Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill

She allows herself to believe all she is told. She also allows herself to believe that being treated as she is is going to make her better, when in fact it is only making her worse. Her being sent up in a room, like a penitentiary will add loneliness to her illness. Her being told not to write or not to go and see family and friends, again, adds to her loneliness. She is separated from society. Therefore, she feels as though she is alone in society. She gives into the fact that the male-dominated society would rather her alone, than be with lots of women and cause chaos. She gives into everything the world wants instead of listening to her inner self. She ignores herself, causing her to act out in madness. When one does not listen to one's inner self, he or she is then turning away from his or her conscience. It's like the "devil and angel" episode that has been seen in numerous cartoons. If the person listens to the little devil, it will end up being the wrong decision. It the person listens to the little angel, it will be the right decision. The narrator listens to almost neither. She allows what is happening to happen and does nothing but sit back. This would cause anger inside anyone.

In the short story “Miss Brill” the protagonist, Miss Brill, is a lonely and isolated woman who likes to spend her Sunday afternoon’s in the park observing everyone around her and listening to their conversations without them knowing. We can infer that Miss Brill has created her own fantasy world to escape the harsh reality of her own life. At the end of the story the audience can come to the conclusion that Miss Brill experienced an epiphany that will change her life.

The tragedy of the story rests in that she does not see herself as this. She describes some of the other people in the park as "... they were nearly always the same, Sunday after Sunday, and - Miss Brill had often noticed - there was something funny about nearly all of them. They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they'd come just come from dark little rooms or even - even cupboards!" (Mansfield 259), this is exactly what she is. Not only does this

This quote continues to reinforce the characterization of Miss Brill as a lonely person because she does not seem to enjoy conversing with others. Instead, she would rather observe and eavesdrop on other conversations and take joy as if it was her own. This continues to contribute to the meaning by augmenting Miss Brill’s loneliness and implication that the old couple may not like her that much because of her tendency to eavesdrop.

The older woman leaves the park and does not stop at a common bakery for a slice of comfort. The slice of comfort, the honey-cake from the bakery is a symbolic piece. The cake describes the surprise Miss Brill would look for when indulging the treat in hopes of finding an almond within the slice. It helps elude to the loneliness that Miss Brill is experiencing in her older age. When she arrives home, she puts the fur away in the box and hears a reluctant cry.

In the short story, “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, is a story about a day in the life of Miss Brill. Miss Brill has a huge imagination and lets her mind wander far from reality. The story reveals how Miss Brill sees herself through her own eyes, a glamorous actress who likes to think of herself as needed. Then it continues to reveal how Miss Brill is actually seen in reality through everyone else's eyes, a shy, lonely, old lady that is infact not needed at all. The differences from Miss Brill's actual life and her life she imagines is very different.

Miss Brill often finds herself personifying this fox fur, giving it gendered pronouns as opposed to objective pronouns. This indicates how the fur seems to be the only companion or friend that she has, and that she projects her loneliness onto this fox fur. The style of Mansfield’s writing shows that Miss Brill deeply cares about this fur, showing some of Miss Brill’s internal monologue as she takes the fox fur out of its box that afternoon. In the park, Miss Brill finds herself listening in to people’s conversations, as she feels like she can be a part of their lives this way even if it was just for a moment. The deep isolation and loneliness that Miss Brill experiences causes her to long for human connection -- though she never figures out how to achieve it. Also, it is interesting to see how Miss Brill describes the other elderly people in the park around her. She observes that they looked as though they had “just come out from dark little rooms or even — even cupboards!” This is significant because she compares them to her fox fur, which is something that she keeps in a cupboard until she is ready to leave her house again. She makes this comparison between the other elderly people at the park, however she does not make this connection to herself. This could show how Miss Brill separates herself from the other elderly people, because she longs for

Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield is a story about an old meaningful woman who just thinks to be accepted by the people around her. Yet, she completely makes up a fantasized world where she completely shuns out the flat out reality of her life. She spends all her Sundays at the park and thinks that it’s something special. From the beginning of the narrative it becomes apparent that Miss Brill is starving for warmth and companionship. She tenderly caresses her fur as if it were a beloved pet when she rubs “the life into the dim little eyes” (p.50) of the old fox boa.

