Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield’s short piece is about the pain and insidiousness of being alone. The lonely will find satisfaction in experiencing the pleasures of living with others rather than being surrounded by others. The English teacher is now living a lonely life outside of school because of her circumstances and the misfortunes of her birth. She is so embarrassed to tell her students how she spends weekends that it’s embarrassing. The author sets the scene, which is the ironic beauty that autumn brings to life as the world around her starts to fade and begins to get cold.
Miss Brill’s loneliness reflects the time. Women didn’t have it easy in the years before and after the 1920s. As an assumed single woman, Miss Brill couldn’t live her life in complete freedom due to traditionalist views. Miss Brill succumbed to the pressure of being viewed as a victim of others’ actions. Social norms constrained her options and limited her freedom to live a fulfilled life. Miss Brill’s theory that the world and all its inhabitants is part of a stage production provides a rationale for her way of living. Her frustration with her job leads her to her theory. She can see that, even though she is reading to him, she is also part of something bigger than herself. This self-delusion is made more apparent to Miss Brill by her self-justifying, selfish, and protective thoughts. These thoughts she doesn’t recognize as either self-justifying/self-protective. Miss Brill has a bright outlook and is creative. She has only talked to her fur dog so far, but her concept of a universal theater shows her connection with everyone. She also affirms her own essentiality within this world – if all the universe is a stage, then every actor in it is vital.
Miss Brill’s way of talking to her coat suggests that she may be insane. But her precise observations quickly make it obvious that she isn’t crazy. The details about taking her coat out from storage and “rubbing it into it” clearly refers to Miss Brill. So it is clear that Miss Brill has experienced a form of “storage”, where she feels alone and lonely. She seems to love the park and feel a certain power over what is going on. It’s not surprising that she can predict which note she will hear next.
Miss Brill, who is always curious, pays attention to everything around her. She notices every interaction people have with each other. Miss Brill observed the people on the field and in the stands. The field people are lively and diverse, while the crowd in the stands is quiet, lonely, and old. Miss Brill notices that people are passing by. The reader is also aware that Miss Brill does not have such a keen eye for observation. She is also present in the crowd. She is different than the people around her.
The portion of the story that features more negative incidents begins to indicate the twist Mansfield has in store for the reader. Miss Brill discovers that not all interactions with humans around her are positive. The kindness of the boy does not go unnoticed. It is actually rebuffed. A man is almost knocked to the ground. A lot of people are not glamorous. The white hat known as the ermine, which is used to describe women’s appearances and social positions, is shabby.
Both the boy and his girlfriend, which seem so perfectly together at first, are actually arguing.
The boy then attacks Miss Brill with anger. Miss Brill is then mocked by the two young men. It almost seems like they are trying to solve their dispute by turning against each other. Miss Brill is the one who rejects them. They agree to disagree with Miss Brill despite their rejection. In doing so, however, they break Miss Brill’s romanticism of people united by a universal drama and their own crucial roles in that play. Miss Brill discovers that her senses of individuality are eroded by the sight of the boy/girl. The fur coat she loves is worn and worn out, just like the ermine twist.
The story’s climax, Miss Brill’s revelation of her true identity, is what changes her. She is no longer able enjoy the small surprise that she waits on and creates for her own enjoyment. Miss Brill is now seeing herself in the same way the boy and girl see her. She sees themselves as “odd and silent, old,” and her fur coat, that used to symbolise her innocence and youth, becomes a symbol to her shame and loneliness. She is a victim of the same rejection when she puts it back into the box. She can no longer believe in the illusions she used to have of inclusion and grandeur on Sunday walks from the park. She is crying so hard that it seems she knows she is committing to her loneliness by putting the fur coat away.