Katherine Mansfield's short story "Miss Brill" is my favourite one among others I have read during this term. It is a story taking place after WWI about how a lonely woman called Miss Brill spend her Sunday afternoons. Without a set structure, this story is written from a third-person limited point of view in the modernist style. My final project will be divided into five parts: (1) Introduction, (2) Plot Summary, (3) Symbolism, (4) Themes, (5) Personal Thoughts.
Plot Summary I drew and scanned eight pictures as the visual aid to re-tell this short story in my own way by splitting it into two minor-stories. Miss Brill's Previous Sunday Afternoons: 1. Miss Brill's English pupils: How do you spend your Sunday afternoons? Miss Brill: Sunday afternoons are my special occasions. They are amazing. 2. Miss Brill sits in the stands watching and listening to the band and to the people who sit around her in the stands and play on the grass nearby. Miss Brill: The band is playing for me.
3. Miss Brill thinks that everyone is on the stage and that everyone here is an actor. The old man: are you an actress? Miss Grill: Yes, I have been an actress for a long time. 4. A slice of honey-cake bought at the baker's can make Miss Brill feel rather happy. And if there is an almond in her slice, her whole week will be brightened.
Miss Brill's Sunday Afternoon This Week: 1. Miss Brill: It is Sunday afternoon, my dear little thing. Let us go to our special occasion. 2. Miss Brill: An old couple is sitting on my special seat. Why do they keep silent? Never mind, there is always the crowd to watch. 3. Miss Brill: A young couple is sharing my special seat right now. What are they talking about? The boy: Oh my god, look at that stupid old thing. The girl: Her fur is so funny. It is exactly like a fried whiting. 4. Miss Brill goes back to her room like a cupboard. She puts the lid on crying.
Symbolism Symbolism is a significant literacy technique used in this short story. The visual aid I use for the illustration of symbolism adopted by Mansfield is the screenshots I picked up from Simon Lewis's film Miss Brill.
(1) Fur: At the very beginning of the story, it seems very like that Miss Brill is having a conversation with her fur. The fur looks funny and old-fashioned from others' perspectives but gorgeous and fashionable from Miss Brill's perspective. This story ends with her putting back the fur to the original box and the fur's destination is pretty much like Miss Brill's, i.e., going back to the original locked, shabby and small place.
(2) Ermine Toque: The once-fine and already faded fur just parallels the greyness of those of the woman sitting on the "special" seat and it finally turns out that of Miss Brill herself. (3) Orchestra: Miss Brill's mood and emotion is reflected and also echoed by the orchestra's performance. In this week's Sunday afternoon, the band plays loudly and gayly at the very beginning, softly and gayly when the author is describing the foreshadowing about the ermine toque and pretty sadly right before she realizes the real situation in society. (4) Fried Whiting: Different from other symbols, the fried whiting does not appear as a physical entity in the story. Fried whiting is "cooked", common and invisible in the public's eye. Just like the fried whiting, Miss Brill is common and unremarkable, ignored by people in society.
The people Miss Brill can talk to are her students and a half-dead man who rarely notices her presence. In fact she is really eager to communicate with others and interact with the outside world and that is why she expects every Sunday afternoon when she can escape from her loneliness and alienation. But actually she could not join any conversation with others and the only conversation Miss Brill hold throughout the entire story is with her fur. The fact that she is totally ignored by others is highlighted when the boy says "who wants her".
<2> Delusion and Reality
Miss Brill is apparently a self-deluded woman and very delusional about her presence in other people's eye and in society. She believes that she is an actress playing a role in many people's dramas but in effect she is the actress in her own stage. She mistakenly considers that people will miss her if she were not to be there until the conversation between the boy and the girl to "wake up" and become realistic.
<3> Connectedness
When she is in the park, Miss Brill constantly yearns for conversations with others, i.e., connections with people. All the descriptions of what she has seen, for example, the dropped flower, the woman's ermine toque and the beggar's tray fixed to the railings. It can be seen that connectedness is what Miss Brill lacks, needs and wants and what can make her happy. But tragically at the end, she is rather stressful and painful after the young couple's words ruin her illusion of her connectedness with the world outside her "box".
<4> Youth and Age
Miss Brill's talking with her fur in the beginning reveals her nostalgia for her lost youth. This short story was created and published in the post WWI time period when women got married at an early age and men had to work really hard to gain bread for the whole family, according to Mansfield's other works. Thus, Miss Brill might also be a woman married at a quite a young age probably around 19 years old and wearing the fur reminds her of her happy youth and gives her the illusion that she is a young pretty girl wearing a fashionable fur. However, in reality, her fur and herself are "odd, silent, nearly all old".
Personal Reflection Personally I like this short story very much because it resonates emotionally with many readers. Firstly, when there is an almond or a whole cherry in my cake, I will feel so happy. Sometimes, indeed, a tiny little thing can brighten my day. Secondly, illusions make me happy. I still remember that when I was young, when wearing my mom's skirt and high heels, I would tried to imagine myself as different characters. Thirdly and most importantly, loneliness is a universal and eternal theme, for the female in particular. Since my parents work in other provinces, I have live by myself for twelve years. When the loneliness bothers me, I will talk to my toy bunny just as what Miss Brill does to her fur. And I am eager to be accompanied especially when I am down or get sick. I think different readers will have different interpretations of this short story. For instance, maybe some students may learn that speaking ill of others will make other people cry. Therefore, I think I will use this story as my teaching material for Grade 7 to Grade 12 students. What is more, since there are a bunch of themes and symbols to explore in this story, it can also be a good required reading for students to do group presentation. My thoughts about the comparative reading of "Miss Brill" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" along with two responses from my classmates are available on class blog. http://blogs.ubc.ca/lled4492016/2016/07/25/some-thoughts-on-miss-brill-vs-the-yellow-wallpaper/