Critically
comment on the character of Mrs. Malaprop.
Mrs. Malaprop is certainly one of the most memorable
characters in this play, and she has become so famous that she was used as the
basis of a new word in the English language, a malapropism, which means to use
a similar but incorrect word by mistake that creates a comic effect. This is
certainly one of her roles throughout the entire play as she is doomed to try
and adopt a formal register including more difficult vocabulary that,
ironically, she wishes to show she can master, but only ends up mastering her.
Malaprop is
seen often useing the incorrect word to express herself. The popularity of the
play and the character led to creation of the literary term malapropism, meaning the the practice
(whether by intent or by accident) of using an incorrect word that sounds similar
to the appropriate word. Mrs. Malaprop's name comes from the French term malapropos, meaning “inappropriate”
Here are a few examples of Mrs.
Malaprop's wit and wisdom:
"We will
not anticipate the past, our retrospection will now be all to the future."
"The pineapple of
politeness" (Instead of "pinnacle of politeness.")
"She's as
headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile" (Instead of
"alligator on the banks of the Nile.")
A classic example of this comes in Act I scene 2 when
Mrs. Malaprop is talking about the education young women should receive and
what they should and shouldn't be able to do:
