The Specific Resonance of Miss Brill
Katherine Mansfield’s “Miss Brill” (rpt. In Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 12th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2015] 155-158 is a story of an elderly woman who lives alone, creating a protective fantasy life, which is jeopardized when forced to see herself through the eyes of others. Miss Brill, an unmarried, friendless, Englishwoman, enjoys her weekly unsocial call to the local park. Here, she hears the band; however, she is more interested in eavesdropping, while judging silently, on those who are nearby. An epiphany is formed when she overhears the young couple attacking her and her fur. At this moment, she involuntarily accepts how she is perceived. For effect, Mansfield uses the characterization of the specific name, “Brill,” when creating the title and name of this short story’s character, as it relates to symbolism and irony.
In the title “Miss Brill” one can assume, more than one way, how Mansfield came up with…show more content… “Because of that stupid old thing at the end there? Why does she come here at all – who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?” (158). The epiphany is shown as she realizes while she is judging others quietly, she is being judged audibly.
Not only is Miss Brill’s name used as symbolism, but the fur is also viewed as a personified, symbolic piece to the story. Mansfield made a clever decision when she wrote, “It’s exactly like a fried whiting” (158). Being that the definition states brill as a flatfish, the words shown in the story makes known of the relation to the choice of words stated during the young couple’s conversation. Mansfield, herself, could be dubbed as “Miss Brill,” due to the intense and clear writing she performed through this story’s name and fur symbolism, as well as its
