PROSPERO     I have done nothing but in care of thee,

Of thee, my dear one, thee my daughter, who

Art ignorant of what thou art, naught knowing

Of whence I am, nor that I am more better

Than Prospero, master of a full poor cell,

And thy no greater father.

MIRANDA                                                      More to know

Did never meddle with my thoughts.

PROSPERO                                                                 ’Tis time

I should inform thee further.           (1.2.16-23)

I have done nothing but in care of thee: that has to include raising the storm and causing the shipwreck, although he doesn’t make that explicit yet. And the repetitions continue (are they accompanied by gestures? embraces, holding her close?): in care of thee, of thee, my dear one, thee my daughter: further reassurance, but also pleading – I did it for you, all for you, because I love you. The closeness of the relationship is underscored at the beginning of this exchange, Miranda addressing her father as my dearest father, Prospero calling her my dear one, my daughter: these identities, their mutual definition by their relationship with each other, are central to who these characters are. (We don’t know her name yet, incidentally, although he does here name himself.) There is such a tradition of reading Prospero as sinister, as a despot, even as an abuser – but that dynamic doesn’t necessarily have to be present here. (Although it can be: I did it all for you can be played darkly too. You made me do it.) These two have been everything to each other – and Prospero is about to tell his daughter why. This is the crucial moment – ’Tis time – when he will tell her who he really is, and who she really is, therefore. The way he phrases it – what thou art – and the suggestion that he is more better than Prospero, master of a full poor cell – implies that he is going to tell her of hitherto unsuspected nobility, of status, of rank. But what does that even mean, on this island, just the two of them; what can that mean to Miranda, who has, it seems, known no other life, or relationship – and can know no other father? And his emphasis still falls on his identity as her father, and that has been enough for Miranda: more to know did never meddle with my thoughts. It’s not simply that she’s had no idea of what or who he could be, other than her father and the master of his cell – it’s that she’s never even thought to wonder or question whether there could be more to him. But it seems that there is, and he is now going to tell her…. Eventually.