Social Alienation and Loneliness in Mansfield’s “Miss Brill” and “The Daughters of the Late Colonel”

Abstract

The concept of alienation is used to characterize a person’s lack of interest in and/or incapacity to make a meaningful connection with others, even with themselves, with the physical world, and with institutions including social, political, and religious ones. This notion, which also represents the era Katherine Mansfield lived in and the kind of life she led, can be applied to examine her short stories “Miss Brill” and “The Daughters of the Late Colonel”, published in The Garden Party and Other Stories (1922) collection. In the narratives, Miss Brill and the Pinner Sisters behave in a way that reflects their social alienation in society, however, Mansfield uniquely addresses the issue. In “Miss Brill”, first published in 1920, the old lady becomes vulnerable due to her desire to interact with others in the Jardins Publiques every Sunday, which eventually causes her to realize how estranged she is from the people around her. As opposed to Miss Brill, Mansfield portrays the Pinner sisters as being socially isolated because of their self-induced oppression. The demands of their father have so thoroughly dominated Constantia and Josephine’s lives that they have never had an opportunity to form their own unique identities. The death of their father could be a chance for the daughters to awaken, allowing them to break free from the colonel’s authority and discover that a life outside is possible. But still, the internalized oppression of the women keeps them from staying connected with others and being free. This article discusses how Mansfield handles the issue of social alienation and loneliness by using spinsters with different lifestyles and how solitude negatively affects their daily routine.