Character Analysis of Miss Brill Essay

Character Analysis of Miss Brill

In Katherine Mansfields "Miss Brill" the main character is Miss Brill, an old woman with a gentle heart and an old fur. During a Sunday afternoon in the park while listening to the band, something changes her mind forever. Miss Brill shows traits of being critical, intelligent, and sensitive.

The first trait of Miss Brill is being critical. She is an old woman who talks critically about some of the different things she sees in the park on Sunday. When she arrives at the park, she starts to talk about how the band is playing this week. "And the band sounded louder and gayer. That was because the Season had begun" (83). She talks about how the band is playing better now that the season has begun, because she says they do not sound as well out of season. Miss Brill had something to say about everyone she sees in the park. "Miss Brill had noticed- there was something to be noticed about nearly all of them. They were 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" (84). Miss Brill is a very critical old woman, who sees no wrong in herself.

In addition to being critical, Miss Brill is also very intelligent. She shows lots of intelligence when she turned her day in the park into a play on a stage. Miss Brill gave everyone in the park a role in her play. "They were all on stage. They werent only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting" (85). It was wonderful how she knew everyone must be present each week for the show to go on. Miss Brill was an intelligent and creative woman who knew a lot about the performance of life.

Finally, Mansfield shows that Miss Brill is very sensitive. In the beginning of the story she talks to her fur lets the reader and that shows that she has a kind and gentle side. "Miss Brill put up her hand and touched her fur. Dear little thing (83). Miss Brill shows lots of love for her fur in how she talks and strokes it as she gets in out of the box it had been in. Miss Brill showed a sensitive side at the show in the park when she saw how the members of the theater company were looking at her. " And Miss Brills eyes filled with tears and she looked smiling at all the other members of the company" (85). Miss Brill just knew they all understood how she was feeling inside. At the end of the story Miss Brill showed a side of her that we had not seen throughout the whole story, she was upset about what the couple had said about her and her fur.

"Because of the stupid old thing at the end there? Why does she come here at all- who wants her? Why doesnt she keep her silly old mug at home" (85). Miss Brill overheard the young couple talking about her and her fur and that made her upset. The young lovers did not really understand why Miss Brill came to the park each and every Sunday. They were caught up in their own world.

In conclusion, Miss Brill shows her most sensitive side yet. "But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying" (86). This line lets the reader know Miss Brill was a lonely and sensitive woman who is also smart enough to realize what had happened in the park that day. Her eyes were opened to the real world.

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Works Cited

Mansfield, Jane. Miss Brill. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Ed. X. J.

Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 10th ed. New York: Longman, 2007. 83-86.