Miss Brill

The selected passage is from the end of the short story Miss Brill, beginning where Miss Brill sees the boy and girl who sits down on the bench near her right to the end of the story. In "Miss Brill," by Katherine Mansfield, we are introduced to the titular woman called Miss Brill who finds Sundays magical until she is forced to step out of her daydream and face reality. Every Sunday Miss Brill, who is presumed to be an English school teacher, goes to the Jardins Publiques and takes her "special seat" to look forward to listening to the conversations of others. This lonely older woman eavesdrops on others and starts to view everything she observes on Sundays in the form of a choreographed theatrical performance in which everything, herself included, plays a role. This is a place where she feels as though she "belongs”, in a sort of unreal drama that is conjured up in her own mind. However, one Sunday her fantasy is shattered by the inconsiderate and harsh remarks of a young couple. Mansfield shows us how hurtful the truth can be to people who haven't realized or accepted the reality in which they live.
The narrative is focalized through the character of Miss Brill and this allows the reader to see what the character sees and feel what the character feels. Katherine Mansfield exhibits a detailed characterization of Miss Brill. We see everything through the eyes of Miss Brill, and through dramatic irony we often see or comprehend situations differently and perhaps more accurately than she does. Through it, it can be seen that in reality, Miss Brill is constantly by herself, she sits alone on a bench with her old fur that she seems to treasure more than anything and watches the world pass before her. The furpiece can be thought of as a symbol of the owner. Both are of an age and the appearance of the thing itself is wearing down, just as the frail Miss Brill is. She sees other people sitting on benches Sunday after Sunday and thinks of them as "funny...odd, silent,