Miss Brill

by

Katherine Mansfield

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The protagonist of the story, which is named after her. She is an unmarried woman – a spinster according to the time and culture the story depicts – who works as a teacher as well as a newspaper reader for an old man. In both of these aspects of her life she feels bereft of meaning and connection: the children don’t listen to her and the man doesn’t seem to care whether she reads to him or not. For this reason she comes to the park every Sunday to watch both the band perform and the people playing as they listen to the band. Over the course of the story she imagines herself as part of an elaborate stage production in which she herself plays a vital role, but an encounter with a boy and girl who dismiss both her and the fur coat she cherishes – but that is actually quite shabby – forces her to reassess her place in the world and makes her retreat back home to her renewed loneliness and alienation.

Miss Brill Quotes in Miss Brill

The Miss Brill quotes below are all either spoken by Miss Brill or refer to Miss Brill. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Loneliness and Alienation Theme Icon
).
Miss Brill Quotes

And when she breathed, something light and sad—no, not sad, exactly—something gentle seemed to move in her bosom.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Related Symbols: Fur Coat and Garments
Page Number: 298
Explanation and Analysis:

She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn’t listen, at sitting in other people’s lives just for a minute while they talked round her.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Page Number: 299
Explanation and Analysis:

Oh, how fascinating it was...It was exactly like a play.

Related Characters: Miss Brill (speaker)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:

They were all on the stage. They weren’t only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting. Even she had a part and came every Sunday.

Related Characters: Miss Brill, Ermine toque and Gentleman in grey
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:

“Yes, I have been an actress for a long time.”

Related Characters: Miss Brill (speaker), Old Man
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:

“Why does she come here at all—who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?”
“It’s her fu-ur which is so funny,” giggled the girl. “It’s exactly like a fried whiting.”

Related Characters: Boy and Girl (speaker), Miss Brill
Related Symbols: Fur Coat and Garments, Fried Whiting
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

If there was an almond it was like carrying home a tiny present—a surprise—something that might very well not have been there.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Related Symbols: Fur Coat and Garments
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:
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Miss Brill PDF

Miss Brill Quotes in Miss Brill

The Miss Brill quotes below are all either spoken by Miss Brill or refer to Miss Brill. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Loneliness and Alienation Theme Icon
).
Miss Brill Quotes

And when she breathed, something light and sad—no, not sad, exactly—something gentle seemed to move in her bosom.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Related Symbols: Fur Coat and Garments
Page Number: 298
Explanation and Analysis:

She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn’t listen, at sitting in other people’s lives just for a minute while they talked round her.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Page Number: 299
Explanation and Analysis:

Oh, how fascinating it was...It was exactly like a play.

Related Characters: Miss Brill (speaker)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:

They were all on the stage. They weren’t only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting. Even she had a part and came every Sunday.

Related Characters: Miss Brill, Ermine toque and Gentleman in grey
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:

“Yes, I have been an actress for a long time.”

Related Characters: Miss Brill (speaker), Old Man
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:

“Why does she come here at all—who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?”
“It’s her fu-ur which is so funny,” giggled the girl. “It’s exactly like a fried whiting.”

Related Characters: Boy and Girl (speaker), Miss Brill
Related Symbols: Fur Coat and Garments, Fried Whiting
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

If there was an almond it was like carrying home a tiny present—a surprise—something that might very well not have been there.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.

Related Characters: Miss Brill
Related Symbols: Fur Coat and Garments
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis: