THEME of ‘Miss Brill ” In the story ‘Miss Brill,’ an old, lonely lady spends her Sunday observing people in a park. Although ignored by everyone around her, Miss Brill manages to convince herself that she is really an integral part of the scene and would be missed if she weren’t there. Her illusion is shattered by a chance remark at the end of the story, and she returns home, clearly devastated by her new understanding of her place in life. What this story is trying to illustrate is that sometimes people can be happy through living in an illusion. However, this kind of happiness is fragile and can be easily destroyed.
Unfortunately, modern society does not provide a place for everyone. Inevitably, there are those people, often elderly, who become marginalized; they live alone, friendless and mostly ignored. Miss Brill is one of these people, which becomes clear in her lack of communication with the people around her in the park. ‘They did not speak.
This was disappointing, for Miss Brill always looked forward to the conversation. She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn’t listen, at sitting in other people’s lives just for a minute while they talked around her’ (135).
The prospect of actually engaging in conversation herself never crosses Miss Brill’s mind; she has grown entirely accustomed to being only an observer. Another indication that Miss Brill lives a solitary life is in her lack of communication with the people she does have relationships with. ‘…
The Essay on Miss Brill 319 Life Companionship
... with the people whom she hardly knows. Miss Brill lacks self-awareness and no information is offered about her apparently empty life. Miss Brill is ... at "sitting in other people's lives just for a minute while they talk around her" (319). Miss Brill's need for companionship is evident ... life, as she wants forcing her to accept herself for whom she is in reality. At the end of the story, Miss Brill ...
she had a queer, shy feeling at telling her English pupils how she spent her Sunday afternoons’ (137).
Here we learn that Miss Brill is an English teacher, but the fact that she keeps her Sunday trips to the park to herself illustrates that there is a lack of connection between her and her students. The park visit is clearly the most important part of Miss Bril’s week, yet she doesn’t share her experiences there. Even her relationship with the ‘old invalid gentleman’ to whom she reads the newspaper four days a week is limited.
‘If he’d been dead she might’t have noticed for weeks; she wouldn’t have minded’ (137).
While Miss Brill reads, the man sleeps, a situation she has accepted and become accustomed to. Miss Brill has no relations, no friends, no true connection to anyone beyond herself. However, this story also illustrates that sometimes even lonely old people can fool themselves into a kind of happiness. The most obvious evidence of this is that Miss Brill is so completely absorbed by the everyday events in the park. 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 ‘flute y’ 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…
The Essay on "Miss Brill" And "Prue"
According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, “Katherine Mansfield is regarded as one of the masters of the short story” (Columbia). She is known as a talented musician (Columbia). She uses music in her short story “Miss Brill” to help set the stage for the play that is about to begin. In addition to becoming “the first Canadian to win the Canada-Australia Literary Prize in ...
Miss Brill nearly laughed out loud’ (100).
This realization eventually moves Miss Brill to tears. Being a part of something as full of life as the park scene gives her a sense of belonging. However, by this point in the story, the reader is aware that Miss Brill has deluded herself. Actually, no one at the park is even aware she’s around, and the truth is that if she weren’t there, no one would miss her at all.
Happiness built on an illusion can only last so long. In the story, Miss Brill’s happiness is shattered by a single chance remark when the young couple who she has cast as the hero and hesione in her ‘play’ casually insult her. ”Why does she come here at all — who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?’ (138).
The story does not tell us Miss Brill’s personal reactions to this remark; instead, the point of view shifts so that we observe her actions as she goes home. However, these actions are enough to illustrate that her self-view has been destroyed. The first example of her change in perspective is when she fails to go into the bakery, the usual climax to the Sunday park visit.
‘But today she passed the baker’s by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room — her room like a cupboard — and sat down on the red eiderdown. She sat there a long time’ (138).
Miss Brill’s emotional state is indicated by her sitting in the darkness for ‘a long time,’ and also by the description of the room being like a ‘cupboard.’ Earlier, when she is still under the illusion that she’s an essential part of the park scenery, she thinks of the other solitary old people at the park as ‘… odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they had just come from dark little rooms or even — even cupboards!’ (136).
She fails to include herself in this group until the end of the story, after the couple’s rudeness has broken her illusion of belonging. Finally, the story’s last detail supports the assertion that her fantasy of contentment is now gone.
The Essay on Character of “Miss Brill”
In the short story, “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, the main character, Miss Brill, is developed with the use to symbols and patterns of metaphors. The story is about Miss Brill’s routine on Sundays, and how she is interpreting the world around her, and her role in it. The main metaphors that are used are her fur coat, the old people, and her seat. All these metaphors help ...
‘She unclasped the neck let quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying’ (138).
Unlike the beginning of the story, when she unpacked the fur with loving care, Miss Brill’s actions indicate that her attitude has changed. Whether the crying is coming from her or (in her mind) the fur, clearly her worldview has been crushed by reality. Miss Brill’s story depicts a situation that is probably all too common in larger cities, where people can live in close proximity to one another but may never form actual connections. Left to our own devices, many of us will find a way to be happy, even if our circumstances do not justify this happiness.
Still, the outside world’s perspective can only be ignored for so long. When the majority view makes itself known, only a person of true inner strength will be able to stand up to it. Miss Brill, whose ‘strength’ is based entirely on a misconception of her importance to others, is not such a person.
