Essay about The Theme of Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill

In the novel Jane Eyre, Blanche Ingram indirectly raises Jane's sense of self-worth by allowing Jane to see that her humility and compassion can be prized above wealth and physical appearance. Blanche Ingram is a a complete contrast to Jane in the way she looks and acts. Ms. Ingram is beautiful and affluent, as described by Ms. Fairfax: "Tall, fine bust, sloping shoulders; long, graceful neck: olive complexion, dark and clear; noble features; eyes rather like Mr. Rochester's: large and black, and as brilliant as her jewels.” Ms. Fairfax describes Ms. Ingram with very regal and powerful terms such as “noble” and “graceful.” Ms. Fairfax also says that, “her eyes are as brilliant as her jewels.” This right away put Ms. Ingram in a position

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

“Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How he loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play. … She was on the stage” (177).

In the novel Emma, the author, Jane Austen, uses many different techniques to characterize Miss Bates as a woman with no intellect, but a very kind heart. Miss Bates in a humorous character who is loved and loving.

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

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

Miss Brill engages in shameless people watching. She has taken the practice of keen observation and elevated it to an art form. Miss Brill ascribes to the notion that since we all coexist on this planet, we are acting out our lives alongside each other, the entire world is a stage and we are all in it together. She understands that most people do not feel quite so connected to one another and that her rose-colored-glasses-approach to life is not universal, but still she carries on, thriving amongst the non-believers, quietly living out her interpretation of days.

Likewise, Miss Brill imagines herself in a different situation. "They were all on the stage. They weren't only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting. Even she had a part and came every Sunday. No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn't been there; she was part of the performance after all" (740). In this story, the woman finds herself acting as if she is part of a play. She notes the

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is presented in the Victorian Period of England. It is a novel which tells the story of a child's maturation into adulthood. Jane's developing personality has been shaped by her rough childhood. She has been influenced by many people and experiences. As a woman of her time, Jane has had to deal with the strain of physical appearance. This has a great effect on her mental thinking and decision making. Jane Eyre's cognitive and physical attributes have been affected by her environment throughout her life.

Miss Brill is a solitary woman who spends her Sunday in a park, relating in vivid details the happenings around her. She is dressed in a fox fur, though the weather does not call for it, as she believes it to be representative of her high status. She admires the music around her, thinking it to be reflective of her experiences. An old couple is seated on her bench, and she is dissatisfied that they are not talking since she enjoys eavesdropping on their conversation. Her attention switches to others in the park, the children, a beggar, all who she describes as looking strange. She notices a young girl trying desperately to gain a man's attention but fails. Though the girl seems happy and quickly moves on, Miss Brill instead concentrates on

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.

JANE AUSTEN: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE A Critical Analysis The opening chapter of the novel gives us a brief introduction to the lives of the Bennets. Mrs Bennet’s sole purpose in life is to marry of her daughters to wealthy young men. It begins with Mr and Mrs Bennet having a conversation about marrying of their daughters as soon as possible.

he is sincere in his comment, which of course he is not, he is merely

A feminist is a person whose beliefs and behavior are based on feminism (belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes). Jane Eyre is clearly a critique of assumptions about both gender and social class. It contains a strong feminist stance; it speaks to deep, timeless human urges and fears, using the principles of literature to chart the mind?s recesses. Thus, Jane Eyre is an epitome of femininity - a young independent individual steadfast in her morals and has strong Christian virtues, dominant, assertive and principled. That itself is no small feat.