Characters

The short story “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield centres on Miss Brill, the protagonist. Other characters are briefly mentioned – they are the people that Miss Brill observes in the Jardins Publiques.

Miss Brill

Miss Brill is a developing character, as her state of mind changes over the course of the story.

The author uses a third-person point of view mixed with an internal monologue to describe Miss Brill indirectly. She is often presented in contrast with her environment, while her thought process reveals a few aspects of her personality and life. As a consequence, Miss Brill’s observations of those around her contribute to her characterisation.

Outer characterisation

Miss Brill is a teacher (l. 128) who lives in an unnamed town in France by the sea. She spends her Sunday afternoons going to the public gardens, or Jardins Publiques. Four afternoons a week, she reads the newspaper to an old invalid gentleman (ll. 130-131). Every Sunday, when she returns from the park, she usually treats herself with a slice of honeycake from the baker’s (ll. 171-172).

At the beginning of the story, we learn that she takes out her fur from storage with the purpose of wearing it to the park (ll. 3-4). The fur seems to be old and slightly damaged (ll. 14-15); later in the story, its appearance is compared to a fried fish (ll. 165-166). Miss Brill’s attachment to the fur – she lovingly calls it “Dear little thing!” (l. 8) and “Little rogue!” (l. 17) – also shows that she has owned the fur for a long time. These details indicate that Miss Brill is middle-aged or older.

Inner characterisation

Miss Brill’s inner characterisation is constructed indirectly through her perspective on the surroundings. The narrator also gives readers subtle hints about what she is feeling.

In the opening paragraph, readers are told that, although it is a beautiful day, there is “faint chill” (l. 5) in the “motionless” air (l. 4). These remarks are important as they might indicate that Miss Brill lives a motionless, uneventful life and that the beautiful day she expects to have might not be as beautiful as she thinks.

Miss Brill is, in many ways, similar to the fur that she wears. She is old (like the fur) and lives in a dark, small room (l. 179), similar to the box where she keeps the fur. At the end of the story, the fur is quickly put away in its box, almost like it is being hidden again in the dark: “She unclasped t...