Miss Brill and Miss Emily
Samantha McPherson
R.Bishop
English 1312 Comp II Online
6 Oct. 2011
Miss Brill & Miss Emily Emily Grierson from “A Rose for Emily” and Miss Brill from the story “Miss Brill” are two women that are trying to relive their past in the present time. In these stories, you are taken into the lives of two elderly women living very different lives, yet sharing many characteristics. You wouldn’t think to compare these two characters, but if you do, they are strikingly similar in many ways.
In addition to being significantly alike, they also have their obvious differences. From the very beginning of both stories, we can tell that the women are lonely. Miss Brill would go to the park every “Sunday”
(Mansfield 232) and watch the people around her. She was disappointed that the people on the bench “did not speak” (Mansfield 232) to her.
She also shows her sense of loneliness by showing an attachment to her “fur”(Mansfield 231) by talking to it and acting like it has feelings. She even feels it “move in her bosom.” (Mansfield 232).
She describes the people around her at the park as “odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even—even cupboards!”
(Mansfield 232). She is unable to see that she is no different from McPherson 2 the others around her at the park. Miss Emily also exhibits loneliness in the story “A Rose for
Emily”. Emily feels significant loneliness because of the way her father had sheltered her. He believed that no man was good enough for his daughter. He pushed everyone away that came near her. As a result, Emily is left with nothing but loneliness when her father dies. She is forced to cling to her father, the one that had deprived her of any relationship. She clings to her father’s body for several days before turning him over for proper burial. Emily finally meets a man, Homer Barron. Time went by
R.Bishop
English 1312 Comp II Online
6 Oct. 2011
Miss Brill & Miss Emily Emily Grierson from “A Rose for Emily” and Miss Brill from the story “Miss Brill” are two women that are trying to relive their past in the present time. In these stories, you are taken into the lives of two elderly women living very different lives, yet sharing many characteristics. You wouldn’t think to compare these two characters, but if you do, they are strikingly similar in many ways.
In addition to being significantly alike, they also have their obvious differences. From the very beginning of both stories, we can tell that the women are lonely. Miss Brill would go to the park every “Sunday”
(Mansfield 232) and watch the people around her. She was disappointed that the people on the bench “did not speak” (Mansfield 232) to her.
She also shows her sense of loneliness by showing an attachment to her “fur”(Mansfield 231) by talking to it and acting like it has feelings. She even feels it “move in her bosom.” (Mansfield 232).
She describes the people around her at the park as “odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even—even cupboards!”
(Mansfield 232). She is unable to see that she is no different from McPherson 2 the others around her at the park. Miss Emily also exhibits loneliness in the story “A Rose for
Emily”. Emily feels significant loneliness because of the way her father had sheltered her. He believed that no man was good enough for his daughter. He pushed everyone away that came near her. As a result, Emily is left with nothing but loneliness when her father dies. She is forced to cling to her father, the one that had deprived her of any relationship. She clings to her father’s body for several days before turning him over for proper burial. Emily finally meets a man, Homer Barron. Time went by
Cited: Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 209. Print. Mansfield, Katherine. “Miss Brill.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 231. Print.