The Nature and Temperament of Ms. Brill

The short story “Ms. Brill,” by Katherine Mansfield, tells us of a character whose nature and temperament is very different. Ms. Brill is a very sentimental person by nature, but she her usual temperament is very insecure, and self-conscious. The love and care she gave the fox fur shows how much it meant to her. Mansfield describes the fur with such detail that we can almost feel the love Ms. Brill feels for it. The …

…she got back home, her sentiment towards the fur, along with her insulted personality disappeared as she hastily shoved it back into the box. Ms. Brill wore the fur and put her personality out for the world to see. She took a gamble, but lost. Her core human nature was insulted, and her temperament of insecurity had overcome her nature. She would never wear the fur, live her life, and expose her real personality again.