赏析凯瑟琳娜·曼斯菲尔德missbrill

AbriefAppreciationofMissBrillTootherpeople,itisanillusion;toMissBrill,it’sadream.MissBrillisalonelyoldspinster.OnthefineSundayafternoon,sheisverygladgotoapark,whichregardedastheSundaytreatbyherself.Sheenjoysherselfbywatchingthebandplay,bylookingatvariouspeopleintheparkandlisteningtotheirconversations.Shefeelssheisamemberofthecommunityandshewouldbenoticedandmissedifshefailstobethere.However,theconversationbetweenaboyandagirlmadeMissBrillsuddenlyknowsthetruththatnoonecaresabouther.Finally,shecamebackhometofacetherealityaloneandsadly.KatherineMansfieldisawomanwriterwhoenjoysthereputationof“amasterofshortstories”.Shehasmadegreatcontributiontothedevelopmentofthemodernshortstories.Herlanguageofnovelshastheuniquefeature,likepoems.Theendsofhernovels,becauseofherextraordinaryarrangementaswellasthewritingtechniques,areoftenoutofblue,likeMissBrill,whichmakehernovelmoreimpressiveandherthememoretouching.IwanttoanalyzeoneofhermasterpiecesMissBrillfromtwoaspectsofthemeandtechniques.1.ThemeMissBrillcanbedescribedasmiserable,lonely,oldlady.However,comparedwithterriblelivingcondition,IthinkMissBrillismoreafraidofloneliness.Herhopelessescapingfromtherealityisnothingbutavoidofconfrontingtheworldalone.Forexample,“MissBrillalwayslookedforwardtotheconversation”,“evenshehadapartandcameeverySunday.Nodoubtsomebodywouldhavenoticedifshehadn’tbeenthere;shewaspartoftheperformanceafterall.”Sheissocheerfulwhensheissittingintheparktobeawitnessofallthepeoplethere.Sheisobservingcarefully,includingeverysingleactionsandfacialexpressions,andsometimessheevenmakesupthedialoguebetweenpeople.Maybenoonetalkstoherindailylife.Idon’tthinkthatyoungpeoplewillspendthewholeafternoonsittinginaparktowatchpeople.Itisanactionweregardaswasteoftime,whileitisabanquettoMissBrill.Tosomeextent,sheisoldenoughtohavearestandenjoyherlateryears.Butwecanalsoknowthatthere’snothingforhertodoevencareabout.Allthepeoplesheobservesarecompaniedbysomeone,includingtheagedpeoplesheslightlylaughsat,excepther.ItcanexplainwhytheconversationbetweentheboyandthegirlhurtsMissBrillsodeeply.Sheissoafraidoffacingthetruththat“whowantsher”Therefore,wecanconcludethatlonelinessisthecenterthemeofthisnovel.Thisalsowarnsusaboutoursociety,whichtakesbadcareabouttheagedpeople.Besides,theliveswewillbeconfrontedwithinourlatteryears.2.ContributiveTechniquesThereasonwhythisnovelcantouchussomuchisthattheauthorthoughtfullyarrangedtheplotandusedsometechniques.Inmyopinion,contrastandepiphanyarethemostimportantones.Firstofall,wecanfindhowbeautifulthecolorsandpicturesMissBrillsees.Forexample,“brilliantly”,“theblueskypowderedwithgoldandgreatspots”,“theslendertresswithyellowleavesdowndrooping,andthroughthenjustalineofsea,andbeyondtheblueskywithgold-veinedclouds”,allthesepicturesarebeautifulandpeaceful.Sheissocontenttoseethese.Besides,theadjectivesusedinthepartbeforethatturningconversationareallpositiveratherthannegative.Forexample,“louder”,“gayer”,“delighted”,“fascinating”,“warm”,“sunny”,wecanfeelhowenjoyableMissBrillis.Butallthesebeautyareturnedintoironyafterwefindthetruth.Eventhoughtheauthorjustusetheword“dark”“quickly”todescribeMissBrill’smiseryandembarrassmentathome,wecanfeelthehurtbetter.Attheendofthestory,onlysomesmallactionscanreflectthetheme.DifferentfromtheelegantandgentlemoveofMissBrill,shejust“hurriedonthealmondSundaysandstruckthematchforthekettleinquiteadashingway”and“unclaspedtheneckletquickly,withoutlooking.”Theactionsforwardandbackwardjustcontrasteachotherapparently,whichhelpstoemphasizethetheme.AnotherimportanttechniqueusedbyKatherineMansfieldisepiphany.EpiphanyisMansfield’sfavoritetechniquetorevealthetruthaboutlife.Sheisveryconsciousinheruseofthiswritingtechniqueasthefocalpointofherstories.Epiphanyisasuddenspiritualmanifestation.Thereareexpectationsinherstories.Thenatthecrucialmoment,theexpectationsaresharplyreversedordenied.InMissBrill,theepiphanyhappenedwhentheboyandthegirlaretalkingbesideher.Actually,itarethereaderswhoshockbythetruthIthink,andtoMissBrill,itjustuncoverswhatshedeniestoadmit,forcinghertobefacedwithherreallife.Itiscruelofcourse.MissBrillisaveryfamousworkofKatherineMansfield,whichcanreflecttheauthor’sextraordinarytechniquesandpenetration.Afterreadingthenovel,Icannothelpbutcareaboutthepeoplearoundme.Somepeoplesaythateverypersonisanisolatedisland.Comparedwiththeboundlessuniverse,humanbeingsaresolonelyintheworld,letalonethesingleperson.Asthewinteriscoming,we’dbettercaremoreaboutpeoplearoundusandwarmeachotherinthecoldanddeadseason.