This is when one of his bad traits first becomes apparent. His need for revenge is so strong that he goes to the lengths of creating a storm in order to bring those at fault closer to him, a very bad and somewhat evil abuse of his magical powers.
Prospero is at first a caring and loving father when it suits him. “that for which I live.”
He keeps a firm control over his daughter and her actions, even her union with Ferdinand has to an extent been orchestrated by Prospero.
“It goes on I see, as my soul prompts it.”
But towards the end of the play he does give his blessing to the couple.
“Then as my gift, and thine own acquisition take my daughter.”
When her father starts the “tempest” she begs him to stop it.
“You have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.”
This shows that she can empathize with others pain and as the only teacher and guide to morals and human values she ever had was her father she must have learnt it all from him. Therefore if he could produce such a caring and giving child then surely Prospero himself couldn’t be completely bad or self-centred.
“make not too rash a trial of him.”
He didn’t deny Miranda an education at a time when it wasn’t considered necessary to educate women; in fact it would be considered strange to educate women, yet still he gave her this advantage in life.
“I, thy schoolmaster, made more profit than other princes can.”
This also indicates that Prospero isn’t at heart an evil man and that he only wants the best for his daughter, the same as any loving father would. Due to him possessing qualities such as these one can only assume that Prospero isn’t as bad or heartless as the statement makes out.
Caliban, son of Sycorax and later slave of Prospero, accuses Prospero of taking the island that rightfully belonged to him and making him a slave. All this happens after Caliban misguidedly shows Prospero where all the rivers, fertile land and other such essentials were.
He did this because Prospero was at first very kind to him:
“Thou strok’st me and made much of me.”
However this treatment changed when Prospero got what he wanted:
“This island mine by Sycorax my mother, which thou tak’st from me.”
Once again we see the cunning side of Prospero emerging; we see how ruthless and selfish he can be when trying to acquire something. The relationship between the two is that of a master and slave, a fact that Caliban despises.
“I am subject to a tyrant.”
Prospero’s treatment of Caliban does seem rather harsh as he plagues him with “cramps” for hours on end when it takes his fancy over the smallest of disobediences.
“If thou neglect’st, or dost unwillingly what I command, I’ll rend thee with old cramps.”
This shows a more tyrannical side to Prospero.
However he is redeemed by the fact that most of what he has done to Caliban he has done with good reason. The reason being Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda, Prospero’s beloved daughter.
“till thou didst seek to violate the honour of my child.”
Caliban shows no remorse over his actions, which in itself shows that perhaps he isn’t as human in his thinking as once assumed.
“Woud’t had been done. Thou didst prevent me - I had peopled else this isle with Caliban.”
Also Caliban is rather evil himself as he suggests Stephano and Trinculo should kill Prospero.
“Revenge it on him - for I know thou dar’st.”
“where thou mayst knock a nail into his head.”
Revenge is a strong theme throughout the play as well as deception and disloyalty as is illustrated here. It could be said that this is just a result of how Prospero treats Caliban and that anyone in similar circumstances would feel the need for revenge, but he also makes plans for Miranda in his plot to overthrow Prospero:
“Ay, Lord, she will become thy bed.”
Miranda, the person who treated him well and taught him how to speak.
“took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour.”
If Caliban merely made this plan to overthrow Prospero due to a need for revenge surely he wouldn’t choose to cause any harm to Miranda too?
The relationship between Ariel and Prospero cannot be defined or described as either bad or good, as they have moments of affection for one another: “my fine spirit.”
“chick.”
At other times Prospero threatens Ariel and insults him.
“if thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak and peg thee in his knotty entrails.”
“malignant thing.”
However I assume that Prospero does feel some love for Ariel, as in the end he releases him from his service and allows him to have the freedom he’s always yearned for. This could be down to the fact that he doesn’t need him anymore but there is still an indication of some affection for the spirit and care for his well being.
“then to the elements be free, and fare thou well.”
Also Ariel looks for reassurance from Prospero that he loves him:
“Do you love me master? No?”
This shows that Ariel wants to feel loved by Prospero and wants his approval, as with Miranda it seems that Ariel cares more for Prospero than Prospero does for him because at that time Prospero is more involved with his need for revenge and magic than anything else. This is shown in the flippancy of his reply:
“Dearly, my delicate Ariel. Do not approach till thou dost hear me calls.”
