INTERMEDIATE
READING
MISS BRILL
Written
by KATHERINE MANSFIELD
Lectured
by:
Dra.
SITI NURUL MUTHMAINNAH
Written by:
APRILIA EVA WINANTA (130222614326)
LAILY ISNA NUR CAHYANI (130222614321)
October 2014
TITLE:
MISS BRILL
WRITER:
KATHERINE MANSFIELD
SHORT BIOGRAPHY:
Katherine
Mansfield was a pen name of Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry. She was a
famous modernist writer of short fiction. She was born on October 14th 1888 in Wellington, New Zealand.
Her
first published story appeared in the High
School Reporter and Wellington Girl’s
High School in 1898 and 1899. Then,
Mansfield wrote her journal about feeling alienated in New Zealand because her disillusioned
of repression Maori people.
In
1903 she moved to London and attended Queen’s
College. She was recommended to play cello and she also contributing in the
college newspaper. Between 1903 and
1906 Mansfield travelled Europe and went back to New Zealand after finishing
her school. In 1906 she began to write short stories. "Miss Brill" was first published
in Athenaeum
on 26 November 1920. Her works had published in Native Companion,
at this time she set on becoming a professional writer.
In December
1917 Mansfield was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She was rejecting the
idea of staying in a sanatorium on the
grounds that it would stop her from
writing. She stayed at a half-deserted and cold hotel in Bandol, France,
where she became depressed but continued to produce stories, including "Je ne parle pas français".
"Bliss", the story that lent its name to her second collection of
stories in 1920, was also published in 1918. Her health continued to
deteriorate. Mansfield suffered a fatal pulmonary bleeding in January 1923, after running up a flight of stairs.
She died on 9 January and was buried in a cemetery in Avon.
CHARACTERS:
1. Miss
Brill
She was a lonely aging
woman who lived in paris and maintained herself by teaching English. She is
unmarried but maintained a cheerful optimism life. She took delight in the
simple pleasures available to her. She did not sit on her red eiderdown in her
small room bewailed her misfortune. Instead, she ventured out; she enjoyed what
is available to her.
2. Young
Lovers
They were disrespectful
as they said something cruel that hurt Miss Brill’s feeling. They made Miss
Brill as a rejected person by saying something bad about her fur. The girl said
that her fur was looks like fried
whiting. On the other hand the boy said that Miss Brill was an old stupid
thing.
SUMMARY:
A middle age lonely woman lived in Paris and maintained herself by
teaching English. She lovingly takes an old-fashioned fox fur out of its box
for her usual Sunday routine to the park. Looked forward to the new Season, she
was distracted by a strange unpleasant feeling that seemed to be in the air and
for which she did not know how to account. Maternally caressed the fur, she
looked into its “dim little eyes”. She pretended that the fur was her faithful
partner. She was growing old and lonely in her house and the world was an unfriendly place for her.
Occupied her
“special seat,” Miss Brill gave only partial attention to the band music, for
it is obvious that her main interest in came to the park each week is to
participate in the lives of people around her. She prided herself on her
ability to eavesdrop on the conversations of those nearby without seeming to do
so. At first, an elderly couple shared her seat but proved uninteresting. Miss
Brill recalled last Sunday’s old Englishman and his complaining wife, whom Miss
Brill had wanted “to shake”. Soon, she turned her attention toward the crowd of
passersby: little children, an old beggar who sold flowers from a tray, and
laughing young girls in bright colors who pair off with soldiers. All the
people who met in the Jardins Publique Sunday after Sunday, occupied the same
benches and chairs, were nearly all old and look as though they have just came
from the same dark little rooms.
Miss Brill
focused on the crowd once again, and this time she noticed a woman worn a
shabby ermine toque approached a dignified, elderly gentleman. However, she saw
the man crudely blew cigarette smoke in her face. The woman covered her
humiliation by smiling brightly. Miss Brill conceived of life as all theater
and playacting, and she herself as a participant—one of life’s actresses, no
longer a mere eavesdropper and spectator. She even imagined a future dialogue
with the old man to whom she read, in which she pronounced herself an actress.
A young,
well-dressed couple appeared nearby. Miss Brill prepared to overhear their
conversation. Their dialogue overwhelmed Miss Brill with its vivid cruelty. The
youth continues to insist her and the girl breaks off in a fit of giggling,
ridicule laughter at Miss Brill’s fur, which to the girl looks like “a fried
whiting.”
Miss Brill’s
returned home, without her Sunday treat. Back in her room and unclasped the
necklet quickly. She hurriedly replaced her fur in its box without looking at
it. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.”
QUESTIONS AND ANSWER:
The Same Questions :
1.
a. Why Miss
Brill prefer to observe rather than interact with others? Give us your reasons!
