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Stereotyping In Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill

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Miss Brill, written by Katherine Mansfield, was written about and elderly lady that would put on her best fur and go out to the park on Sundays. She would end up watching the people that fluttered through the park and make up stories about their lives in her head. A young couple sat on the end of Miss Brill’s bench and they were clearly in love. The girl made a comment that she could not be affectionate due to the “stupid old thing at the end” (158). Miss Brill is an older French woman and her clothing and word choice definitely show her age. She does not consider herself to be old and somewhat outdated compared to the rest of the people in the story, and so it was painful for her to hear this young couple call her old. I think this story …show more content…

There is some stereotyping in the story because not all elderly people are able to get out as frequently or even able to leave their home at all. Younger people do tend to take jabs at elders for various reasons and it is just hurtful. It comes back to the saying “if you don’t have anything nice to say, then say nothing at all.” Younger people should keep their comments about elders, or anyone else for that matter, to themselves but gossip takes up a large roll in many lives. I have read Miss Brill at least three times now and I have thoroughly analyzed it twice. Each time I read it I grow a little more attached to the story. Every time I read this story I feel sad for Miss Brill at the end because she is heartbroken when she realizes that she is old and not as appreciated as she thought she was. Miss Brill felt important and she had a purpose to go to the park and watch these people and create this script in her head. Her sense of purpose was destroyed in a matter of seconds by a young couple that was inconsiderate towards her. They may not have realized that their words would affect her, but they changed her whole outlook on who she is as a

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