Symbolism: Miss Brill

"But today she passed the baker's by, climbed the stairs , went into the little dark room--her room like  cupboard--and sat down on the red eiderdown. She sat there for a long time. The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. but when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying."

I think that the fur that Miss Brill wears symbolizes herself and her confidence. In the beginning, she realizes that it was unnecessary weather for her to wear the fur, but she is happy that she chose to anyway. It gives her comfort and a feeling of self-assurance. She is wearing her fur when she gains this feeling of belonging and creates a world where she is part of something, a production. She thinks she's like an actress. Now, this frequent event of people-watching that she once derived joy from is a source of even more happiness for her. However, when she returns to the park, confident and happy, and the couple destroys this world that she's built in her head by basically treating her like a stalker, she is quiet. Her confidence is gone, she speaks to no one, and she returns home without even taking her usual trip to the baker. As she closes herself up in her room, she also closes her fur up in the box. Her room, "like a cupboard", is like her version of the box. When she hears the fur crying, it is actually her crying. She is sees her own saddness in the fur, but the fur represents her. It represents the theme of loneliness that is prevalent in this story.