Illusion versus Reality in Miss Brill Essay -- Katherine Mansfield Mis

Illusion versus Reality in unload brill Is it really okay to talk to yourself as long as you dont talk back? Well, what if your hide piece talks back? In Katherine Mansfields short story, Miss brill, it is a quickly established fact that Miss brill has an odd relationship with her fur necklet (440). But it is the authors descriptive use of symbolism that provides a deeper understanding of Miss Brills personality. Katherine Mansfield creates the woman in the ermine toque (441) in similarity to Miss Brill to reveal Miss Brills identity in connection with her own fur piece and invite comparison, which further illustrates Miss Brills perception of reality. Introduced in the story as simply an ermine toque (441), Ms. Mansfield establishes the woman wearing this fur hat as a symbol that assists in defining the relationship of one-ness Miss Brill has with her own fur. Through Miss Brills description of the woman in the ermine toque, it is clear that Miss Brill perceives the woman in connection with the fur she wears (441-442). Miss Brill compares the womans coloring to the color of her fur by pointing out that everything, her hair, her face, even her eyes, is the same colour as the shabby ermine(441). Miss Brill goes on to describe the womans hand as being a tiny yellowish paw (441). And when the woman exits Miss Brills attention, she does not walk away as a human would, but she patters away as a small animal might (442). Miss Brills inability to differentiate clearly between the woman and the ermine toque she wears reinforces Miss Brills identity in connection with her own fur. Mansfield employs this description as a technique to suggest the need to interpret Miss Brill from the descri... ...nly a secondary symbol, it assists in enriching our understanding of Miss Brills peculiarities while pointing out primary symbols, like her own fur necklet. How Mansfield employs the ermine toque to foretell the maculation of the larger story demonstrates a difference b etween those who move and constructively deal with conflict and those who run away, refusing to accept the realities of life. Miss Brill, who does not interact with life, chooses to interact with her fur which, though genuine, is not alive. Instead, she chooses an imitation for her own life by sitting in other peoples lives (440) which, though reality, cannot remain her reality. Works Cited Mansfield, Katherine. Miss Brill. universe to Literature Reading, Analyzing, and Writing. 2nd ed. Ed. Dorothy U. Seyler and Richard A. Wilan. Englewood Cliffs Prentice, 1990. 440-43.