FREE ESSAY ON MRS. BRILL

MRS. BRILL

Mrs. Brill
Mrs. Brill, a short story by Katherine Mansfield, takes place in Jardins Publiques
seaside town in France. The story is about an elder lady by the name of Mrs. Brill who
frequents a nearby park on Sundays to hear a band play. Before leaving to the park she
removed her fur. Shaken of the moth powder and brushing it of Mrs. Brill admired her fur
wrap. The tail was placed within its mouth and its black composite nose was no longer
firm, giving the impression that the wrap was old. She decided that a little black wax
would take care of the nose when it became noticeable and continued on staring and
stroking it. Mrs. Brill went to the park and noticed and noted that there were a greater
number of visitors this week than last. Being perceptive, she noticed that the band was
player with more feeling and at a louder level. Comparing the conductor of the bands
movement to that of a rooster and making note of his new coat, Mrs. Brill continued to
survey her surrounding gathering every detail. Other items she caught includes; the
crowd, flower bends, a beggar, and the big white bows under the flocking children about.
She sat next to an old couple on the bench. The misses, a big old women wore a
embroidered apron and the mister, a fine old man in a velvet coat, gripping a cane, never
spoke a word. Mrs. Brill was upset at this; she enjoyed a good conversation and hoped for
the couple to leave. She reminisced of the couple the previous week the women wore a
Panama styled hat and nagged about needing spectacles to view the scenery, her husband
suggested different styles that may suit her but she carried on stating they would most
likely slip off. She didn't find that couple interesting either but felt it was better
than the statue like couple sitting in her special seat. Her attention to detail was
precise; describing everyone her eyes came in contact with, observing changes in people
from week to week. The band now turned into an orchestra like musical, performing on
stage and everyone including her were actors and actresses. Her feeling and thought were
conveyed omnisciently and when a direct emotion wasn't recognized, context clues were
used so that the reader may be able to tell how she was feeling. After the band took a
break they began playing again that gave Mrs. Brill a warm, sunny, and yet a slight chill
feeling that moved her, filled her eyes with tears and she gazed amongst the other
members of her company. Just then a young couple came to sit down on the bench along with
Mrs. Brill. They were in love and she thought of them as the hero and heroine. She
listens closely and hears the young lady whisper No, not now, Not here, I can't The young
man replies But why? Because of that stupid old thing at the end there implying Mrs.
Brill. He continued on and Mrs. Brill could hear every word, every comment made by the
two. Why doesn't she keep her old silly mug at home, and who wants her spewed from the
young mans mouth and his girlfriend giggled and replied it was her fur that was so funny.
This threw Mrs. Brill off of her natural high. On her way home she did not purchase a
slice of honey cake as she normally did. She hurried home, upstairs to her dark room and
sat down on her red eiderdown for quite a while. She then unclasped her fur and placed it
in the box without looking… but as she closed the box, she thought she heard
something crying.