MISS BRILL

Georges Seurat A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-86 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Le Moulin de la Galette, 1876

1. Miss Brill isn’t at an age when you would expect her to move from innocence to experience or from childlike illusion to disillusionment, and yet that is what seems to happen to her. What are some of Miss Brill’s childlike qualities, despite her age?

2. Despite this childlike quality she has, is Miss Brill a believable elderly person? 3. If you had to pick one adjective to describe Miss Brill, what would it be? 4. What’s the significance of her name, “Miss” Brill? 5. How does Miss Brill see herself? What is her self-image? What are some details in the story

that help you see how she sees herself? 6. How does the teenage couple in the park see Miss Brill? 7. Which is the “real” Miss Brill, the woman she believes herself to be or the woman the

teenagers see? Does considering story’s point of view help you make this choice? 8. “Miss Brill” is widely considered to be Katherine Mansfield's finest short story. We’ve spent

some time defining the art of the short story; we’ve defined it in several ways and looked at what a handful of great short story writers have said. Using one or more of the sources presented to you, discuss whether you agree or disagree (aim to be objective) with the general assessment that “Miss Brill” is a first-rate story.

9. In Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It, the character of Jacque delivers the famous “All the world's a stage” speech (excerpted on the back). It's a gloomy, sardonic description of the “seven ages of man,” but Jacque’s cynicism is brilliantly countered by the optimism of all the main characters in the play. Miss Brill might choose to counter this gloomy view as well, seeing everyone's “performance” in the park as an essentially happy, even joyous, event in which everyone (especially she herself) is pleased to take part. What do you feel is implied beneath the surface of Miss Brill's need to see the world around her as a grand stage performance?

10. What is your personal response to “Miss Brill”? Is there tragedy or comedy for you? Do you think the story is likely to remain with you? Does it challenge your assumptions, surprise you in any way? Who do you relate to in this work? Who seems new to you? What seems ambiguous or problematic to you?

All the World's a Stage

Jac. All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II.vii.