"The Story of an hour" by Kate Chopin and "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield are two stories that give insight into two women's lives. Respectively, Mrs. Mallard and Miss Brill are living in worlds that enable them to stay the same. In other words, they both are very comfortable living with disconnect of emotions and it takes drastic situations for them to see change and reflect on life. It takes Mrs. Mallard's husband's death to make her feel a certain extent of liberation and excitement for the future. Miss Brill on the other hand, lives her life looking in on others. Yet so different, these women have many things in common which make both of them relatable characters.
Miss Brill is an illusionist, she create a "fantasy world" where she believes everyone commemorates her. This "fantasy world" shields her from remembering that she is alone.
Kate Chopin in 1894
Photoportrait of writer Kate Chopin
Alumna, Katherine MansfieldEvery Sunday, Miss Brill would take out her fur coat and take a stroll in the park. Miss Brill is so lonely that she eavesdrops every opportunity she gets. One afternoon, she eavesdrops on a young couple and listens to them talking down on her as if she is irrelevant. Miss Brill overhears the young couple saying, "Why does she come here at all - who wants her? Why doesn't she keep her silly old mug at home?" Stunned and alone, she decides to face reality and realizes that she really is unimportant to society. When she goes back home she then packs her fur coat back into the box. Miss Brill then begins to hallucinate when she hears her fur coat start to cry, she goes into the corner and starts to cry as well.
Mrs. Mallard is very sick and unwell with heart troubles. She...