Themes in Miss Brill Essay

The Theme of Miss Brill

Katherine Mansfields short story Miss Brill is about an elderly lady who spends her Sundays on a park bench listening to the conversations of others. She never joins the conversation herself. The author tells us of her character that: She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didnt listen, at sitting in other peoples lives just for a minute while they talked around her.(307). It is this very conservation that Miss Brill enjoys listening to that will shatter her illusion.

In trying to fill the void in her life, Miss Brill spends her leisure time, every Sunday, pretending to be part of the lives of the people she encounters. Miss Brill is a school teacher. Her relationship with the English class she teaches is probably very professional. She does not derive any companionship from teaching. Mansfield also tells us that her character reads the newspaper to an old, invalid gentleman four days a week. The old gentleman usually sleeps through the news. Miss Brills only other connection to others is that which see gleans through the overheard conversations in the park.

It is autumn and Miss Brill has removed her fur wrap from storage and readied it for her walk to the park. She sets on the same special seat (307) waiting to hear some interesting conversation. She was, at first, disappointed by an old couple that shared her bench because they did not speak. The old people sat on the bench, still as statues. (308). Miss Brill thought to herself Perhaps they would go soon. (307). Though elderly herself, Miss Brill doesnt include herself with the other solemn people that she encounters in the park. She says of these people:

they were nearly always the same, Sunday after Sunday, and Miss Brill had often noticed there was something funny about nearly all of them. They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though theyd just come from dark little rooms or even even cupboards! (308).

Miss Brill could have been describing herself, but she was an active listener which, in her mind, set her apart from the others. She was part of the play that took place every Sunday in the park. The author tells us that Miss Brill discovered what it was that made it so exciting. They were all on the stage. They werent only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting. (309). Miss Brill includes herself in the activities to add substance and purpose to her life. She believes that: No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadnt been there; she was part of the performance after all, [and] it explained why she made such a point of starting from home at just the same time each week so as not to be late for the performance (309).

Miss Brill is jolted into the rude awakening that not all the players in the park production are kind and charitable people. The villainous young couple that come to share the park bench immediately begin to shatter her dream world. Miss Brill overhears the boy say, Why does she come here at all who wants her? Why doesnt she keep her silly mug at home? (309). the young girl responds with, Its her fu-fur which is so funny Its exactly like a fried whiting.(309).

The cruel, spiteful words of the young couple crushes the desires of Miss Brill and brings the curtain down on her performance in the park. As she leaves the park, Miss Brill, carries with her the realization that she is alone, unwanted and not part of anything dramatic.

She hurries home, foregoing her usual Sunday treat from the local bakery. At home, Mansfield tells us that Miss Brill, climbed the stairs, [and] went into the little dark room her room like a cupboardShe set there for a long time. She realizes that her life is much like the silent, old people that she sees every week; the ones that set and stare as if they too come from dark little rooms even cupboards. The story ends with Miss Brill quickly removing the fur which she had prized so much and storing it away. After the degrading remarks, from the young girl on the park bench, the fur no longer holds the status it once had. As she puts the lid on the box and prepares to store the fur away, Miss Brill comes to the realization that she is indeed alone, and begins to cry.

Works Cited

Mansfield, Katherine. "Miss Brill", The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 307-10. Print.