Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Why is "Miss Brill" considered as a literary work of art?

"Miss Brill" is another excellent story by Katherine
Mansfield, who excelled in the medium of short stories. Why this is such an outstanding
example in her collection of short fiction is because it presents us with a stream of
consciousness narrative of the protagonist, Miss Brill, which reveals the amusing,
sensitive and incredibly moving thoughts of this woman during one morning. What is
interesting is that Mansfield chooses to reveal the character of Miss Brill through what
she says and thinks about others as she sits on a park bench and watches the people
around her. Although the focus is seeming on others, Mansfield reveals Miss Brill in all
of her psychological complexity, painting a portrait of a very lonely, insecure woman
who is affected so strongly by the opinion of a crude couple that she shuts her
once-loved fur stole away and cries, even though she is not fully aware that it is she
who is crying:


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The box that the fur came out of was on the bed.
She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when
she put the lid on she thought she heard something
crying.



It is for these
reasons why "Miss Brill" is considered a literary classic. It represents Mansfield at
the height of her talents as she is able to give us a complete picture of her
protagonist in a very short space, and through what she thinks largely about
others.

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