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Miss Brill shifts her attention back to the lively young people of the park. Two young girls meet up with two young soldiers in uniform. They pair up and walk away, arms linked. She watches two serious peasant women in funny straw hats lead two grey donkeys. A nun rushes past, and a pretty woman drops a bouquet of flowers. When a little boy retrieves the flowers for her, she throws them away “as if they’d been poisoned.” Miss Brill doesn’t know how to interpret the woman’s actions.
Another woman, wearing a shabby fur hat, meets a gentleman in a grey suit. Miss Brill seems to respect the man. He is tall, dignified, and stiff. The woman, on the other hand, seems old and shabby, like the hat she wears. The woman shows her delight with her excited, one-sided chatter. The man responds by lighting a cigarette, blowing smoke in her face, and walking away. In response, the woman smiles “more brightly than ever,” but the band plays music that seems to fit the woman’s true, tender feelings. Enthralled by the scene, Miss Brill frets in suspense over what the woman will do next. The tension does not last long: the woman recovers, as if nothing has happened, seeing (or pretending to see) another, nicer friend. She bustles away.
The old couple leaves Miss Brill’s bench, marching off. Watching them go, she sees four girls walking together carelessly down the path. They nearly bowl over a hobbling old man who is in their way.
Miss Brill reflects on how she loves witnessing the human drama that plays out before her. She notes that it is like watching a play, and, at that moment, has an epiphany. What makes the scene at the park so exciting isn’t simply that she is an audience member, but that she, too, is a part of the play. Everyone, herself included, is both a member of the audience and a performer. Like an actor, Miss Brill has her part to play, and she is certain that she would be missed if she weren’t there.
Like an actor following her cue, every Sunday Miss Brill sets out for the park at the same time. She is never late for a performance. She reveals that she teaches English and feels reluctant to tell her students about her Sunday excursions. She also reveals that she reads the newspaper four afternoons a week to an “old invalid gentleman” as he sleeps in his yard. She imagines that he would be impressed and show signs of life if he knew that she’s an actress and that the newspaper she reads is her script.
The band, finishing a break, resumes playing. Their tune is “warm and sunny,” making Miss Brill want to sing. She imagines that every person in the park feels the same way, that they all want to sing out together, like the cast of some grand musical. The children would begin the song. They would be joined by the men, and then the others who sit on the benches would join in, including Miss Brill. She feels overwhelmed by her imagined moment of togetherness, her eyes filling with tears. At that moment, she believes that everyone in the park understands each other; however, “what they understood she didn’t know.”
