Miss Brill is not married and no family relations are mentioned and therefore can be called an old spinster. She lives in a small "room like a cupboard" (Mansfield 335) in France where she feels lonely and creates her own world. The image of the cupboard hints at the restricted, dark and isolated circumstances Miss Brill lives in. The term "cupboard" is first used when Miss Brill observes the other people in the park: "They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or - even cupboards!” (332). This observation speaks of her wishing for distance between her and these rather unglamorous individuals, and of extreme self-denial, considering that she eventually turns out to be exactly like them, her view on people in general is reducing and sexless, sometimes even caricaturing. She compares them to animals or playthings, degrading them and stripping them of their dignity. Miss Brill remarks that the conductor of the band “scraped with his foot and flapped his arms like a rooster about to crow” (331), or she sees a “small high-stepping mother, like a young hen” (332). Another woman in the park she dubs “an ermine toque” (333); the neatly dressed little girls in the park are "little French dolls" to her. Miss Brill's judgments are obviously quite unfair and superficial. While it seems, in the beginning, that she despises people for their inferiority, it becomes obvious, towards the end of the story, that she really despises herself. By looking down on those that match her profile, she ridicules her own life.
Another very important issue of symbolic value within the story is Miss Brill’s fur and the way she deals with it. She considers her fur as a kind of pet or friend. Miss Brill lives for the days that she spends in the park, this can be seen when she rubs "the life back into the dim little eyes" (331) of her fur. When Miss Brill goes to the park on Sundays she takes the fur out of its box, but instead of treating it like an accessory, she regards it as a companion. This is also reflected in the dialogues she has with the fur. "She could have taken it off and laid it on her lap and stroked it" (331) and Miss Brill calls him "“Dear little thing!” (331). The fur has "sad little eyes" (331) and its nose "wasn't at all firm. It must have had a knock, somehow" (331). These descriptions of the fur imply that the fur is not new any more. If the fur is a symbol for Miss Brill herself, this means that she is old and used up, too. And "even the fact that it bites its own tail is a reflection of the repetiveness and futility of Miss Brill's existence." (Aczel 119) When she names her fur "Little rogue" (Mansfield 331) she once more gives an insight in her own situation of living. The fact that a rogue is a wild animal which lives all alone, and whose company is unwanted, mirrors Miss Brill's own life as well as it shows the close relationship to her fur. The way she treats her fur is symbolic for Miss Brill's perception of her situation defining hers and the lives of everybody around her.
All in all Miss Brill's life is very strictly organised and "her regular weekly activities characterize Miss Brill implicitly as a person addicted to routine, and who doesn't allow the outer world to disturb a mode of existence based on deeply ingrained habit." (Aczel 119). Every Sunday when she passes the bakery she buys a slice of honey cake because it is her "Sunday treat" (Mansfield 335). Whenever there is an almond in the slice she feels "like carrying home a tiny present - a surprise - something that might very well not have been there" (335). The "almond Sundays" (335) mean a highlight in her week and once more it becomes obvious how empty and sad Miss Brill's life is. Although she already lives the cliché of an old spinster, Miss Brill fears being alone because she is used to be there for other people. Her position as a teacher and especially her regular meetings with the old invalid gentleman four times a week seem to be an escape from isolation. Miss Brill does not want her protégé to know anything about her real life and therefore she answers his question by stating "Yes, I have been an actress for a long time." (334) Miss Brill creates her own world of illusion, where she feels important and superior, because in reality there is scarcely anybody who notices and needs her. Her fear of being alone might also be the reason for her opinion that she and the other persons in the park "were all on stage" (334). This idea gives Miss Brill the feeling of security and belonging to a group, because she is sure that "somebody would have noticed if she hadn't been there; she was part of the performance, after all." (334). She dreams the life she would like to live, but despite her own opinion she does not belong to the other visitors, and when it becomes obvious "what other people actually think of her, Miss Brill's true separation from her fellow human beings becomes almost brutally apparent, and the essential loneliness of her character is underlined." (Aczel 118) The two young lovers make the ultimate insult upon Miss Brill, not only by calling her a "stupid old thing" (Mansfield 338), but they ridicule her companion, the fur, by comparing it to "a fried whiting" (338).
After listening to the conversation of the couple - and the rhetorical question "who wants her" (335) aroused by the young man - she suddently realises her own sad and isolated situation. On her way home Miss Brill does not go to the bakery as usual which signifies no less than breaking her routine. She puts the fur back into the box without having another glance at it and "when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying." (336) It seems that on the one hand Miss Brill is definitely a sadder person, but on the other hand not more realistic. Nevertheless she tries to compensate the sad epiphany she has gone through by keeping up her illusion. Thus, the ending of the story is ambivalent and open.
