brodie are having an affair and its beginning to be whispered about. Ms. Brodie senses danger, and decides to break it off.

But her ego won't simply let it go. She decides that she will hand pick her successor in Teddy's bed. Not only will this divert Teddy's attention, but she will have the satisfaction of playing "Providence" as Sandy calls it. Ordering and arranging peoples lives-- at least the people in her immediate orbit.

So what Ms. Brodie schemes to do is set up Jenny as her replacement. Essentially contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Sandy observes all this and begins to see past the hero worship of Ms. Brodie. The final straw is when Mary dies. Sandy decides to put a stop to her.

Ms. Brodie is not truly evil. She does encourage her girls to appreciate art, music, culture and history. She is also manipulative, overly romantic, and a spinster (in that era) rapidly approaching middle age. She lives vicariously through her girls while controlling them. She repeatedly crosses the line from nurturing young minds as a teacher to abusing her position of trust.

Of course, Ms. Brodie does not see it like this-- in her mind she has sacrificed all to be with her girls and remain a teacher. Her's is a sacred calling, a special gift above and beyond the simple and provincial moralities of her lesser peers. In a very real sense, she is a drama queen who thrives on conflict, certain she can control all outcomes.

When Sandy finally puts this all together, she realizes that her teacher must be stopped. She goes to the head mistress and tells her the part Ms. Brodie had in sending Mary to Spain. This is what finally gives the head mistress the ammunition she needs to get Brodie fired.

As for Sandy: she does indeed belong to Ms. Brodie for life. She just can't shrug of years of influence at the drop of a hat. She understands the situation perfectly. While she knows that Brodie has many good qualities, she also knows her abuse of her position has led to the death of a simple hearted young girl and possibly scarred others.

So Sandy is conflicted. She felt she had to betray Brodie to stop her, but she didn't get any pleasure from it. In the schoolroom scene at the end, she stops, concerned for what will happen to Ms. Brodie.

At the very end you see the head mistress giving a speech to the girls who are graduating and going out in to the world. She talks about virtue. Sandy has betrayed her mentor and this cuts deep. We see her a little later walking a step behind her friends, crying.

I don't think this signifies that Sandy regrets what she has done, only that she is conflicted. I also think that it is meant to suggest that if Sandy does not watch her step, she herself might become like Ms. Brodie-- deciding to control and manipulate events based solely on her judgment.

Which is why I think in the book she becomes a nun-- to remove the temptation and avoid becoming a Ms. Brodie.

My take anyway.

AE36

Thank you for your answers! Very interesting points ae36! Sorry it took me so long to get back to the boards, I've been away.
The more I find out about the book the more I want to read it It seems to explain a lot, but I guess that's often the case :) To those of you who have read the novel as well: do think the film does it justice?

I liked the explanation above - but what I thought most of all was that Sandy WAS indeed a Brodie girl after all because without her training in independent thinking, bravery, and honesty from Miss Brodie, she never would have "told on" Miss Brodie, slept with the artist, etc... She was THE true Brodie girl of any of them - and certainly, dependable, to be so single minded that she gave Miss Brodie the taste of her own medicine! I loved them both...neither was evil - neither made great decisions about how to get along with the rest of the world. Just my 2 cents.

Also, in the end something Miss Brodie said in the beginning is repeated: "Little girls, I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all my pupils are the crème de la crème. Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life". When she says this we see Sandy. What do you think is the importance of this?