The first time I read Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield, I was struck by how the story could be understood without any consideration of the time period it was written in. Everything seemed modern and explicit, except for the last line of the story, which is different from everything that came before. In the last two sentences the formerly concrete story changed. “She unclasped the neck let quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying” (Mansfield, 302). Whatever was crying seemed to be crying over Miss Brill’s and the culture she represents decline.
The mysterious source of the crying probably came from the personified fur. Earlier in the story the fur spoke, saying “ ‘What has been happening to me?’ said the sad little eyes.” (298) the fur is both the voice of Miss Brill and the voice of her generation. When the little girl at the end of the story laughed at Miss Brill’s fur, she was not just laughing at her clothing, she was illustrating the disconnect between Miss Brill’s age and culture and their own. Until the children said this about Miss Brill, she was not aware of the difference in cultures. She thought of herself as part of the younger crowd, even taking part in their lives indirectly, she even says “No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there.” (301) Miss Brill hopes that the old couple on a park bench will leave soon, like the younger couple hopes that Miss Brill will leave. She also separates herself from the old people who sit like statues on benches in the park. They look “as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even-even cupboards.” (300) While she tries to separate herself from the elderly, at the end of the story Miss Brill goes back home to her room, which is described as a cupboard.
Miss Brill is really the story of how a woman discovers that she no longer belongs to the culture she thought she did and how she discovers this. It is the fur, not Miss Brill which cries at this realization. This is fitting because as a newly acquired member of the elderly, Miss Brill acts just as the other old people who sit still as statues on the benches. She has no reaction.
Mansfield, Katherine. Miss Brill
I was not surprised that the story of Miss Brill is relatable to any time period. The themes in Miss Brill are applicable to any generation. Many people deal with loneliness and separation throughout time.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting how, if Miss Brill had not heard the young couple complaining about her, she probably would have gone on with her life content with herself? What if her naivety was kept in tact? Would she have been better off if she did not know that she wasn't really part of anything bigger than herself? These were a lot of questions that came to mind after reading this story. Maybe pondering them will help you too.
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