(Lista’s and Trisa’s question).
b. Why
doesn’t Miss Brill communicate with other people? (Alif’s and Ruby’s question).
c. Why doesn’t Miss Brill interact with other people? Is she weirdo or just
socially awkward? (Bintang’s and Sema’s question).
Miss Brill didn’t
interact with others because she was in her own world. She enjoyed observing people,
describing
what she saw, and describing
about her
feelings. If she did
interact with other people, she wouldn’t observe that much. She also neither a
weird nor a socially awkward person because she just interested to observe
people and make a conclusion by her own thought.
2.
a. Why does Miss Brill hear something/someone cry? What do you think it is?
(Lista’s and Trisa’s question).
b. “… she thought she heard something crying.” (line 177). Who is crying?
(Nanik’s and Munji question).
c. On the last line, it’s started that Miss Brill heard something crying.
From your interpretation what is that thing? Why do you think so? (Nailah’s and
Palupi’s question).
The one who
was crying in the last paragraph was Miss Brill herself, because there was no
one in her room. So it was impossible that the fur was the thing which crying
at that time.
She was
crying because her fur which was very delighting her, was being mocked by the
young lovers. It was very hurt her feeling.
3.
a. Why Miss Brill referred her fur as her rogue? (Trisa’s and Lista’s
question).
b. What does the fur mean to Miss Brill? (Rafli’s and Lana’s question).
Miss Brill
referred her fur as her rogue because it was symbolizes
her empty life. She also feels affection towards the
fur, an inanimate object, is exemplified through her calling it as a "little
rogue".
The fur mean was a friend of
Miss Brill. She imagines it being real and alive
(Line 13-14).
4.
a. What do you think about the end of the story? (Yuke’s and Lina’s
question).
b. What is the twist in the story? (Trisa’s and Lista’s question).
We think
that the end of this story has a twist because it shows that in the beginning
of the story Miss Brill described as an optimism person. Even she was a lonely
person who doesn’t have a couple, she always enjoy simple thing to cheer up her
mood. But in the end of the story when she found that she was a part of the
play in the park, unfortunately the young lovers break her spirit of life by
mocking at Miss Brill’s fur. It was hurting her so much.
5.
a. What kind of conflict is shown in “Miss Brill”? (Abim’s and Hagi’s
question).
b. What kind of conflict is shown in “Miss Brill”? (Bintang’s and Sema’s
question)
c. What kind of conflict is shown in this story? (Alif’s and Ruby’s
question).
In the “Miss
Brill” there are two kinds of conflicts. The first conflict is internal
conflict when Miss Brill enjoying her time in the park, and sees
herself as an integral piece of the play. She is proud of her fur, and
appreciates the interactions.
Then the second conflict is external conflict. It happens when the young lovers
mocking Miss Brill’s fur. Because of that Miss Brill feels sad.
6.
a. “Yes, I have been an actress for a long time…..” (Line 134-135). What does it mean? (Nanik’s and Munji’s question).
b. Miss Brill said that she has been an actress for a long time. What does
she mean? (Yuke’s and Lina’s question).
It means that she refuses to see her own reflection
in this mirror of elderly loners. So, In the same way, Miss Brill twists her
perception as she begins to believe herself being an "actress." In
Miss Brill’s thougth, the park becomes a stage, the band orchestrates
interactions, and the crowd becomes the cast for the scene. She imagines it as
"exactly like a play” (line 110-111). In this way she provides herself
with a sense of confession, importance, and connection to the strangers that
surround her. The idea of playing "a part" in the park
"performance" allows her to fool herself into believing she has a
purpose within the crowd.
Group 1 (Alif and Ruby)
1. What are
Miss Brill’s circumstances in “Miss Brill”?
We are not told her circumstances in
details. Miss Brill's circumstances are simple and modest. And elderly lady, she lives alone
and has few possessions, but one such is her fur necklet. Although she has nothing but fur, she knows how to
maintaining herself and her life.
2. Is there any
link between the writer’s experience and Miss Brill’s?
Katherine Mansfield's short stories
often relate to her life in her homeland of New Zealand. This is of course
particularly true for "Miss Brill" in the way that she is blind to
her own isolation until the end of the story. She herself experienced the
particularly isolating position of being female through her desire to go to
London and leave New Zealand. After being sent there for schooling for just one
year, she had to return to New Zealand, an experience that deeply upset her.
3. How the
character of Miss Brill in that story is presented?
Miss Brill’s character in this story was presented by describing
her behaviour through monologue and self-conversation.
Group 2 (Nanik and Munji)
1. How Miss
Brill felt when she saw the young lovers?
As usual, when she first saw
the young lovers whom she occupied her seat with, she felt curious with what
they were talking. At first Miss Brill was eavesdropping on their conversation.
Then she heard cruel words that hurt her feelings. From that time, Miss Brill
felt the rejection of hers in term of part of life.
2. Do you think
Miss Brill is a jealously person?