2.2 Imagery in Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Sharer”
The nameless captain is the protagonist of Joseph Conrad's short story "The Secret Sharer". Appointed to the command only two weeks ago, he feels insecure about his position as captain and is alienated by the rest of the crew because of his youth and inexperience. He has not integrated himself into his new role yet is aware of the fact that "all these people had been together for eighteen moths or so, and [his] position was that of the only stranger on board" (Conrad 320). His journey on the ship stands for the journey through life in general. Although he is new on board he already built up a close and emotional relationship to his ship. One can see that in the comparison of the ship to a companion when the captain speaks of his "hand resting lightly on [his] ship's rail as if on the shoulder of a trusted friend." (319)
A very subtle, but nevertheless important symbol is the scorpion. When the first mate discovers the scorpion in his cabin this leads to a fuss. The first mate is very fascinated with the scorpion and does not stop wondering how it got there. Especially the question "how on earth it managed to drown himsefl in the inkwell of his writing desk" (320) is of great importance for the chief mate, although the mystery is not solved in the course of the story. The scorpion stands for danger and ambivalence. Furthermore, the scorpion is a premonition of Leggatt's arrival and the consequences of a possible detection by the crew. The mate's speculations concerning the scorpion, however, can also be applied to Leggatt
One night the captain wanders the deck and notices the naked stranger in the sea close to the ship. At their first encounter the captain thinks that Leggatt "was complete but for the head. A headless corpse!" (322). The headless corpse can be seen as evidence for the lack of identity, because it can be symbolic for the self-confidence and rationality of Leggatt. To the captain Leggatt seems "as if he had risen from the bottom of the sea" (323) and also "silvery, fish-like" (322). Until Leggatt is identified as "a well-knit young fellow of twenty-five at most" (324), they both have a wrong impression from each other. While the captain thinks of Leggatt as a kind of phenomenon, Leggatt does not realise that he is rescued by the captain of the ship himself. That is why their first meeting is very pure and innocent, until they really start talking and revealing who they are. From the beginning on Leggatt is very mysterious, which is rooted in his strange emergence at night, and furthermore stands for purity, purification, and an absolutely sinless and immoral state.
Another important stylistic device within "The Secret Sharer" is myth - in classical as well as in biblical sense - which is reflected in the conflicts on board the Sephora. The fear of being driven off the face of the earth as well as the struggle in the storm, which is compared to the biblical story of Cain and Abel (cf. 328), contain references to the bible. After Leggatt killed the other man, the first thing he hears is "the voice of the old man" (325). The name of captain of the Sephora is never mentioned, Leggatt always refers to him as "the old man", which evokes the association of the captain being a father figure or maybe even a kind of god to him.
Almost immediately, the Captain and Leggatt seem to understand each other perfectly, they built up a "mysterious communication" (323). The clothes worn within the story are also of great symbolic value. The sleeping-suits worn by both the captain and Leggatt, represent their assimilation. The feeling of belonging together now also becomes obvious in their outer appearance. Thus, it seems to the captain "as if [their] experiences had been as identical as [thier] clothes." (325)
Throughout the story, the captain constantly refers to Leggatt as his double. Already in the introductory part there is a foreshadowing of the double motif. At the beginning of "The Secret Sharer", the water and the sky unite "with a perfect and unmarked closeness" (319), that foreshadows the intimate connection between Leggatt and the captain. In addition the references to groups of two - like "two small clumps of trees" (319) or the two identical sleeping-suits - also relate to the central motif of duality. By naming Leggatt his double, the captain expresses his insecurity and problems in developing his own indentity. With Leggat's appearance on board, the captain's problems increase for the time being. The more he tries to keep Leggatt's identity concealed, the more he appears incompetent to his crew. On the other hand, the captain keeps protecting Leggatt, because he does not want him being discovered. Nevertheless the captain is aware of the situation and knows that "this could not go on forever." (337)
The captain takes pity on Leggat and evolves a special relationship with him because he feels "almost as much of a stranger on board as himself" (329). Soon their relationship becomes so close that the captain feels "so connected in thoughts and impressions with the secret sharer" (334) that it is difficult to distinguish the captain's individual self from the secret sharer. The captain's emotional realtionship with Leggatt is based on his feeling that Leggat is "the secret sharer of [his]cabin and of [his] thoughts, as though he [was his] second self" (348). This nearly schizrophenic duality peaks in "that mental feeling of being in two places at once affected [him] physically as if the mood of secrecy had penetrated [his] very soul" (338). Sometimes Leggatt seems to be caught between reality and illusion, thus the reader cannot even be sure if Leggatt really exists or if he is just a creation of the young captain’s mind. "that he is not visible to other eyes than mine? It was like being haunted" (341) "something that a ghost might have said" (341) "a double captain busy talking in whispers with his other self." (327)
When the ship arrives at Koh-ring, the captain takes off his white hat and passes it on to Leggatt. The captain’s hat is a symbol of protection, duty and identification. The captain gives the hat to his double out of sympathy for him and originally "it had been ment to save his homeless head from the dangers of the sun" (348). When he passes the hat on to Leggatt at the end of the story the hat also becomes a symbol of orientation and goodbye. The hat is dropped into the water as Leggatt leaves. The white hat also symbolises the separation of Leggatt and the captain, who have throughout the course of the short story become one. Nevertheless, towards the end of the novel, as the ship heads towards danger, the captain does not think of Leggatt in first place, because he is concernded mainly with handling the ship in the hour of crisis. At Koh-ring the captain needs to know in which direction the ship is moving in order get out of the dangerous situation he has maneuvert his ship into. At last he sees the hat which he has given to Leggatt on the surface of the water, which enables him to give the proper order. Therefore the hat serves as orientation and it "was saving the ship, by serving [him] for a mark to help out the ignorance of [his] strangeness" (348). The captain succeeds the challenge and rescues the ship and the crew as well as himself. The experience helps him to become a reliable captain and "free man" (348).
