Miss Brill

Mansfield’s “Miss Brill”

This short story is narrated in the third person from the point of view of the limited
omniscient narrator who primarily acts as the voice of the story’sprotagonist, Miss Brill.
By telling the story through the eyes of the protagonist, Mansfield is able to convey to the
reader the protagonist’s loneliness and the lack of self-awareness. She offers noexplanation as to the Miss Brill’s past, leaving it to the readers to draw their own
conclusions. At the same time the author provides illuminating insights into the
protagonist’s character andlifestyle that effectively communicate to the reader the theme
of this short story. The central theme of “Miss Brill” is the pain of loneliness, and
inadvertent attempts to experience life throughthe experiences of total strangers.
From the beginning of the narrative it becomes apparent that Miss Brill is starving for
warmth and companionship. She tenderly caresses her fur as if it werea beloved pet
when she rubs “the life into the dim little eyes” (50) of the old fox boa. Another sign of
Miss Brill’s need for companionship is evident in her perception of the music which theband is playing at the Jardins Publiques: “It was like some one playing with only the
family to listen” (50). Despite of her loneliness, she is considering herself a part of this
family that theband is entertaining with its music. But in reality she is more of an
observer, a voyeur, and not an active participant in life as it unfolds at the Jardins
Publiques. She is looking forward toeavesdropping on other people’s conversations,
believing herself to be quite an expert in remaining unnoticed. Miss Brill adopts a more
critical, at times even hostile, attitude toward the women thatshe observes in the park
than toward their male companions: she views the man who shares her “special” seat as
“a fine old man,” while the woman is “a big old woman” (50). When she recollects...