Perspectives

To engage in a broader conversation about Katherine Mansfield's short story “Miss Brill”, we encourage you also to consider the literary period in which it was written, as well as similar works.

Literary period

Published in 1920, the short story is part of the literary movement we call Modernism, which was popular in fiction writing between the 1910s and the 1960s.

Modernist works are recognized through themes, context, and narrative techniques. In “Miss Brill”, we notice that Katherine Mansfield explores themes like loneliness, distorted reality, and alienation. These themes are frequently encountered in Modernist works.

In terms of narrative techniques, “Miss Brill” uses relatable characters in recognizable situations and focuses on the main character’s isolation and distorted perception of herself and the world. It also employs irony and uses a narrator who also gives readers access to the main character’s inner ...