3 Conclusion
In fact stylistic devices have been an essential part of short stories in general. Especially imagery serves as a useful medium to convey feelings, moods and thoughts as well as impressions and atmosphere. Often imagery has the ability to express more than only arbitraryly lined up words can say. There are various possibilities to make use of the power of imagery. However, symbolism is one of the preferred stylistic devices within short stories. Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Sharer” and Katherine Mansfield’s “Miss Brill” contain various types of symbolism. The different kinds of imagery represented in “The Secret Sharer” and “Miss Brill” are essential for the controversial messages of the short stories. Nevertheless both ways contribute to the stories - in their own ways. That is why I chose these particular short stories in order to underline the role of imagery for short stories - independently from the way they are perceived.
Instead of merely stating the message of the story, Katherine Mansfield uses various images to underline the intention of the story. Therefore "Miss Brill" is the perfect example for showing how the right use of imagery can summarize the meaning of a whole short story. In "Miss Brill" comparisons with various animals and dream-like images are used to express the lifestyle of the main character. Symbolism is very important for the short story and "almost every detail has a symbolic as well as narrative function. The details, or images, are intended to work in concert to create a mood or evoke a theme which is never directly stated." (Hanson/Gurr 22)
In "The Secret Sharer" Joseph Conrad integrates a variety of images into the plot to emphasize the development and growing up of the young captain. At the beginning of the story, the captain is inexperienced and insecure. Throughout the course of the short story he gains maturity and becomes a real captain to the ship and the crew. Therefore the imagery serves to envold and reveal the hidden character traits of the main character. The themes of the short story are responsibility as well as guilt. However, also alienation, strangeness, development, integrity, identity, maturity and namelessness are important in the course of the story. Joseph Conrad uses imagery in order to deal with these topics and to create a realistic story with a deep meaning.
In both short stories the authors reveal the life and thoughts of the main character by making use of imagery. Whereas Miss Brill is already an old and isolated spinster with a stuck impression of the world around herself, the captain is a young man who looks forward to the challenges to come. What both characters have got in common is the fact that they both have got a secret companion, of whom nobody else is aware of. In "Miss Brill" as well as in "The Secret Sharer" imagery is used to show their point of view concerning themselves and the outer world.
Finally, it is the use of imagery - in the case of "Miss Brill" and "The Secret Sharer" especially symbolism - which brings the meaning of the story to life beyond pure telling. Within short stories the authors succed in achieving achieve a certain impact on the reader, and as Joseph Conrad himself put it: “My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel - it is, before all, to make you see. That - and no more, and it is everything.” (Conrad 1955)
Bibliography
Abrams, M. H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol.2. New York, 2000.
Conrad, Joseph. The Nigger of the "Narcissus". The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol.2. 1954 - 1956.
Aczel, Richard. How to Write an Essay. Klett Verlag, 2003.
Baldick, Chris. Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford: University Press, 1996.
Charters, Ann, ed. Major Writers of Short Fiction. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993.
Conrad, Joseph. “The Secret Sharer”. Major Writers of Short Fiction. 319 - 48.
Hanson, Clare, and Andrew Gurr. Katherine Mansfield. London: MacMillan, 1981.
Mansfield, Katherine. The Collected Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield. London: Penguin, 1981.
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May, Charles E., ed. The New Short Story Theories. Athens: Ohio UP, 1994.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Poe on Fiction". The New Short Story Theories. 59 - 70.
ERKLÄRUNG
Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig und ohne fremde Hilfe verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Hilfsmittel verwendet habe.
Insbesondere versichere ich, dass ich alle wörtlichen und sinngemäßen Übernahmen aus anderen Werken als solche kenntlich gemacht habe.
_ , den
(Julia A. Wilhelm)
