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Depiction of women in literature
How are women portrayed through literature
How are women portrayed through literature
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Question 1 “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield tells a story of a lonely, English lady in France. Miss Brill is a quiet person who believes herself to be important. The whole afternoon at the gardens, Miss Brill does not converse with anyone, nor does anyone show any inclination to talk with her. She merely watches others and listens to their conversations. This provides her with a sense of companionship; she feels as if she is a part of other people’s lives. Miss Brill is also slightly self-conceited. She believes that she is so important that people would notice if she ever missed a Sunday at the park. It does not occur to her that other people may not want her to be there. Miss Brill is very observant of what happens around her. However, she is not in tune with her own self. She has a disillusioned view of herself. She does not admit her feelings of dejection at the end. She seems not even to notice her sorrow. Miss Brill is concerned merely with the external events, and not with internal emotions. Furthermore, Miss Brill is proud. She has been very open about her thoughts. However, after the comments from the young lovers, her thoughts are silenced. She is too proud to admit her sorrow and dejection; she haughtily refuses to acknowledge that she is not important. Question 2 Miss Brill is English. She conducts a class of “English pupils” (100). She teaches English to students in France. The story is set in France, in the Jardins Publiques. The setting is important because it further illustrates how Miss Brill is out of place in her society. She is a foreigner in a strange land. Question 3 Miss Brill is advanced in years. She has been coming weekly to the gardens for “‘a long time’” (100). Furthermore, the two young lovers describe her as an “‘an old thing”’ (100). Miss Brill is without any relatives or close friends. She has no acquaintances to converse with. Therefore, she treats her fur as if it were a pet. Her fur is a “dear little thing” (98) with eyes and a tail. She sometimes feels like “stroking” it (98). Miss Brill’s loneliness causes her to listen in on conversations. This is her only means of achieving a sense of companionship. She feels that for a moment she is “sitting in other people’s lives just for a minute” (98). Aside from that, she is part of no one’s life.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
The Third Person-Point of View as used by Katherine Mansfield in “Miss Brill” Katherine Mansfield’s use of the third person, limited omniscient point of view in “Miss Brill” has the effect of letting the reader see the contrast between Miss Brill’s idea of her role in life and the reality of the small part she truly plays in world around her. In one short Sunday afternoon, the main character’s view of herself changes dramatically different changes. Until the end, the reader does not realize the view is like a mirror at a carnival, clear on the outside edges and distorted in the centre. Mansfield’s use of the story’s point of view causes her readers to look inside themselves to see if they also view life as Miss Brill does: as they wish it to be, not as it is. In the beginning, Miss Brill sees herself as an observer of life, somehow separate, but yet an integral part of life. From the first sentence, “Although it was so brilliantly fine--the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques”(49), the reader is made aware of her wonderfully vivid imagination. She seems to notice everything. In addition, she paints it in such words that we see it also. As readers, we want to believe that Miss Brill really has a deep understanding of the world around her. Yet Miss Brill wishes to be a part of the world and not apart from it, so we see her view shift to include herself. Now we begin to wonder about her...
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.
Through attention to detail, repeated comparison, shifting tone, and dialogue that gives the characters an opportunity to voice their feelings, Elizabeth Gaskell creates a divide between the poor working class and the rich higher class in Mary Barton. Gaskell places emphasis on the differences that separate both classes by describing the lavish, comfortable, and extravagant life that the wealthy enjoy and compares it to the impoverished and miserable life that the poor have to survive through. Though Gaskell displays the inequality that is present between both social classes, she also shows that there are similarities between them. The tone and diction change halfway through the novel to highlight the factors that unify the poor and rich. In the beginning of the story John Barton exclaims that, “The rich know nothing of the trials of the poor…” (11), showing that besides the amount of material possessions that one owns, what divides the two social classes is ability to feel and experience hardship. John Barton views those of the upper class as cold individuals incapable of experiencing pain and sorrow. Gaskell, however proves Barton wrong and demonstrates that though there are various differences that divide the two social classes, they are unified through their ability to feel emotions and to go through times of hardship. Gaskell’s novel reveals the problematic tension between the two social classes, but also offers a solution to this problem in the form of communication, which would allow both sides to speak of their concerns and worries as well as eliminate misunderstandings.
