Miss Brill

Miss Brill

by Katherine Mansfield

By: Anton, Chris, Derek, & Fernando

Disillusionment

In the mid part of the story, the fantasy world that was created begins to show cracks. This is shown when Miss Brill begins to observe the crowd around her and sees “A cold, pale nun hurried by.”

~ as if the only women that are known to be unmarried should not be in the park going to meet someone but should instead rush past everyone and out of the park.

Harsh Reality

The protagonist shows the cracks of her world when she begins talking about the band or breathing out repeating the line “sad- no not sad."

In the end of the story the protagonist miss brill is able to come out of her fantasy world and see the reality of the world around her .the author does this by replacing the old man and woman from the beginning of the story with a young couple .

~ It is as if this perfect world of Miss Brill had a hidden sadness inside of the perfect world like what women of her time.

(early 1900's)

“But why? Because of that stupid old thing at the end there? asked the boy. Why does she come here at all—who wants her?”

Miss brill begins to come to the realization that this world in which she has found herself in is not the real world when she notices the drugged dog.

~Metaphorically, Miss Brill is the dog as she lives in this dream like world and her super hearing allows for her to pick up on the conversations of those around her .

~ This shows how Miss Brill feels alienated and unwanted in her reality.

The honey-cake that Miss Brill usually haves is a lot like herself in this world of hers. She is the almond, which to her brings joy to the world, but actually ruins the consistency of the whole cake as Miss Brill does in the park by being their.

The ending of the story when Miss Brill “put the lid on [the box] she thought she heard something crying.” shows the realization to the reader that she during her regular life, when she puts away her fur away, she is sad and alienated so every weekend she creates this world to escape to a place of innocence and frivolity. Just as the poor of the past used movies to escape their dire conditions.

"Fantasy World"

In the beginning of the story, Mansfield paints the world miss brill inhabits as a world of pure imagination.

“blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine”

Introduction

~This can lead the reader to believe that miss brill is in this perfect place of innocence, peace, and wealth, almost like a utopia or the garden of Eden before we fell from it.

“she felt a tingling in her hands and arms”

~ This can come across as almost a day dream where everything is nice and you feel good until someone snaps you out of your dream.

“the old people sat on the bench, still as statues. Never mind, there was always the crowd to watch”

There are many people who when faced with a lack of acceptance try to find a way of escapism. In Katherine Mansfield's "Miss brill", the protagonist of the story, Miss Brill, creates a fantasy world for her self in order to find refuge from the disillusionment and alienation she faces.

~ The protagonist seem like she is almost royalty in this garden where the people are just their to amuse her but never dare talk to her as if she is alone because of her own doing.

This is revealed to the reader as the fantasy world is created at the beginning then glimpses of how other women like Miss Brill are treated, crack through into the perfect world leaving the reader with the realization of the world that miss brill inhabits