Miss Brill

There are numerous themes that are conveyed throughout the work Miss Brill. These themes include lonliness, rejection, and reality versus fantasy and illusion. The main character of the short story, Miss Brill, conveys the theme of lonliness. Her fixed and monotonous routine each and every Sunday show how truly desperate she is for connection to people and for the company of others. When she goes and listens to the band play in the same spot each week, Miss Brill soon feels like she belongs. She feels like she is essential to this scene, which she soon sees as a play. This environment with others is something that she can reach out to in order to feel like she belongs. However, a new couple come and sit down by her and she listens to their conversation. While doing this, Miss Brill hears them make fun of her and becomes upset. She feels rejected by the one thing that she cherished the most, which ties in the theme of rejection and denial. She is extremely saddened after this occurs, but it created a desire for change within her. Miss Brill began to realize the difference between reality and fantasy that day. She didn't stop by the bakery like she usually did, and she put the old fur that she was wearing away in the box. I think this symbolizes a shift in Miss Brill's view on the world around her as well as a transformation of her self-image.