Here, Miranda’s snobbishness begins to come out in full force. She thinks of her snobbishness as emanating from her status as an artist, but it is also representative of her class. Miranda’s artistic sensibilities match those of an educated, upper class person, and she dislikes Clegg because he does not share this background. Caliban is a deformed, savage creature in
The Tempest. He has a hostile relationship with the play’s Miranda, whom he once tried to assault and whom he resents because her father, Prospero, rules over him. Miranda is suggesting that Clegg is similarly a jealous and savage man, who resents her because he feels powerless. Notably, Clegg does not understand the reference.