MISS BRILL

“Miss Brill”

“Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield outlines an old woman’s lack of understanding for a world that she intimately observes. The heart and mind of the aging Miss Brill, shown through theme, characterization, and symbolism, captures the spirit of human nature’s desire to feel important. Strangely, on one of many Sundays, she sees life as it and not as she wishes it to be.
The theme of human need to belong to a significant part of a greater whole as in Miss Brill’s case, who sees herself as an observer of life, somehow separate, but yet an integral part of life. One particular Sunday afternoon differs from all the others for Miss Brill; the Season had begun and “the blue sky [powder] with gold and great spots of light like white wine [splash] over the Public Gardens. Although Miss Brill observes the beauties of the day, she also notices that “The air was motionless, but when you open your mouth there was just a faint chill.�...