The point of view that the author has chosen to use in “Miss Brill” serves two purposes. Firstly, it shows how Miss Brill sees the world. Secondly, it helps the reader to take the same journey of a developing awareness as Miss Brill.
The story is written in a third person omniscient point of view although it is limited. Miss Brill also interprets the world around her in a similar fashion. She is her own narrator, watching people around her and filling in their thoughts to create stories to amuse her. Compared to most people, Miss Brill’s thinking is atypical. Normally a person viewing the world around him will acknowledge his own presence and feelings. For example, if something is funny, a person will think “I find that amusing.” While that sentence may not consciously cross his mind, the fact that it was funny is personally related. Miss Brill has a different pattern of thought. She manages not include herself in her reactions; she is basically observing the actions and words. By doing this, she resembles the narrator of the story by simply watching and relaying the events around her.
The third person point of view is taken even further when Miss Brill decides that the park and everyone in it “[is] like a play. It [is] exactly like a play”. This is the epitome of her point of view. Not only is she watching the people around her, she is so far removed from them that she feels like she’s separate audience. This changes and she then changes her mind, she decides that she does actually have a part in the play as an actress. Even at this point she does not see herself as a leading character, just as a cast member in the drama that takes place in the park every Sunday. She now seems even more detached, t ...