âÂÂIllusionâ is a work of short fiction by Jean Rhys first published in her 1927 collection The Left Bank and Other Stories by Jonathan Cape (London) and Harper & Brothers (New York).
The story is included in the 1987 volume Jean Rhys: The Collected Short Stories by W. W. Norton & Co..
âÂÂIllusionâ is presented in the first-person singular by a reliable female narrator. The story is set in Montparnasse in the 1920s. The focal character is Miss Bruce, a well-to-do British expatriate. She is a portrait painter, and has on occasion been exhibited at the Salon.
After seven years in the Quarter Miss Bruce remains a through-going product of the British upper-class; the social milieu of Paris have left no trace on her. Though reserved in her demeanor, she is not unsociable, but has no intimate friends. She dresses conservatively at parties. The narrator has been lunching with Miss Bruce now and then for two years.
When the narrator arrives at Miss Bruce's studio for an appointment, she is informed by the concierge that Mademoiselle has been taken to the hospital due to an acute pain in her abdomen (she will soon undergo a successful appendectomy). The narrator is ushered into Miss Bruce's quarters and encouraged by the femme de ménage to select items from the wardrobe to take to the ailing woman.
When the narrator unlocks and opens the immense cabinet she is met with a fantastic riot of color: the wardrobe is filled with a rich array of elegant women's dresses, accessories, and perfumes. At first dismayed by the stylish collection, the narrator quickly grasps that Miss Bruce purchases the garments as a vicarious thrill; perhaps she models the clothing herself in front of the mirror. The narrator imagines pretty dresses disparaging Miss Bruce, âÂÂwho had dared to buy them in order to condemn them to life in the darkâ¦â She takes a few nightgowns and delivers them to the hospital.
When dining together after her recovery, Miss Bruce defends her penchant for collecting frocks, remarking: âÂÂI should never make such a fool of myself as to wear themâ¦They ought to be worn, I suppose.âÂÂ
Three stories from The Left BankâÂÂâÂÂIllusion,â âÂÂMannequin,â and âÂÂLa Grosse FifiâÂÂâÂÂdemonstrate âÂÂthe centrality of the outsider figure in RhysâÂÂs short stories and the complexity with which she deals with such figures and their possibilities for escaping a crushing social and sexual alienation.âÂÂ
Infofar as action or drama is concerned, very little actually happens in âÂÂIllusion.â Nonetheless, the story reveals both a personal and social crisis.
The narrator in the story is not explicitly identified as female. Rather, her gender is suggested in the dialogue; the point-of-view is that of limited omnicent. Here, the protagonist is a detached participant observer.
The narrator engages in âÂÂauthoritativeâ observations concerning a Miss BruceâÂÂas to her income, elite social status, fashion sense, and personal motivations. In fact, the narrator only pretends to possess this âÂÂspecial information.â Biographers Cheryl and David Malcolm remind readers that âÂÂshe doesnâÂÂt know Miss Bruce at all.âÂÂ
She projects her own social disaffection onto Miss Bruce; in doing so, she suppresses an assessment of her own painful social alienation and vulnerability.
Miss Bruce's closeted collection of stylish eye-catching clothing with their vivid colors is utterly at odds with her conservative public attire. The narrator registers her delight at discovering these outfits:
Literary critic Laurel Harris in the Journal of Modern Literature comments upon the nature of Miss Bruce's sartorial obsession:
Critics Cheryl and David Malcolm emphasize the centrality of these fashionable and flamboyant dresses inventoried to support the story's theme. Critic Laurel Harris writes : âÂÂâÂÂIllusionâÂÂ...introduce[s] fashion as an intimate relationship between subject and object that at once maintains their distinction and conjoins themâ Miss Bruce's collection of multi-colored and âÂÂjauntyâ clothing are merely âÂÂthe symbols of feminine beauty.â In public she restricts herself to the drab and socially approved clothing of the British upper-middle class: âÂÂMiss Bruce can afford attractive dresses, but not wear them.âÂÂ
Homoerotic elements appear in Rhys's characterization of Miss Bruce that suggest the source of her social alienation: the androgynous surname âÂÂBruce.âÂÂ, a âÂÂgentlemanly manner,â and her âÂÂlarge bones and hands and feet,â all of which stand in sharp contrast to the âÂÂpetite femmes" she observes with remote condescension. The narrator, herself, is among these highly feminine, vulnerable and anxious âÂÂpetite femmes.âÂÂ
The reactionary class and sexual constraints that separate Miss Bruce from these lower-class demi-montaines provide an insight into her isolation.