Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield: Summary & Analysis

The short story "Miss Brill" originated from the pen of Katherine Mansfield, a distinguished modernist writer hailing from New Zealand (1888-1923). First published in the Athenaeum in 1920, it later found its place in Mansfield's compilation, "The Garden Party and Other Stories," which saw publication in 1922. This anthology, alongside T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land," James Joyce's "Ulysses," and Virginia Woolf's "Jacob's Room," played a pivotal role in making 1922 an annus mirabilis for modernist literature. The events of "Miss Brill" unfold in France, set in the aftermath of the First World War. The ravages of the war had given way to burgeoning prosperity, evident from the lively band. Nonetheless, the toll exacted by the war had been substantial, and this is apparent as the narrative captures the exuberance of youthful love and small children, while the older characters in the story exude weariness, li…