No, we do not think so. Because we think that Miss
Brill is an optimism person in term of life. Instead of being jealous as she
noticed that most of the people in the park were coupling, she observed what
was happening there and thought what things that people have to do when they
have companion. From this reason we can infer that Miss Brill was not a
jealousy person.
Group 3 (Lista and Trisa)
All the
questions of the third group belong to “The same
questions”.
Group 4 (Lana and Rafli)
1. Where is the
setting of the story?
The setting for Miss Brill is in France.
In an unspecified town, Miss Brill goes to the Jardins Publiques. The means
simply the Public Gardens.
2. What did
Miss Brill do actually in the park?
Miss Brill
was observing people who came to the park. She comes for her routine as she
intended to forget her loneliness. She also wanted to have a time for her own
and enjoy what is available for her.
3. Is this
story only tells us about Miss Brill’s experience in the park? Give us you
explanation!
Yes it is,
from the text we assume that this story does not tell about another activity.
The only thing that happened in this story was about Miss Brill’s experience
when she came to the park.
Group 4 (Nailah and Palupi)
1. What can you
infer from line 1-10?
Line 1-10 is
a portrayal about the setting in this story. It is stated in the text “…it was
so brilliantly fine – the blue sky…” (line 1-5) it represents a fine weather,
the situation which Miss Brill decided to go on her fur. “The air was
motionless, but when you opened…” (line 7-10)
it also represents about the weather which was cold and being compared
with a faint chill from a glass of iced water. There was also a falling leaf
come drifted by the wind.
2. How does the
writer lead the reader to enjoy this story?
The writer lead the reader to enjoy this story by the
reader’s intrepretation. The writer also using many monologue and
self-conversation to built the emotion of the reader. It also has surprising
twist in the end.
3. Is there any
symbolism in this story?
Yes, there is. They are:
·
Rogue
Miss Brill’s fur—which calls a rogue—represents a companion as well as
herself. It is an older fur that is somewhat worn.
·
Cake
The cake represents a bit of enjoyment
in Miss Brill’s life.
By not getting the cake, Miss Brill denies herself that enjoyment.
·
The
Orchestra
Like the cake, the orchestra has
positive connotations of a better time. It adds to Miss Brill’s park experience
every Sunday. It allows for her imagination to wander in the form of a play
where everyone in the park participates. The orchestra’s songs represent
gateways that take her further from her current existence.
·
Eavesdropping
While sitting on the bench, Miss Brill
enjoys eavesdropping on other people’s conversations. This could also be seen
as Miss Brill’s optimism as she turned a negative into a positive thing for herself.
Group 5 (Sema and Bintang)
1. What is the special
thing about the band which plays every Sunday afternoon in “Miss Brill”?
In that Sunday afternoon the
band did something special because they were playing louder and happier in
order to celebrate the beginning of the Season. Also, they played like only the
family to listen. They didn’t care if there were any strangers present. (Line 25-30).
2. Give us some
examples of imagery in “Miss Brill”!
Imagery involves the description of everything in enough detail so that the
senses of the reader become stimulated and a clear picture of the author's idea
can be created.
·
“Although it was so brilliantly fine
- the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white
wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques --.” (Line 1-6).
·
“The air was motionless, but when
you opened your mouth there was just a faint chill, like a chill from a
glass of iced water before you sip, and now and again a leaf came drifting -- from nowhere,
from the sky.” (Line 7-10).
·
“The old people sat on the bench,
still as statues.” (Line 56)
Group 6 (Abim and Hagi)
1. Would Miss
Brill be a round or flat character? Why?
Miss Brill is a round character because
a round character is a major character in the story that is influenced by
conflict and is actually changed by it.
2. Is Miss
Brill belonged to lonely woman? Give us a quote that shows Miss Brill is lonely
woman!
Yes, she is. It quoted at the sentence “They did not speak.
This was disappointing, for Miss Brill always looked forward to the
conversation. 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 round her.”
(Line 41-45).
It
means that Miss Brill was pretending the conversation to be keeping for
herself, even though she was expecting to get along with the conversation of
other people.
3. What did
Miss Brill enjoy at the most?
Miss Brill enjoyed her Sunday outings the most in the park, she
enjoyed life on those days. She looked forward to the “Season”. She enjoyed “watching people”, she
made comments about the people who came to the park. She considered herself an
expert listener to peoples conversations and drawing conclusions about their
conversation. She enjoyed making observations about other's behaviors.
Group 8 ( Lina and Yuke)
1. Who do you
think Miss Brill is?
Miss Brill is a lonely woman
who lived in the France and maintained herself by teaching English.
2. What is the
moral value of the story?
The moral value in this
story shows that we have to get an ability to perceive
oneself and one's place in reality without a sense of deception. It
delivers moral tone of seeing ourselves through the eyes of others. Miss Brill understands the old
warning, "Judge not lest yet be judged”.
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