Seeking happiness within a materialistic world is like trying to understand a conversation just through eavesdropping. In Katherine Mansfield’s “Miss Brill,” her use of situational irony explores the effect of words on human vulnerability. She also uses situational irony in “The Dolls House” to convey innocence within the youth in spite of a modern world full of social prejudice. Miss brill is to frail to show emotion but uses her fur as a direct representation of herself to express how she feels. Also, Aunt Beryl who is not perfect herself, judges the children thus using them as her scapegoat to mask her wrongdoing. The use of irony in both short stories reveal how difficult it is to live in happiness when surrounded by negativity.
To begin …show more content…
However, unlike Miss Brill, the Kelvey's who resemble innocence do not allow the adult world full of divisions to define who they are and what they are capable of accomplishing. As Aunt Beryl yells at the children for loitering with the Burnell’s, Mansfield ironically portrays her hypocritical tendencies as she to is not perfect and has an affair with Willie Brent. She scorns others to mask her wrongdoing thus making the Kelvey’s her scapegoat. In the midst of negativity, Else nudges her sister saying; “I seen the little lamp” (Mansfield 6). In spite of evil, Else and her sisters are able to see the good in the world and overcome social barriers.
Overall, Katherine Mansfield’s use of irony in both “Miss Brill” and “The Dolls House” deepen the characters purpose. It also gives rich context into the characters personalities making it easier for the reader to interpret. Mansfield displays how the materialistic world can intervene with people's lives and cause emotional conflict. The use of irony expresses a major theme of evil and how characters allow it to interfere with their daily lives whether that be for good or
To begin …show more content…
However, unlike Miss Brill, the Kelvey's who resemble innocence do not allow the adult world full of divisions to define who they are and what they are capable of accomplishing. As Aunt Beryl yells at the children for loitering with the Burnell’s, Mansfield ironically portrays her hypocritical tendencies as she to is not perfect and has an affair with Willie Brent. She scorns others to mask her wrongdoing thus making the Kelvey’s her scapegoat. In the midst of negativity, Else nudges her sister saying; “I seen the little lamp” (Mansfield 6). In spite of evil, Else and her sisters are able to see the good in the world and overcome social barriers.
Overall, Katherine Mansfield’s use of irony in both “Miss Brill” and “The Dolls House” deepen the characters purpose. It also gives rich context into the characters personalities making it easier for the reader to interpret. Mansfield displays how the materialistic world can intervene with people's lives and cause emotional conflict. The use of irony expresses a major theme of evil and how characters allow it to interfere with their daily lives whether that be for good or