18 pages • 36 minutes read
Katherine MansfieldMiss Brill
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1920A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Fur Necklet
Miss Brill’s fur necklet operates as a token of luxurious days and her past. The old fellow is a little worse for wear, like Miss Brill, but still cheerfully patched up and ready for an outing. The fur necklet functions as a symbol of Miss Brill’s optimism and sensuous appreciation of beauty. In fact, she refers to the necklet as a “rogue”—giving the creature a personality and elevating him from an inanimate object to a companion in her adventures.
Honey-Cake
An almond in the Sunday honey-cake, bought as a special treat, is the ultimate delight for Miss Brill. The days she gets an almond in her cake are special because the almond is a happy surprise. Miss Brill focuses almost exclusively on the delightful rather than the gloomy side of life. The honey-cake represents Miss Brill’s belief that the future holds happy surprises.
Red Eiderdown
Miss Brill’s tiny “cupboard”—itself a symbol of her small life—is brightened by the passionate, red bedcover. It is a symbol of Miss Brill’s indomitable heart, constant cheer, and love of beauty.
Sundays in the Park
Again, Miss Brill’s longing for luxury, beauty, and joy are expressed in her account of the day, which begins with a description of the sky as “powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques” (Paragraph 1). Her references to “gold” and “white wine” suggest a sensuous and luxurious side to Miss Brill, and reveal her habitual turn of mind and gift for observation. The habit of spending Sunday in the park eavesdropping on others’ lives lends her life a sense of connection, beauty, and joy that it otherwise lacks.
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By Katherine Mansfield
