While sitting in the park, Miss Brill observes an interaction between another older woman and a man who snubs her. Mansfield uses this moment to foreshadow Miss Brill's own fate:
"[He] breathed a great deep puff into her face, and, even while she was still talking and laughing, flicked the match away and walked on. The ermine toque was alone; she smiled more brightly than ever. But even the band seemed to know what she was feeling and played more softly, played tenderly..."
Miss Brill initially believes that the man and the woman, whom she nicknames "the ermine toque" for the fur collar she's wearing, are a stylish couple. But the gentleman soon blows smoke from his cigar into the woman's face and leaves her to her own devices; his action makes it clear that the ermine toque is a solitary woman just like Miss Brill, seeking human connection to stave off her loneliness. Dismissed by the man, the ermine toque is forced to make the best of the situation, producing a strained smile to signal that she's happy on her own. Later in the story, something similar happens to Miss Brill: a young couple sits next to her and insults her as a "fried whiting." Just like the ermine toque, Miss Brill is left to save face alone; unlike her, Miss Brill is unable to keep her composure and ends up rushing home, even foregoing her usual treat from the bakery. Just as the ermine toque's solitude is exposed in this moment, so will the young couple force Miss Brill to feel her loneliness keenly, something she has tried to avoid for the entire story.
It's notable that Miss Brill observes the ermine toque with great detachment, neither identifying with her nor extending her much sympathy. In this moment, she seems to have no sense of the ermine toque's similarities to her. Miss Brill's lack of self-awareness throughout the story makes the young couple's insult even more of a hurtful surprise.
