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Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill

518 Words3 Pages

In ¨Miss Brill,¨ a short story written by Katherine Mansfield, the main character Miss Brill gives us insight on the real world around us both through herself as a character and through the life of others that she portrays through her own perception. The underlying message in this story is that while the world around us may be blissful at first, everyone will have to face their true reality at one point or another. Mansfield helps convey this message through having Miss Brill describe her surroundings in a way that's conflicting with reality, including through the personification of various pieces of clothing, and through her encounter with the young couple toward the end of the story. However, it is through this encounter, that she realizes her grasp on life is weaker than she thought. …show more content…

Through her descriptions, we learn that Miss Brill overanalyzes simple everyday events and affairs and views them in a way different from most, almost even stretching the truth of what she's seeing. She also demonstrates this through personifying pieces of clothing she sees people wearing and brings them to life. The first clothing piece that we see her give human characteristics to is her own fox skin which she wears over her shoulders throughout the story. She ¨rubbed the life back into the dim little eyes,¨ and had it speak back to her with ¨sad little eyes¨ (1). The way she describes people seems more as if she's seeing clothing that just happen to be connected to a person, rather than a person wearing said clothing

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This article points out many forms of imagery and expresses the true character of Miss Brill. Terry White quoted, “Miss Brill’s life is one of shabby gentility and pretense”(n.p.), which sums up Miss Brills life as a whole. The part of White’s article conversing about Miss Brill not having any love in her life so she cares so much for her fur, “Maternally caressing the fur” will be a useful topic in my essay. White wrote that readers “behold her pathetic attempt to build a fantasy life to protect her from the harsh facts of her existence” (n.p.), and I agree with White. Also Terry White sums up the story of “Miss Brill” by writing, “Like the insidious illness that seems to be creeping to life inside her, Miss Brill is abruptly forced to confront the reality that her imagination seeks to escape”(n.p.).

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Today, we are going try to talk about the short story of “Miss Brill”, written by Katherine Mansfield, about an older lady named Miss Brill who loves to go to the park and wear a fancy fur coat. The next story were going to talk about is “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” ,written by Flannery O’Connor, this story about a Grandmother going on a trip to Florida with her son and his family but she has a bad feeling about going… Miss Brill was a lovely and sweet older lady who just enjoyed going to the park on Sundays. She never missed a Sunday going to the park. It was a routine for Miss Brill to go and enjoy her day at the park.

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As a result, she begins to blur the line between fantasy and reality, believing that she is an important part of the Sunday gathering; that “No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there” at the park. Sadly, this thought is more of a fabrication born out of her loneliness as compared to the truth around her. Hence, the truth; when revealed by a young couple, leads to a brutal awakening for Miss Brill. During this, one can see how Miss Brill’s loneliness and misconception of the truth lead her to face a harsh dose of reality, leading to her sense of rejection as she cries back home to her

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She judges other people to make herself feel more superior and normal and to hide her true character. Later on as Miss Brill observes a young couple, “the hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his father’s yacht” (p.188), she comes to the realization of who she truthfully is. This wholly destroys Miss Brill, causing her to change her typical plans and go home in grief, “But to-day she passed the baker’s by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room-her room like a cupboard… she unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying” (Mansfield 189). Terry White sums up the story of “Miss Brill” by writing, “Like the insidious illness that seems to be creeping to life inside her, Miss Brill is abruptly forced to confront the reality that her imagination seeks to escape”(White)

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When Miss Brill arrives at the concert she begins people watching. As she curiously looks around she spots a “beautiful woman” carrying a bunch of violets that she drops (836). A young boy quickly picks up the violets for the lady and runs “to hand them to her” she took the violets and “threw them away as if they’d been poisoned” (836). Furthermore, Miss Brill witnesses a young lady “pleased to see” even “delighted” a gentlemen in grey (836). The young lady describes where she was on the “charming day” she went “everywhere, here, there, along by the sea” and the gentlemen responded with cruelty (836).

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The “fox fur” is the primary symbol and it is also the most treasured thing of Miss Brill. “The fur that Miss Brill wears in the park in many ways mirrors her own life” (McManus). It symbolizes “both Miss Brill's physical and mental states” (Turner). Miss Brill takes the fur out of the box and talks to it: “Dear little thing!

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Miss Brill, a lovely respectable women who lives in a perfect world or so we thought. Miss Brill seemed to be a happy being, who as though was a cheerful optimist, didn 't see the sadness of herself but she did of others. In the text ‘Miss Brill’ written by Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill feels as if she appears to be wanted by others, but only plays a part in a fantasy world. The reality is, she is not wanted and is just a lonely old women. The author shows the difference between appearance and reality by using a range of language features to show that Miss Brill has her idea of herself as a fantasy and the way that near the end, reality hits her.

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