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Miss Dill

In many countries, taking care of the elderly is one of the top priorities. Some feel that our nation neglects the elderly. The older generation is often left to live in nursing homes or remain in their own homes with no loved ones around. This has the potential to make a person feel that he would like to shut out all of reality. The short story "Miss Brill", by Katherine Mansfield, is about an older woman who doesn't have any people around her that love her. Because of this isolation she makes things up in her mind to compensate. A person who doesn't have any significant others in his/her life may create an alternate reality to make up for what they don't have. If Miss Brill realizes that what she believes isn't reality, she can become broken and emotionally devistated. Through the setting , Miss Brill herself, her values, and the theme Mansfield is able to easily and clearly show how this happens to Miss Brill.
One way in which Mansfield tries to exemplify the distinction of reality and Miss Brill's altered reality is through point of view. The story is told in third person limited omniscient which helps give the reader a clear point of distinction between what is happening versus what Miss Brill views it as. She views the entire park as a stage and herself an actress. This method of looking at things seems to give Miss Brill a sense of being needed or wanted. She actually looks down on the other people at the park as if they were less than what she is. While looking at the different people in the park Miss Brill overhears a conversation where a couple is talking about her and how funny she and the fur look. The man in the couple says: " "Why does she come here at all-who wants her? Why doesn't she keep her silly mug at home?" "It's her fu-fur which is so funny"
(82). Until now, nothing has contradicted any of the things that Miss Brill has thought

Pottern 2
about herself. Now, however, there is a clear comprehension of what reality is...