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A character in Mrs. Dalloway

Who is Miss Kilman?

By the Library of Alexandria · 2 minute read · Updated 23. Okt 2026

In short

  • Miss Kilman is Elizabeth Dalloway's history tutor in Mrs. Dalloway, the novel by Virginia Woolf.
  • She is poor and devout, and she resents the ease and wealth of Elizabeth's mother, Clarissa.
  • She wants to keep Elizabeth close, while Elizabeth feels an increasing wish to get away.

Who Miss Kilman is

Miss Kilman teaches history to Elizabeth, Clarissa Dalloway's shy seventeen-year-old daughter, and is close to her. She loses her job during the war because she refuses to join in the blanket condemnation of Germans. She is poor, bitter and devout, and her resentment of Clarissa centres on Clarissa's comfortable, wealthy life.

What Miss Kilman wants

Miss Kilman wants to keep Elizabeth for herself, and her attachment becomes a source of pressure for the girl. When they have tea at the Army and Navy Stores, she clings to Elizabeth, who is quietly eager to leave.

Miss Kilman and the others in the story

Miss Kilman and Clarissa hate each other, but the novel gives attention to the suffering on both sides. Clarissa resents what she sees as Miss Kilman's grasping religion and fears the tutor's hold on her daughter. Elizabeth's wish to escape their tea together shows a distance between her own desires and Miss Kilman's attachment.

Questions

Who is Miss Kilman in Mrs. Dalloway?

Miss Kilman is Elizabeth Dalloway's history tutor, a poor and deeply religious woman who is close to her pupil.

Why does Miss Kilman dislike Clarissa?

She resents Clarissa's wealth and ease, while Clarissa dislikes her in return.

What does Miss Kilman want from Elizabeth?

She wants Elizabeth to remain close to her and wants to keep the girl for herself. Elizabeth, however, feels eager to get away during their tea together.

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