Miss Brill

• Engels
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Goals for today 

Considering some techniques that Mansfield uses 

Considering Modernism as a movement 

Looking closely at the character of Miss Brill 

Looking at some vignettes in "At the Bay" 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Ambience or ambiance (USA) 

Word of the day

Ambience (n) - a feeling or mood associated with a particular place, person, or thing. Synonym: atmosphere 

First sighting in print 1797 (environmental surroundings) 

The restaurant's soft music and candlelight gave it a romantic ambience.

What are the main
features or conventions
of a short story?

New genre - short story 

What are the main features/ conventions of short stories?

• Plot
  
• Characters
  
• Setting
  
• Conflict
  
• Theme
  
• Freytag’s Pyramid?
  

Narrative perspective 

What is told?

Who is telling it?

How is it being told?

Perspective impacts the effect the story has on the audience

Authors can choose to reveal as much or as little as they want through their use of Narrative Perspective

First Person (“I”, character as narrator)

Third Person – Limited & Omniscient

What are the pros and cons of each? Talk to your neighbour 

What do you know or
associate with the
term modernism?

www.tate.org.uk

Modernism in literature 

Modernist literature developed out of a sense that the art forms of the late 19th Century were inadequate to describe the condition in Europe after WWI 

Modernism is a rejection of Realism 

Realism: science will save the world; notion of science and social determinism is idealised.

Modernism: science explains everything, which makes the idea of God useless. Preoccupation with the meaning and purpose of existence (existentialism). In search of new values.

Modernism is a rejection of tradition; a hostile attitude toward the past. 

Modernism in literature contd.

Literature produced between the end of WWI and beginning of WWII 

Response to destruction and disruption caused by WWI: Which is why modernist literature and art is confusing and may not make sense at first read or view. 

Features of modernist literature 

• Nonlinearity of plot or sequence 
  
• Irony and satire: critique of society 
  
• Distinctive Voices for characters and the idea of stream of consciousness 
  
• Focus on the individual; on inner strength 
  

Mansfield as a modernist writer 

• Focus on the Individual and specific moments of experience and/ or insight. 
  
• Use of stream of consciousness to explore individual experience of gender and class.
  
• Use of epiphany to convey a pivotal insight or revelation for a character.
  
• Subverts the traditional short story format. Her plots do not always come to a clear resolution: leaves the reader thinking. 
  

Focus on the individual 

• Liked to explore a character's interior life rather than focussing on an elaborate plot in her stories. 
  
• Different from mainstream Victorian narratives that tended to provide an authoritative & sweeping portrait of a society. 
  
• She was interested in exploring the alienation or estrangement of a character from her known world – Autobiographical influences. 
  

How does this image relate to your reading?

What connotations do you have to this object?  

"Miss Brill"  

Miss Brill:

• Unmarried; Spinster
  
• Connotations?
  
• Brill: a kind of flat fish
  
• “Fried Whiting”
  
• Beige, brown: lacking excitement, perhaps? 
  

"Miss Brill"  

Consider the quotation given to you. 

Write a short paragraph response considering how this extract aids in the characterisation of Miss Brill and assessing any authorial choices made. 

What concepts or topics
do you think are addressed
in this short story?

"Miss Brill"  

Loneliness 

Human connection 

Alienation 

Youth 

Old Age 

Social invisibility 

Appearance vs reality 

 

Goals for today 

Considering some techniques that Mansfield uses 

Looking at some vignettes in "At the Bay" 

Free indirect discourse

Stream of consciousness 

Symbolism in "At the Bay" 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Ambivalent 

Word of the day

Ambivalent (adj) - having two opposing feelings at the same time, or being uncertain about how you feel.

In your exercise book, write down two or three synonyms for ambivalent

1912 - first used in psychology - from German ambivalenz

Doubt, hesitation, hesitancy, uncertainty, indecision, quandary, ambiguous, equivocal 

My mother loves the opera, but I have ambivalent feelings about it.

Other features of Mansfield's writing style 

• Most stories reflect the point of view of women: many who feel isolated from mainstream society. 
  
• Mostly uses third-person narrative style along with stream of consciousness and free indirect discourse, which allows her to present a character's perspective effectively. 
  
• Use of epiphany: many of her stories feature a character who has a dramatic insight, which marks a shift in their developmental arc. 
  
• Use of vivid, detailed imagery & symbolism 
  
• Her characters usually find it hard to clearly articulate their experience: there is a gap between experience and language. 
  

Using the short story "Miss Brill", find examples of these stylistic choices. Give quotes and page numbers to support your ideas. 

Common themes and topics  

• Entitlement of the wealthy
  
• Divisions of social classes; the gap between rich and poor; class consciousness
  
• Marginalization of people by society
  
• Coming of age
  
• Alienation and self-deception (Appearance vs. Reality)
  
• The patriarchy and male entitlement; marriage and unhappy marriages
  
• Female sexuality (in society and in social norms)