In his use of Ariel Prospero could be considered to be self-centred because he asks an awful lot of him.
“Go take this shape and hither come in’t. Go! Hence with diligence.”
Overall the relationship can be described as master and servant but unlike Caliban this servant is more loyal and does seem to care for his master and that care is reciprocated.
The courtiers were placed on the island by the means of a “tempest” and didn’t have a clue as to where they were, how they’d get back together or home.
Also Prospero commanded Ariel to split the group up and put them at different points on the island. Ferdinand was left on his own in one corner and led to believe that his father and the rest of the courtiers had been drowned.
“Weeping again the King my father’s wrack.”
Whilst Alonso, Gonzalo, Antonio and Sebastian were left on another corner believing that Ferdinand and everyone else had drowned.
“my son is lost.”
Stephano and Trinculo were also placed at a different point on the island.
This is another indication of how Prospero possessed some of the worst qualities; he parted a father from his son and allowed them to think of each other as dead. A truly evil action.
“What strange fish hath made his meal on thee?”
Prospero’s treatment of Ferdinand is at first very harsh.
“The name thou ow’st not, and has put thyself upon this island as a spy.”
He does this in order to gain control over the situation and leave Ferdinand unsure of where he stands, also he notices Ferdinand and Miranda’s relationship starting to grow from the moment they first see each other and would like to keep some control over it. Here we notice another of his bad traits, he his a very controlling man and prefers to keep others at a disadvantage.
This also points out how and why his magic is so important to him because that is what gives him the power to do everything he feels he must to exact his revenge.
His manner towards Ferdinand changes as the play goes on. He starts off as very suspicious and harsh but then begins to realise that Ferdinand isn’t like his father and what Ferdinand and Miranda share is true love and he cannot get in the way of that nor break it.
“sit then, and talk with her, she is thine own.”
“I have given u here a third of mine own life.”
It becomes apparent that Prospero now feels that Ferdinand can be trusted, this is were we start noticing more of his good qualities, he begins to forgive and tries to be a better person.
Prospero’s feelings towards the second group are very malicious and vengeful because he feels both Antonio and Alonso wronged him when he was usurped, but he feels goodwill towards Gonzalo because Gonzalo was the only one that helped him in his time of need.
“King of Naples, being an enemy hearkens my brother’s suit”
Towards the end of the play he manages to forgive them all even his brother who was so treacherous. Another sign of how Prospero was indeed a good person at heart.
Prospero starts at the beginning of the play with a feeling of great dislike for his brother and the King of Naples as well as with a need for revenge.
“bountiful fortune.”
“ hath mine enemies brought to this shore.”
This need for revenge seems to become less and it could have been used, for example killing Ferdinand but it wasn’t. An indication that perhaps prospero isn’t as self-centred as assumed.
At the end of the play he makes the greatest sacrifice of all, he gives up his magic. He gives up the spiritual to become more human and thus forgiving.
The third party of Stephano and Trinculo join up with Caliban who tells them about Prospero and his ill treatment of him. He fires them up and helps them to make plans to kill Prospero.
“I say by sorcery he got this isle.”
They’re plans go to waste because Prospero knows everything that happens on the island because Ariel his faithful servant tells him.
Prospero’s portrayal on stage should change in direct parallel to his change from a revenge seeking magician to a forgiving man. In the beginning his cloak should be highlighted as it is the source of his power along with his books and as the play gets closer to its conclusion the cloak should become less important and more of a background feature.
In conclusion I feel the statement has been made rather rashly, without taking a thorough look at the character of Prospero.
Admittedly Prospero can at first be to some degree described as a “self-centred magician” but this is not true throughout the play. As the evidence shows, he is only possessing of the worst traits when there is reason to be: being dumped on an island, the plots to overthrow him, Caliban’s attempted rape and so on. It shows how bighearted he is that even after all that he is willing to forgive, even though many wouldn’t be if in his shoes.
Also at the time when his “enemy” Alonso was about to be assassinated by his own brother Prospero intervened, showing that he knows right form wrong.
In the end Prospero is just a man with a passion for his books which led him to his misfortune but he manages to acquit himself by forgiving others and appealing to the audience in his final speech.
