Name
Professor
Course
Date
Miss Brill
Miss Brill, by Katherine Mansfield, presents an effective way of understanding the impact of socio-cultural factors on a female’s mind. The narrator uses the protagonist, Miss Brill, to advance the main theme of alienation. In this case, the author shows how people lead a solitary life unconsciously. In this case, they live in denial of their antisocial behaviors. Miss Brill maintains a similar character throughout the narrative. However, she learns how to lead a secluded life by observing other people and eavesdropping on their stories. Because Miss Brill moves out of her house to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, she lives in denial that she lives in isolation.
Miss Bliss lives in self-denial that she leads a secluded life. Miss Brill notes that the band had improved their performance since they played instruments for their family to listen (Mansfield par. 2). Such thoughts show Miss Brill associating herself with the family. From a practical perspective, Miss Brill’s action shows how she denies that she leads a secluded life. The statement “Miss Brill put up her hand and touched her fur. Dear little thing!” helps to show how Miss Brill led secluded in her home (Mansfield par. 1). In this case, she comforted herself with the fur while at her private house. Miss Brill’s fur neckpiece acts like her companion because she does not have relatives or close friends to socialize with and share ideas. Miss Brill moves out every Sunday afternoon to listen to the band all year round (Mansfield par. 2). During her outings, she does not interact with the band players of their families. The trend makes Miss Brill feel satisfied and connected to the family, which leads to a denial that her behaviors lead to a secluded life. Therefore, close interaction with the fur and the regular trend of listening to the band makes Miss Brill assume that she does not lead a secluded life.
Miss Brill maintains her unique behavior throughout the narrative. The statement “Never mind, there was always the crowd to watch” allows the reader to understand how Miss Brill viewed people in her neighborhood (Mansfield par. 5). In this case, Miss Brill admired watching other people relax in the neighborhood. Spending time watching strangers enabled her to experience a sense of social connection and satisfaction. The author explains how Miss Brill admires an ermine toque and gentleman in grey who met in front of her (Mansfield par. 9). This scene shows that Miss Brill maintains her previous character of leading an isolated life because she admires other people without talking to them. However, Miss Brill attains a higher sense of satisfaction through such action. The statement “Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here” reveals how Miss Brill maintained her unique behavior throughout the narrative (Mansfield par. 9). The preference of admiring other people from a distance plays a crucial role in satisfying her social needs. Towards the end of the narrative, Miss Brill seems to learn better ways of enjoying social seclusion. Therefore, Miss Brill seems to acquire better methods of leading a secluded life in denial.
Works Cited
Mansfield, Katherine. Miss Brill. Penguin Books Ltd, 2015.