She pays attention to the smallest details. "Wasn’t the conductor [of the band in the park] wearing a new coat, too? She was sure it was new. He scraped with his foot and flapped his arms like a rooster about to crow… Now came a little ‘flutey’ bit—very pretty!—a little chain of bright drops. She was sure it would be repeated. It was; she lifted her head and smiled" (98). Even if she’s only an observer, Miss Brill is an involved observer. She draws enjoyment from simply being in the park atmosphere. However, her enjoyment is more than a passing mood. It’s actually an indication of a deeper emotion—a kind of happiness. This becomes clear after Miss Brill has paid close attention to several small exchanges between people at the park. "Oh how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all!" (99). That Miss Brill does not actually participate in anything is clear to the reader, but not to her. Vicarious involvement in other people’s lives seems to be fulfilling for her, even though there is no actual interplay with others. The most telling evidence that Miss Brill is happy (and that her happiness is based on a false impression) is when she comes to the conclusion that she’s somehow needed at the park. "No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there; she was part of the performance after all… Miss Brill nearly laughed out loud" (100). This realization eventually moves Miss Brill to

Miss Brill believes people would notice if she were gone because she is an “actress”, “No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there; she was part of the performance after all” (Mansfield 187). She believes people also view their lives as a play, “Yes, we understand, we understand, she thought-though what they understood she didn’t know“ (Mansfield 188). It is shown Miss Brill does not have a clue that people really are not on the same page as her, they do not visualize their lives as a play, and they do not notice her existence. Miss Brill also uses her imagination to dehumanize the park goers, “she was wearing the ermine toque she’d bought when her hair was yellow. Now everything, her hair, her face, even her eyes, was the same colour as the shabby ermine, and her hand…was a tiny yellowish paw”

The details as told, seem to be coming directly from Miss Brill at times. The narrator gets us settled into the park with Miss Brill and tells us that she sees those around her as “odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even-even cupboards!” This tells me that Miss Brill sees herself differently than she sees others, not odd or funny. She is a part of all this life and activity at the park! An actor in the grand play and “somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there.” She really loved to be out with others and thought that she was very much a part of the world and not apart from it. Don’t we all feel this way? Some people are truly introverted and care little of interacting, but I think the majority of us strive to become part of the world and at times feel like this life is one big drama and we have a big part. Our role might only be important for one scene, but we feel like the leading man or woman at times. The narrator leads us to what appears to be a fitting climax; a crescendo of music and song, with all players involved. Miss Brill’s dreams of this were quickly shattered. The comments by the young people, “Why does she come here at all-who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly mug at home?” leaves Miss Brill with the cold realization that she is in fact like the odd, old people that she watches in the

Throughout the history of humanity mankind has always cherished relationships with others. The excitement of being needed and depended on drives man’s compassion and understanding for one another. No matter the time period or where on earth in which one lives this has been proven to be true. In “Miss Brill”, by Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill is an elderly woman is living a stagnant life filled with loneliness and misconception where she is unable to differentiate the line between reality and her imagination while struggling with her mental state.

Miss Brill is a single woman, probably in her mid to late fifties. She lives alone in a very small space without even a cat or bird. She has a collection of vintage clothing. Her physical appearance is only alluded to in the 18-paragraph short story by Mansfield, but in reading about a day in her life, one has the impression of an intelligent, sensitive

Katherine Mansfield wrote a short story in the early 1900's, title Miss Brill. This short story takes place in the fall season, in a garden in France called Jardins Publiques. Miss Brill is a middl-aged woman who has this ludicrous idea about the world in which she lives. There are minor characters who help us, the reader, portray who Miss Brill really is. Throughout the story multiple characters are brought to demonstrate Miss Brill's true personality.

Katherine Mansfield’s short story, Miss Brill, is a well-written story of an elderly, unmarried woman in Europe. In Miss Brill, Katherine Mansfield uses stream-of-consciousness point of view to show alienation and loneliness, appearances and reality, and Miss Brill’s perceptions as she attempts to make herself fit in with the park goers. Miss Brill is an older lady who makes a living teaching English to school children and reading newspapers to an “old invalid gentleman” (Wilson 2: 139). Her joy in life comes in her visits to the park on Sunday where she is notorious for “sitting in on other people’s lives” (Wilson 2: 140). It is there that her ritualistic, monotonous journey that Miss Brill refers to as a “play” takes place.