Katherine mansfield short stories miss brill

1920 short story by Katherine Mansfield

"Miss Brill" is a short story by Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923).^[1] It was first published in Athenaeum on 26 November 1920, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.^[2]

Plot summary

Miss Brill is an English teacher living near the Public Gardens in a French town.

Katherine mansfield short stories miss brill

The narrative follows her on a regular Sunday afternoon, which she spends walking about and sitting in the park.

The story opens with Miss Brill delighting in her decision to wear her fur. She notices that there are more park-goers than there were last Sunday, and that the band is more enthusiastic because the Season has commenced.

Miss Brill observes facets of the lives around her, "listening as though she didn't listen, ...sitting in other people's lives just for a minute while they talked round her". She sees the world as a play: as though her surroundings are a set and she and her fellow park-goers actors.

She imagi