Miranda Character Analysis in The Glass Hotel

Miranda was Leon Prevant’s junior colleague at the shipping company before he was let go in the wake of a company merger. Miranda replaced Leon in the midst of the restructuring. It’s Miranda who invites Leon to serve as a second witness to the investigation into Vincent’s disappearance onboard the Neptune Cumberland, a container ship operated by her shipping company. Miranda hires Leon because she wants to ensure that Vincent receives a fair, thorough investigation, and Miranda knows that internal investigations often lead to coverups. Miranda’s efforts to create an unbiased investigation are morally upstanding. At the same time, though, she ignores a remark of Leon’s that hints at his connection to Vincent (Vincent was Jonathan Alkaitis’s wife, and Leon has just lost all his money to Alkaitis’s Ponzi scheme), which could be seen as a conflict of interest. This suggests she’s more invested in projecting the outward appearance of an impartial investigation than an actual impartial investigation.

Miranda Character Timeline in The Glass Hotel

The timeline below shows where the character Miranda appears in The Glass Hotel. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Complicity and Interconnectedness Theme Icon

...they have ships anchored and not making any routes in Malaysia, “just sitting there,” as Miranda, Leon’s junior colleague, puts it. D’Ambrosio, Leon’s boss, reasons that this probably isn’t a bad... (full context)

Greed, Delusion, and Self Interest Theme Icon

After the meeting, Leon finds Miranda sitting on a couch in the atrium. She compliments his idea about parking unused ships... (full context)

...a small town in Colorado. Leon has been in Colorado for half a year when Miranda calls him. Leon is sitting in the RV after work, alone, as Marie just got... (full context)

The call surprises Leon, who hasn’t heard from Miranda in the 10 years that have passed since he left the corporate world. Miranda admits... (full context)

Fraud and Constructed Identity Theme Icon

Hearing of a woman named Vincent jogs Leon’s memory, and he tells Miranda he once knew—or “knew of”—a woman named Vincent, but Miranda mostly ignores Leon’s comment. Speaking... (full context)

...to the present (2018), and Leon has journeyed back east to tackle the consulting job. Miranda asks Leon how his retirement is going, seemingly unaware of his tragic involvement in the... (full context)

...that Leon’s involvement in the investigation is itself a conflict of interest and asks if Miranda is aware of Leon’s connection to Vincent. Leon stutters, insisting that Miranda could have looked... (full context)