Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield.
"'But why? Because of that stupid old thing at the end there?'" (Mansfield, 186).
This story is relatively creepy and disturbing. Miss Brill is an presumed to be an older woman living in a retirement, or some kind of assisted living community, where she rarely receives visitors or has family. Her situation with her fur creature that she wears reminds me of a child with a stuffed animal that they just won't give up despite the fact the animal has outlived its term. From the description of the creature, the lifeless eyes and the worn nose, it is assumed that the fur is old, just as Miss Brill.
To me, the mood at the beginning of the story is in ways deceptive. The author chooses to describe a happy setting with the bright skies and the happiness and excitement from Miss Brill. Reading on reveals an almost unhealthy obsession of Miss Brill with her fur creature. It is also unsettling to me that Miss Brill enjoys just sitting in the park, watching people. To me, I was not really sure how to feel about this story. I guess that I was disturbed....
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