Blog 2: Miss Brill

Katherine Mansfield in Miss Brill uses unique personification towards the end of the story. In the beginning of the story there is a carefree tone that goes along with Miss Brill's excitement for hearing the band and joining in the Sunday community festivities, as she wears her adorned fur collar. However, once Miss Brill eavesdrops on people around her's conversations, she hears a young boy and girl say, "It's her fi-fur which is so funny,"(Mansfield,186).. Suddenly, there is a shift in tone from happiness to sudden embarrassment and saddness. To show the change in mood and tone, Mansfield uses personification to connect the fur animal with having feelings. To show, "She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking , laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying,"(Mansfield 186). Referring to the fur crying, is Mansfield way of associating human actions to an animal. This conveys to the reader the idea that something, thought beautiful by one, may not be appreciated or valued by another. Also, I feel Miss Brill contains some embarassment to have the people's opinion affect her so much that she would put away an item she really loved. Finally, I believe the animal's crying is used to express sympathy for feeling unwanted and having it's beauty tucked away back into the box.