Miss Brill: A Pathetic Character

Part I of Essay
Miss Brill is a pathetic character; that is, she arouses sympathy and compassion. She provokes this pity by being a seemingly old, lonely lady. Her habit of listening in on other people’s conversations seems harmless because her sole purpose is only to bring added joy to ....

Part II of Essay
.... wears it. When it is mocked she is very hurt. She walks home without getting her usual “honey cake” and puts away her precious fur. As she does so she thinks she hears something crying. Her life is so inauthentic, made up of second hand gossip, and second hand furs, that she’s incapable of recognizing the true origin of her tears, which of course, is her grief and humiliation. She has never before seen herself as “odd, silent, and… just come from a dark little room or even-even a cupboard!” Her world is essentially lived in a shell and ....