Miss Brill Character Analysis

A detailed Summary of Miss Brill Character Analysis

In the story "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield, the author uses various ways to fully characterize Miss Brill, and in doing so reveals the many sides and complexity of her character. It is difficult to understand Miss Brill because she does not understand herself. She tries to make her life more interesting by listening in on other people's conversations. Miss Brill's fur symbolizes what her life is and has become. It is through her fur that she begins to understand what her life really is like, even though she wants to deny it. Throughout the story readers are able to understand the loneliness that Miss Brill feels which makes it easier to understand why she lives her life in denial.

In the beginning of this story, Miss Brill seems to be a part of the upper class and enjoys her Sunday afternoons in the Jardins Publiques. However Miss Brill enjoys her time in the gardens for reasons that go beyond the casual conversation and social aspects of the Sunday gatherings. Miss Brill looks forward to the conversations of other people in the garden because she feels as though she is sitting in on their lives for just a moment. She lives through the lives of other people. She feels as if her own life is disappointing so s

As a developing character Miss Brill is forced to face reality of who she is, where she came from, and what others think of her. However, instead of understanding who she is, Miss Brill chooses to ignore it. The fur that she owns is, in a sense, her. The fur only comes out of its box on Sundays and Miss Brill spends a lot of time making sure that it looks perfect. Miss Brill is a hermit who only comes out of her dark little room on Sundays when she goes to the garden. Miss Brill pets and strokes the fur while she sits in the park. She is giving the fur the love and compassion that she feels like she is missing in her life. When the girl in the park refers to the fur as a fried whiting it hurts Miss Brill so much because it is almost as if she is referring to her as that. When the boy refers to her as the stupid old thing that no one wants reality "sinks in". At this point in the story Miss Brill is finally forced to realize who she is and what others think of her. At the end of the story when the fur is put away in its box it is inferred that the fur will not come out of the box again. Likewise Miss Brill will not likely go out to the gardens anymore. This becomes apparent because she did not stop for the special piece of cake she usually

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Approximate Word count = 847
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Miss Brill Character Analysis

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