Category Archives: Elizabeth Dalloway

Elizabeth Dalloway is not one of the biggest characters in the book, but she still has a large effect on the story. She is the seventeen-year-old daughter of Clarissa and Richard, and is one of the youngest characters in the novel. She has a dark, oriental beauty that is just beginning to blossom and draw the attention of those around her. She is different from her mother, not only in looks (dark hair, exotic, etc.), but in the way she thinks and acts as well. Whereas her mother has a strong propensity for inner thought and the self-retrospection, Elizabeth is a much more straight-forward thinker with less enthusiasm than her mother. She is said to be very calm and quiet, to the point of being dull. She seems to never really get excited about anything, and she has not really taken to the same things that young girls her age are into, such as parties.  She also seems to not really know what she wants in life. She thinks about the idea of women getting into professions (due to the influence of Ms. Kilman) , but thinks little of the prospects. She knows only vaguely what kinds of things she is interested in, and never really settles on anything that she would ever pursue seriously. She dismisses these thoughts, saying that she would be much happier if she could just live out in the farms with her father and her dog.

Elizabeth’s relationship with Ms. Kilman is her biggest role in the story. There is a sort of tension between the Dalloways and Ms. Kilman; There is a strong dislike between Clarissa and Ms. Kilman, and Elizabeth is the poker chip between them. Ms. Kilman has hatred for Clarissa that stems from her jealousy of Clarissa’s high-class upbringing. She uses her religion to manipulate those around her; Elizabeth is the pawn that Ms. Kilman hopes to use against Clarissa. Ms. Kilman also has an attraction to Elizabeth, but Elizabeth does not reciprocate the feelings. She likes Ms. Kilman for the interesting ideas and new life options that she presents,  but ultimately does not have the enthusiasm to act on any of those ideas. She is young and indecisive, and is heavily influenced by the major powers in her life: Her mother and Ms. Kilman. She has not yet reached a point where she is her own person.

Elizabeth Dalloway is not an explicitly central character to the plot of Mrs Dalloway; however, her role in the story is very much intertwined with Miss Kilman’s, her tutor. Elizabeth, the only touch of youth in the story, is the seventeen year old daughter of Clarissa and Richard Dalloway. It is clear that although she is young and beautiful, she is not interested in things that other women her age are, like parties. She has a somewhat strong relationship with both her father and with Miss Kilman. She enjoys the countryside with her father and spends much time praying with Miss Kilman.

The character of Elizabeth does not overtly supplement the main themes of the story (notably the psychological issues brought by Septimus and the feminist and homosexual undertones brought by Clarissa). Elizabeth and her tutor, Miss Kilman, do however serve to flesh out the theme of religion and Christianity. Miss Kilman, who is of German descent, can be seen as an antagonist in the story. Although she loves Elizabeth, she is heavily dislikes Clarissa. This animosity is where the religious conflict present in the story comes into play.

While the doctors in the story vie for Septimus’ mind, so too does Miss Kilman for Mrs Dalloway’s. Her influence over Elizabeth plays heavily into this. Elizabeth essentially becomes a pawn in the holy war between Kilman and Clarissa. Miss Kilman is envious of the Dalloways, of Elizabeth’s youth and Clarissa’s class. We see that Miss Kilman uses prayer and her new-found Christianity as a doorway into Elizabeth’s mind which she hopes to leverage into Clarissa’s mind.

Elizabeth, it would seem, is quite malleable. She, in her youth, is easily influenced by both Miss Kilman and her mother. This is clearly indicative of a youth that has yet to mature. If anything we can clearly see that Elizabeth represents the future; perhaps a sense of optimism.