A Note on Elizabeth Dalloway

MRS. DALLOWAY

SHORT NOTE: ELIZABETH DALLOWAY

Being only seventeen summers old, Elizabeth Dalloway is at the threshold of womanhood. She is beautiful, fairly independent, educated and still, somewhat malleable. Her oriental looks distinctly situate her in contrast with her parents as well as the other characters in the novel, both in terms of her age and allegorically, her mindset (which is in accordance with the changing scenario of society in post-war England).

The character of Elizabeth Dalloway has been mentioned infrequently, yet significantly. Elizabeth is the only child of Richard and Clarissa Dalloway and belongs to the upper strata of society. She is young, calm and quiet (sometimes to the point of being lackadaisical). She has vague ideas about pursuing a profession but she hasn’t decided on her future prospects. Unlike her mother, she lacks interest in hosting or enjoying parties. She prefers the countryside to the bustle of London and would rather live her life in the farms with her father and her dog.

Richard Dalloway loves his daughter and seems to trust her more than Clarissa does. He is patient with her and does not impose on her. Although he would have paid more attention if he had had a son instead of a daughter, he is seemingly not worried about Elizabeth’s future. This languid acceptance of her decisions, their similarly laconic nature and a shared empathy for other living beings are reasons for their congeniality towards each other. How Elizabeth wears the necklace given by her father in the party also proves that the father-daughter pair shares more amicability than Clarissa and Elizabeth or Clarissa and Richard (Clarissa had not worn the bracelet given by Richard).

Elizabeth shares an enigmatic relationship with her history tutor, Ms. Doris Kilman. Ms. Kilman is a single woman, displaced by war and has recently converted to Christianity. Ms. Kilman is a poor, mackintoshed woman, who prides in her education and her poverty and staunchly believes in god. Ms. Kilman also harbours deep passion for Elizabeth. For Ms. Kilman, unlike her very self, Elizabeth is a symbol of youth, beauty, wealth, grace and high social standing (everything Ms. Kilman wishes for). Elizabeth, on the other hand, is not interested in Ms. Kilman homosexually. Elizabeth appreciates Ms. Kilman’s knowledge and is influenced by Ms. Kilman’s advice about acquiring a career.

There exists a mutual hatred between Clarissa Dalloway and Ms. Kilman. Clarissa despises Ms. Kilman for her donned pride in her poverty, a disdain for class and specially, because she thinks that Ms. Kilman is stealing her daughter away. She suspects that Elizabeth and Ms. Kilman have a physical relationship because of the dubious lengths of time they spend praying behind closed doors, even though Richard comforts Clarissa saying that it is only a phase that Elizabeth