At first sight Miss Brill seems to show a story about loneliness and relationship problems. However, the theatre, as described by the main character, is much more than just feelings and social problems, it goes as far as our fears and misunderstandings.The style of this short story is straightforward, and at the same time it is extremely sophisticated. The narration is made in order to convince and get the reader into the point of view of Miss Brill.
Even though the story is narrated in the third-person, which seems to show things exactly as they are by an omnipotent narrator, we start to romanticize things while Miss Brill gives their descriptions. When we’re reading, we assume that every single thing in that park is fine but the olds on the bench, whose Miss Brill did not give any credit.
Then, suddenly, when she overhears the couple talking about how undesirable she is, all the beauty of that place is taken off of the narration, and she goes to her dark and lonely room.
This vision is directly linked with Miss Brill’s social and psychological problems. She spends her Sundays watching people, analyzing and describing their clothes and behaviors.
“Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play. […] How strange she’d never thought of it like that before! And yet it explained why she made such a point of starting from home at just the same time each week—so as not to be late for the performance—and it also explained why she had quite a queer, shy feeling at telling her English pupils how she spent her Sunday afternoons. “
She says she had quite a queer, shy feeling at telling her English pupils how she spent her Sunday afternoons. By this passage, and by the end of the story, we can assume she has a lonely life.
The loneliness seems to be the main cause of her romantic view, as a way to forget, or to mask, the reality she’s going through in life. We also see that she makes projections of herself in others, a possible desire of a relationship.
A beautiful woman came along and dropped her bunch of violets, and a little boy ran after to hand them to her, and she took them and threw them away as if they’d been poisoned. Dear me! Miss Brill didn’t know whether to admire that or not! And now an ermine toque and a gentleman in grey met just in front of her. He was tall, stiff, dignified, and she was wearing the ermine toque she’d bought when her hair was yellow. Now everything, her hair, her face, even her eyes, was the same colour as the shabby ermine, and her hand, in its cleaned glove, lifted to dab her lips, was a tiny yellowish paw. Oh, she was so pleased to see him—delighted!
Miss Brill not only watches their talking but also makes a kind of prediction and intention, something that she would do in the place of that young woman.
Reading carefully, we will see that there are some people Miss Brill ignores: the old ones sitted on the bench.
“The old people sat on the bench, still as statues. Never mind, there was always the crowd to watch.”
Even with these old people disturbing her, she just ignored and kept watching others passers-by. On the other hand, she is in the same situation as the old people on the bench, but they are not in her view or intentions.
This projection becomes more obvious when Miss Brill start describing all the events, and even herself, as parts of a big play. The theatre, where she is an actress, and the audience as well, seems to be, with her loneliness, the main part of this short story.
If we go through an allegorical interpretation, the play described is related to a of Miss Brill’s romantic views of the world, representing life. Miss Brill describes herself as an actress, but also as the audience, these two possibilities are connected with her real situation.
Following this analogical comparison , there is also the band, which plays , in every act, a soundtrack according to her feelings. The acts happening in the play reflects on Miss Brill’s feelings and in what the humor and style of the band.
“There were a number of people out this afternoon, far more than last Sunday. And the band sounded louder and gayer. That was because the Season had begun. For although the band played all the year round on Sundays, out of season it was never the same.”
The Miss Brill’s play resembles either the ancient greek theatre, with a choir representing the feelings of the audience, either in tragedy or comedy. Similarly, the narration looks like a comedy, imbued with happiness and good feelings, but it suddenly ends up as tragedy, when Miss Brill does what she’s used to, overhearing people, a kind of hamartia, which leads her to loneliness again.
Either visions, the allegorical or the comparison with the theatre, build two main opposite views: real versus unreal. Although her representation is lifelike, it’s only an imitation and projection, of what Miss Brill thinks is real.
It’s certainly true that some people may read this short story using an allegorical view, but there is more than just a simple allegory. Moreover, the theatre as a Miss Brill’s fantasy to forget her own situation and make a lifelike projection, seems to be a better interpretation than just an allegory.
The allegory has the effect of making us forget that this story could also be a representation of Katharine Mensfield’s life. Perhaps we are going too far, but it is important to remember that Katharine had relationship issues, which could be a theme for her writing.
Indeed, Miss Brill is not only a representation of Katharine, but of all human beings as well. The play as described by Miss Brill is all about living in society. The act of people and its results, things we all have to face.
The problems Miss Brill faces are also every one’s problems: fear, rejection, loneliness.
The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.
When she puts the lid on the box, there is another representation of an exclusion. What she hears crying seem to suffer of the same thing she is going through, the crying may be something from the subconscious of Miss Brill, but also from what she closed in the box.
Whether it is her or not, this short story is meant to represent social issues and fantasies we face, and how our fantasies may fall apart.
Bibliography
ISER, Wolfgang. The act of reading: A theory of aesthetic response. The Jonhs Hopkins University Press. 1991
MENSFIELD, Katharine. Miss Brill. In THE GARDEN PARTY AND OTHER STORIES. Link: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-ManGard-t1-g1-t9.html
Katharine Mensfield Society. 1888 – 1923 (http://www.katherinemansfield.com/mansfield/)
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário