The Insignificant Soul in Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill Essay

In order to bring us closer to Miss Brill, Mansfield uses the technique of showing, by

This passage gives the reader an idea of how Miss Bernstone's personality is and how it affects others.

The point of view that Katherine Mansfield has chosen to use in "Miss Brill" serves two purposes. First, it illustrates how Miss Brill herself views the world and, second, it helps the reader take the same journey of burgeoning awareness as Miss Brill.

However, the ignorant side of Miss Brill can be seen as she deludes herself by stating that “No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there; she was part of the performance after all” (Mansfield 3). She deceives herself by stating that she is part of something greater: a grand play. She raises herself higher and higher in importance only to fall from grace at the end. This denial of the truth is what emphasizes the fact that she too is part of the old age which is exiled by society. This idea is further supported as Miss Brill views the young couple replace the old couple in her “special seat”. This exchange symbolizes the constant cycle which occurs between youth and old age. As the old become brittle and useless, the youth of the time will replace them. However, Miss Brill has still not realized that she is part of the elderly

In the story “Miss Brill” written by Kathrine Mansfield demonstrated to me that many women are capable of being independent. There are many women out there that start living on their own and gradually learn life survival. Ms. Brill is a lonely, elderly woman who is caught within her fantasy that the world is a play, but is soon thrusted back into the harsh realm of reality. Ms. Brill has a constant regime that she abides by as she gets up every Sunday morning to go to the park and observe conversations. She is motivated to go to the park since it makes her feel as if she is able to fulfill her fantasy. This whirlwind of a vision leads Ms. Brill to believe that "the world is a stage" and everyone is an actor within it. Before she would leave

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

How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play,” Miss Brill an old English woman is a foreigner in France, who thinks she is one of the “actresses” in the play, that really is a fantasy in her head. Listening to others conversation and thinking she knows the people at the parks background by what she sees them wearing and doing. All the actions she witnesses are filtered through these perceptions, and hence she is disconnected from her true circumstances () “The band had been having a rest.

Katherine Mansfield was very detailed and caught my eye when referring to her character Miss Brill. Mansfield, the author of Miss Brill, shows Miss Brill having many observations, which many were contradicting. Mansfield describes the scene in such great detail that I imagined myself as being there. Mansfield made sure the reader understood the meaning and point of the short story. Mansfield created the character Miss Brill very interesting. Miss Brill couldn’t seem to focus on one thing at a time. Miss Brill seemed to be very judgmental.

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”

In the beginning of the short story Miss. Brill is presented as a character who is emotional and Lonely. Miss Brill has a ritual of visiting the park every Sunday afternoon to see the concert, however she actually goes here because it allows her to cope with loneliness. She enjoys going to the park and getting to be a part of what she called a "play" and loved sitting there and watching it all (Mansfield). Ms. Brill includes herself in society by eavesdropping on people's conversation and perceives herself being a part of the activities in the park. At the end of the short story, Miss Brill changes from listening to a young couple who is seated beside her say harsh remarks. The young man refers to Miss Brill as "that stupid old thing" and continues

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

To start things off, Mansfield introduces us to ways in which Miss Brill comes off as being lonely. The author says “They did not speak” referring to the old couple sitting next to Miss Brill. “This was disappointing, for Miss Brill always looked forward to the conversation” (258) this is the author’s way of showing us that Miss Brill is indeed lonely because she looks forward to listening to others conversations. Another way Mansfield indicated that she is lonely is when she states that she is “sitting in other people’s lives just for a minute while they talked round her”. (258) Miss Brill does this in hopes to end her loneliness by

Mansfield’s contrast in settings is important because it represents Miss Brill’s realization of reality. Thurber and Mansfield both create a contrast between reality and the central

She critiques the people around her, however, she does not account and judge herself she only judges others instead. Miss Brill continues to notice the little details about the people and the environment she is surrounded by however, she does not realize or take into consideration how other people might be judging her. She is open to her imagination when shown in her perspective of seeing the world as a play and everyone, including her plays a crucial role in the scene. She continues to be self-delusional when discussing how she sings with the people in the field while the people on the stands would be her accompaniment. However, this is her imagination as this scene only plays in her head and does not happen in real life.

The narrator starts off with Miss Brill taking out her “fur”, something that two characters make fun off. Miss Brill lives a fairly boring life with nothing eventful going on in her life and the only thing she look forward to is going to a concert on Sunday. She observes people, taking pride in the fact she is able to eavesdrop on people’s conversation. During the story she ignores her feelings of loneliness. Miss Brill likes to imagine that her life is a play, something much more interesting than her dull daily life. She even hopes to tell the man she read to that she is an actress. At some point in the story she witnesses a woman being rejected by some man, the woman quickly gains her composure and hides it with a smile. Miss Brill had hoped