Feeling optimistic about how she looks, she begins to critique everyone else. On this walk, she is very specific where she goes. First the park, to imagine herself in other's lives. In this part of the story Miss Brill believed she was an actor and these were plays. This is another example of her loneliness, or possibly a mental disorder. Almost all these people were couples, friends, or children. This made her feel even more alone, so her "role" in their lives is important to her. This is the only interaction with people other than the baker. The next place was the bakery. This is where she would get her cake with the occasional almond in
Every Sunday Miss Brill goes to listen to live music that is performed year round. Today seemed special to her because the seasons had begun to change, bringing in a, “faint chill.”There was a young gentleman and a woman whose conversation she could not help but overhear. The young woman called out Miss Brill’s fur thinking she could not hear. Miss Brill did hear them and went straight home. As she got there she immediately took off the fur, boxed it, and heard crying. But the crying was not coming from
She always comes to the park, depending on the season she is happy or annoyed. Miss Brill came to the park happy enjoying herself. She would get annoyed easily, like a child would.” He'd suggested everything - gold rims, the kind that curved round your ears, little pads inside the bridge. No, nothing would please her. "They'll always be sliding down my nose!" Miss Brill had wanted to shake her.” That doesn’t happen to Miss Brill all the time. She is usually happy, likes to watch everyone. As a reward at the end of the day she would buy ice cream, like a child she would get excited if an almond slice was in her ice cream, if there wasn’t she would be disappointed.” On her way home she usually bought a slice of honey-cake at the baker's. It was her Sunday treat. Sometimes there was an almond in her slice, sometimes not. It made a great difference.” The biggest thing that makes her a child is how she handled the situation with the young man and women at the park. They were whispering about her, and the young man told her to go away, she went home and started crying. “But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something
Miss Julie by August Strindberg was published in 1888 yet was soon censored for it’s, what was then, ‘scandalous’ content with its frank portrayal of sexuality. In the preface of the play, Strindberg refers to Miss Julie as a ‘man-hating half women’ who seems to be the result of a power struggle between her mother and father. Miss Julie is already the dominating figure within the play showing a disregard for gender and class conventions, these themes and the idea of a power struggle that forms tension between characters should be drawn upon when taking a directorial approach to staging the play.
In his poem “My Last Duchess”, Robert Browning gives his readers a complex picture of his two main characters. The Duke, who narrates the poem, is the most immediately present but Browning sets him up to ultimately lose the reader’s trust. The Duchess becomes the sympathetic character, a victim of foul play. It is through the various representations of the Duchess within the poem that we come to know both characters. The representations of the Duchess, which focus on her ever-present smile and easily satisfied nature, come in sharp contrast with the desperate, sputtering language of the Duke as he tries to tell their story on his own terms. This contrast is a manifestation of the Duke's frustration with his inability to control the Duchess and her nonchalant but near-total control over him.
At that moment, Mrs. Mallard was called, and the story is suggesting a transitioning. She offered the reader an image of her personal advantage. Highly supportive of her newly found self—Mrs. Mallard whispers, “Free! Body and soul free!” (279). She basks in the light of exploring a future for herself and compared it to “spring and summer days “, which will be her own (279). Furthermore, “drinking the elixir of life through the open window” incites a refreshing sensation, which solely support her own gratification (279). A new take on life, while she takes in the refreshing taste of being by herself. This allowed Mrs. Mallard to obtain a new confidence, which will be short
In the story “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, the titular protagonist, Miss Brill, an older woman, struggles to reconcile with depression brought on by the continuity of an increasing generational divide and her own unbearably lonely life. The subtle technique by which this is brought about in the consciousness of the reader can be explained as such: Firstly, a first person perspective gives the reader a completely subjective account of events; secondly, a third person perspective gives the reader a definitively objective account of events; thirdly, because “Miss Brill” fails to adhere exclusively to either definition, a new category is necessary. The characteristics of this hybrid perspective are shifting narrative attention, the use of
This mixture of narrated monologue, interior monologue, and narrator summary enables the reader to be able to see the reality Miss Brill wants to forget in her dreams. The thought was too agonizing for close judgement, Miss Brill looks onto the crowd and this time she sees a woman in a shabby looking outfit approach a wealthy, older gentleman. Miss Brill’s immediately identified the woman with visions her initial point of view. Mansfield denial to a disruptive commentary, let the reader make a reaction to Miss Brill in easier ways. As Miss Brill reminisces in the past and prepares for a future time in the dialogue with her reading buddy, she shows herself and her anxieties to full
“Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield is a third-person narrative that gives a brief look into the mind of an elderly woman named Miss Brill. The story takes place at a park, in France, where Miss Brill routinely goes to listen to a band play and observe the lives of others. On this particular day, Miss Brill’s thoughts are farfetched and bursting with fascination. However, a run in with a young, insulting couple forces her back into reality. Miss Brill evokes endless sympathy as the audience joins her along her weekly walk.
Fairies tales are full of passion and can be said in different ways. This essay is a comparison of two different version of the beauty and beast tale. We will analyze how the meanings changed from one to another. The first one is “beauty and beast” written by Leprince De Beaumont and the second one is “tiger’s bride” by Angela Carter.
Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield is the most prestige short story of our genre. By the end of my research, I will have you convinced as well. I will include the following literary analysis of Miss Brill: biography of Katherine Mansfield, a history about Miss Brill, a character analysis including theme, tone, irony, and symbolism and lastly, what kind of genre in literature Miss Brill is from. At the end of my research, you too will agree with me as to why Miss Brill is the most prestige story of our genre.