Our lives are not lived in solitude. Everyday we encounter others who are on their own paths. We observe one another and whether consciously or not, we make judgments about the people we see. These judgments we perceive, in turn, shape how we view ourselves. We compare ourselves to those we know and see, yet some of us fail to find the faults in our own self that we accuse others of having. It's when we make that mistake that our comparisons become ignorant and in turn become ironic criticisms of others and ourselves. This is seen in "Miss Brill," by Katherine Mansfield. Miss Brill, the main character is a woman who finds the faults in the people she watches, yet cannot find the same faults in her own self.
             Miss Brill lived her life around other people. She loved going to the park, sitting on the same bench, and watching people. She would listen to what was going on, what they were talking about and how the people's expressions changed to correspond to what they would be speaking about. Miss Brill was a people watcher and loved it. This activity of people watching and studying the facial expressions of her watchers was her Sunday routine; to sit and watch their every move, making judgments' on them and on their lives. "Only two people shared her "special" seat: a fine old man in a velvet coat, his hands clasped over a huge carved walking-stick, and a big old woman, sitting upright, with a roll of knitting on her embroidered apron. They did not speak. This was disappointing, for Miss Brill always looked forward to the conversation." Miss Brill loved looking at every detail of people, even the ones she saw weekly. Making judgments on them and how her life was better. "She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn't listen, at sitting in other people's lives just for a minute while they talked around her." Her favorite thing was being in there
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