In an act of bravery she challenges her father's wisdom, arguing that: "Had I been any god of power, I would / Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere / It should the good ship so have swallow'd and / The fraughting souls within her.

She awakes when she is summoned and it is quickly shown that the two have a contentious relationship, most probably due to Caliban's failed attempt to rape her, she refers to him as "a villain, sir, I do not love to look on."

While Prospero is pleased by the immediate connection the two display, he purposefully takes up an attitude of animosity towards the shipwrecked prince, forbidding a relationship between the two in order that Ferdinand will place a higher value on his daughter's affection.

During the encounter Miranda once again stands up to her father, arguing against his harsh treatment of Ferdinand and defending his honour when Prospero refers to him as nothing more than another Caliban.

The celebration is interrupted by Prospero's sudden remembrance of Caliban's plot against him, after which Miranda displays a strong concern for her father's well-being.

However, some critics argue that those same "feminine" traits enable her to be a strong female presence with important effects on the play's outcome.

She is also a central figure in her father's revenge, enabling Prospero to gain political prestige through her marriage to the Prince of Naples, Ferdinand.

[6] Miranda proves herself willing to challenge Prospero's power, first by calling into question his treatment of the shipwrecked sailors and then defying his commandment to have nothing to do with Prince Ferdinand.

She is also the one to abandon traditional concepts of Elizabethan modesty by ardently stating her love for Ferdinand, proclaiming that "I am your wife, if you will marry me; / If not, I'll die your maid".

[8] Miranda's influence is what dulls the worst of her father's anger; Prospero cites her as being his reason for living after their initial banishment and he informs her that everything he does is "in care" of her.

Critic Melissa Sanchez analyses Miranda in a similar light, discussing her as a representation of an "angelic—but passive—soul "caught in the conflict between enlightenment and base desire (represented by Prospero and Caliban).

[10] Leininger equates that the sexist attitudes displayed towards Miranda are equitable to the undercurrents of racism shown in the treatment of Caliban.

Leininger also argues that Miranda's sexualisation is a weapon used against her by her father, stating that Prospero uses Caliban's attempted assault and Ferdinand's romantic overtures to marginalise her, simplifying her into a personification of chastity.

[14] However, Miranda can be interpreted as an allegory for the softer side of colonialism, portraying the more "missionary" aspect of colonisation attempts, in that she tries to educate Caliban instead of treating him as a sub-human citizen like her father seems keen to.

Editors and critics of the play felt that the speech was probably wrongly attributed to her either as a printing error or because actors preferred that no character would remain silent too long on stage.

[15] Critics also argue that the language used by Miranda in this speech is out of character for her, given her lack of knowledge of the world that makes Caliban's behaviour so shocking, as well as the fact that her style of speaking strongly resembles Prospero's mannerisms.

[16] Furthermore, the use of anger and strong language removes the image of youth and innocence Shakespeare cultivates of Miranda and does not seem to be in keeping with her behaviour for the rest of the play.

[18] Furthermore, some critics do acknowledge that while the language in this particular speech is stronger than expected for Miranda, it is far weaker than Prospero's form of address would be given the situation.