Miss Brill

In Katherine Mansfield's short story Miss Brill, Miss Brill is characterized as a woman who is not truly a participant in society, but rather a mere spectator. "Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play" (Mansfield, 184). Here, Miss Brill's life is compared to watching a play. Moreover, Mansfield continues this characterization with the line, "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 around her" (Mansfield, 184). Here, the reader gleans the notion that Miss Brill is not necessarily socially awkward, but rather deliberately chooses not to partake in society or build relationships with others. This choosing of Miss Brill's in itself is characterizes her as someone who does not feel connection to society.  She is not emotionally attached to any person, and thus, she feels no need to build relationships. She lives within herself and for herself. This is supported by the only connection she seems to make at all, which is the fur she talks to. This is, in a way, just another part of herself.