Xiaoshuo

A brief Appreciation of Miss Brill To other people, it is an illusion; to Miss Brill, it’s a dream. Miss Brill is a lonely old spinster. On the fine Sunday afternoon, she is very glad go to a park, which regarded as the Sunday treat by herself. She enjoys herself by watching the band play, by looking at various people in the park and listening to their conversations. She feels she is a member of the community and she would be noticed and missed if she fails to be there. However, the conversation between a boy and a girl made Miss Brill suddenly knows the truth that no one cares about her. Finally, she came back home to face the reality alone and sadly. Katherine Mansfield is a woman writer who enjoys the reputation of“a master of short stories”. She has made great contribution to the development of the modern short stories. Her language of novels has the unique feature, like poems. The ends of her novels, because of her extraordinary arrangement as well as the writing techniques, are often out of blue, like Miss Brill, which make her novel more impressive and her theme more touching. I want to analyze one of her masterpieces Miss Brill from two aspects of theme and techniques.

1. Theme Miss Brill can be described as miserable, lonely, old lady. However, compared with terrible living condition, I think Miss Brill is more afraid of loneliness. Her hopeless escaping from the reality is nothing but avoid of confronting the world alone. For example, “Miss Brill always looked forward to the conversation”, “even she had a part and came every Sunday. No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there; she was part of the performance after all.” She is so cheerful when she is sitting in the park to be a witness of all the people there. She is observing carefully, including every single actions and facial expressions, and sometimes she even makes up the dialogue between people. Maybe no one talks to her in daily life. I don’t think that young