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Character Analysis of Miss Brill “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield is a short story about how a lonely woman’s idealist behavior and optimistic outlook on life eludes her apparent loneliness and naivety. Miss Brill has made a ritual of going to the park every Sunday afternoon to observe and include herself in the lives of the patrons. She sits down in her usual “special seat” and observes the patrons as if it were a …

…Miss Brill is obviously a lonely, unhappy woman. She suppresses her sadness and isolation with optimism and fantasy. This helps her to cope with the harsh reality of her own discontent. Although she does somewhat come to terms with her unhappiness, it is not directly implied. Instead she uses the fox fur to implicate her crying. Miss Brill has obviously realized her loneliness, yet she still latches on to her fantasy through the fox fur.