Miss Brill Character Traits

In the Bedford Introduction to Literature, Characterization is defined as "... the process by which a writer makes that character seem real to the reader"(2126). In order to do this a writer has multiple tools at their disposal that add to the depth of a character and simplify roles in a story. This includes the use of Protagonists and Antagonists, static and dynamic characters, showing and telling, and motivated and plausible action, as well as many others. The short story "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield is no exception to this and displays the main character of Miss Brill as the protagonist, who is confronted with the reality of her existence.

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

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.

4. During the introduction of the characters and setting of the story, the author characterized the old woman by expressing in his own words, “She is small and sprightly, like a bantam hen; but, due to a long youthful illness, her shoulders are pitifully hunched” (Capote 338). As I read this description, I can understand that the woman is elderly and delicate because of her long-time illness, but throughout the story, I can see that her appearance does not reflect her temperament at all. She has a passion for adventure unlike most people her age, and it keeps her from recognizing her frail condition.

Katherine Mansfield writes about an aged woman, Miss Brill, who isolates her existence from the real world. Miss Brill attempts to build a fantasy life to protect her emotions from the harsh facts of her existence. The short story “Miss Brill” offers thorough description and examples of imagery to help readers better comprehend and view occurrences. Robert Peltier mentions how “Miss Brill” maintains a rising and falling action in each paragraph to demonstrate a scene-by-scene picture to the reader. In his overview of “Miss Brill”, each paragraph fits her on a specific day and moment. Mandel Miriam explains how “Miss Brill” contains more figurative language rather than actions. In particular, “Miss Brill” depends generally on images of sense and sound, but the senses of taste and

versions of the realities before her that she prefers. This can be seen in many examples from the

I see historians as painters because everyone sees, and takes in things differently. There are many historians out there that hear information, and turn it into their version. By way of illustration, paintings of Noah’s Ark. If I were to look up Noah’s Ark in Google Images, I would get multiple different paintings of it. This is because there is no photographic evidence of what the ark looks like so the question is: why are they all different? That is because each artist sees the ark in a different light. Some imagine it longer, shorter, taller, smaller, etc. No one sees it exactly the same, and that is why historians are like painters. They paint history the way they picture it from the information they gather. The thing is historians are

For example, “ALTHOUGH it was so brilliantly fine–the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques–Miss Brill was glad that she had decided on her fur” (Mansfield 1). Miss Brill is introduced as someone who is excited about her weekly walk in the garden, her positive outlook is reflected in the way she views the sky and the atmosphere around her as she gets dressed for her outing. Moments change the way that people think and their actions. In addition, Katherine Mansfield has previously stated, “Just at that moment a boy and girl came and sat down where the old couple had been. They were beautifully dressed; they were in love.

Katherine Mansfield's "Miss Brill" is a woman self-contained, not pessimistic but settled, content. She is not a victim of her circumstances, but the satisfied creator of them. You could say she has her ducks lined up the way she wants them. Through the character of Miss Brill, Katherine Mansfield reveals a woman who has the ability to enjoy a simple world of her own elaborate creation.

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

In “Miss Brill,” Katherine Mansfield utilizes Miss Brill’s thoughts and actions and the surroundings to characterize Miss Brill as a lonely character. Mansfield immediately introduces Miss Brill with a very odd scene that shows her conversation with the fur coat. This quickly and effectively establishes the type of person Miss Brill is. As a result, Mansfield suggests that Miss Brill is a lonely and an “abnormal” person to illustrate to the audience how society treats those who are not considered “normal” through the later actions of a young couple.

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 lives in a world of her own whilst simultaneously sitting in on the lives of others around her. She finds joy in small or mundane matters and Looks forward to spending her days at the park on Sunday afternoons. On these special days, she loves to eavesdrop on people near. The way she analyzes others gives us lots of insight to the English teacher in France, Miss.Brill. The author of the short story_____ uses characterization, point of view and stream of consciousness to express why she analyzes others the way she does.

As the story “Miss Brill” begins, Miss Brill comes across as a woman who has a childlike mind and is isolated from others around. She sits on a bench in the Jardins Publiques and her imagination makes the people around her become characters in the “play”. By the end of the short story “Miss Brill” it is shown that she doesn’t have an epiphany.

Jim is a local household slave for Miss Watson but he is not your average slave in the South. There is more to Jim than meets the eye.