My Name: __________________________________________
Title: “Miss Brill”
Author: Katherine Mansfield
Publication Information: Perrine, Laurence and Thomas R. Arp, Ed. Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Sixth
Edition. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1993. Print.
Page 88 – 91
You must have at least five (5) responses. To generate responses, you may consider the following topics as suggested
prompts or questions:
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Topic
Motifs
Images
Symbols
Point of View
Passages from the text
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Themes
o Illusion vs Reality
o Isolation vs Loneliness
o Age vs Youth
Page
number
Discussion of Passage
Questions: In order to better understand the story’s subtext, answer the following questions.
1. There is evidence in the story that Miss Brill might be experiencing some mental or emotional problems.
What parts of the story support this interpretation?
2. On a related note, throughout most of the story, Miss Brill seems to experience reality not as it is but as
she would prefer to see it. What parts of the story support this interpretation?
3. What do we know about Miss Brill's life? How might some of the facts of her life contribute to her
problem with reality?
4. What details in the story suggest that Miss Brill might be having some health problems and might even
be reaching the end of her life?
5. In what ways does Miss Brill change because of the comment from the young man near the end of the
story? What realization does Miss Brill experience?
6. Do you notice anything else about the story that you think is important?
7. What might be three or four good topics for the body paragraphs of an essay on "Miss Brill"? What
might be the most logical order for those ideas in an essay?
Essay Prompt: Mansfield stated that “One writes (one reason why is) because one does care so passionately that one
must show it — one must declare one’s love.” Miss Brill is a character who desperately seeks love, but is incapable of
giving or receiving it. Write an essay in which you discuss how the author’s choice of a particular point of view helps
communicate a central theme of the tale. Develop a clear argument to show how the narrator’s point of view is
essential to the reader’s recognition and understanding of the theme. Support your argument with specific observations
and analysis. Avoid plot summary.