Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill

The use of symbolism is one of the main literary elements used in this poem. The speaker’s long hair is used as a representation of sexuality. Women are often viewed to be more desirable with longer hair. Long hair it is also used to validate femininity and in earlier years also represented social status. Throughout history, hair has been worn in a variety of ways often determined by the

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

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 story we see the narrator symbolize Fleur like an animal when she said that “her hips fishlike, slippery, narrow,” and “Her braids were thick like the tails of animals,” (Erdrich 3178). Those two symbols make the reader think why the narrator is making that comparison,

Miss Brill is a very interesting and unusual character. She talks to fur and she thinks that she can control what goes on around her. She believes the bench that she sits on every Sunday at her local park gives her that power. Every Sunday at her local park Miss Brill sits on her bench and eavesdrops on people who go to the park believing that no one is aware. Eventually she’s pushed back into reality when she’s being mocked by a younger couple. Every Sunday she repeats the same routine, living in her own box. Miss Brill is unusual because she talks to her fur, she stick to a strict routine of visiting the park every day and, she enjoys eavesdropping on people.

In Katherine Mansfield’s short story, “Miss Brill,” she uses characterization to develop a whimsical tone that sharply shifts to a more despairing tone that reveals the theme of how prejudice towards people can have a profound impact on their self-image. “Miss Brill” is about an older woman who tries to fit into her surroundings by listening to other people around her and has a rude awakening where she becomes self-aware of who she is. Mansfield develops the character of Miss Brill through indirect characterization. One way this is done is developing Miss Brill to show that she is a lonely, older woman who inserts herself into people’s lives by “listening as though she didn’t listen” (Mansfield, Paragraph 3). Through her actions, the audience learns that this is how she tries to fit into her surroundings, saying that she’s an actress (Paragraph 9) which allows her to justify her actions and deem herself important and wanted.

She is an elderly woman, but she is not a “normal” old woman. "The old people sat on the bench, still as statues. Never mind, there was always the crowd to watch.” This quote shows what Miss Brill thinks about elderly people. By doing this, she is acting like a teenager, sort of immature. She likes to be different from the other elderly people or people who act like old people. In the same way, when she saw old people who were sitting on benches, she said that they were "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!” In this way, she is putting herself away from that “old people”. She describes them in a negative tone and showing that she is much more than one typical frail old

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

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 is in an illusion that she is a young, vibrant, and happy young women. She goes to the park everyday and imagines what her life should really be like, only to ignore her loneliness. Miss Brill does her daily activities, as she feels young and happy, almost even imaginative. This is evident in the story near the beginning and middle because the tone seems to be

In my opinion, the fur coat represents herself. Miss Brill lives in a cupboard of a room and the fur lives in a box. She goes to the park each Sunday and this is the only moment that she takes it out to wear it. When the couple at the park deride her and her fur, she perceives it to be because of the latter, so she decides to put the fur away. Then she hears it crying. Which I think, , she actually hears herself cry because she was treated so badly by all the people.

Miss Brill lives vicariously through these people’s interactions with each other, which gives her the false notion of her having a perfect life. At the end of the story, Mansfield writes, “But to-day she passed the baker’s by… she thought she heard someone crying” (page 4). It is implied that Miss Brill is snapped back into reality when she fathoms that others acknowledge her presence in a negative way, and that she is in fact the person that is crying at the end. Choosing to believe that her life is one big act is the one “fatal” flaw of Miss Brill. She sets herself up for a crash back into reality once she is introduced to the idea of other people not accepting her for the person that she is, and that is something Miss Brill has a difficult time accepting because she’s perceived life as a fairytale, planned from beginning to end with no one to criticize the plot line. This triggers the realization that she has a severe lack of self-awareness, causing her to begin to criticize herself and look inward on who she really is as a real-life human

Therefore in the concise nature of the form, any conversational element must have a significant role within the text. Within Mansfield’s Miss Brill, the contrast in the unreliable narration and dialogue in conversation, are employed to highlight the stories main theme of reality versus fantasy. The stories detached narrative style provides a convincing platform for Miss Brill's facade, creating the initial impression that Miss Brill's life is flawless. In the stories inception, the narration establishes Miss Brill's delusional fantasy, through the weather much like The Garden Party which begins on a perfect day. In Miss Brill, the blue sky which is ‘powdered with gold and great spots of light’ shines down.

In Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield, the main character in this story is a single woman who enjoys observing life go on around her. Mansfield goes into great detail by giving the reader a clear image exactly through Miss Brill’s eyes. Throughout the story, Mansfield expresses how excited and happy Miss Brill is on her Sunday routine, siting there alone watching the crowd, but in a way makes her feel as though she is part of something even more extravagant and better. Every Sunday she would go to the same spot to watch people pass by, listening in on their conversations and enjoying the band that plays at the park.

She views herself as an actress in a great play when she goes to the park and sees everyone else there as the other actors and actresses in the play. Miss Brill imagines a conversation she will have with the man she reads to several times a week and sees herself telling the man “I have been an actress for a long time,” showing that she does view the trips to the park as something out of a play and not a way to engage herself in the real world (177). This essentially creates a barrier between Miss Brill and the rest of the people at the park, making it impossible for her to physically interact with others and form lasting