Miss Brill and The Dolls House

702 Words2 Pages

"Symbols are essential to the short story writer because they convey so much in so short a space." Discuss with reference to two short stories studied. Katherine Mansfield's short stories Miss Brill and The Dolls House are extremely good examples of how a writer can use symbolism to bring about an understanding of character, setting and themes, whilst communicating all these ideas in a concise short story. Miss Brill demonstrates how symbolism is used to portray a character's feelings, and the reactions of that character to a series of events expressed through an omniscient third person narrator that delves into Miss Brill's innermost thoughts. Symbolism is essential in expressing the author's feelings and ideas about condescending attitudes and snobbish disapproving behaviour. There are a number of symbols in the story which emphasize the Miss Brill's innocence, and the effect that the writer uses it to. One is the fur collar. The kind of "fur" Mansfield meant is indicated by "Little rogue biting its tail just by her left ear." In reality it was probably just th...

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