Ms. Kilman

Ms. Kilman is an interesting character in Mrs. Dalloway. While she is a minor character, she  represents a hoard of different ideas. The primary thing she exemplifies is the repressed German during and after the war. Before working as a tutor for Elizabeth, she worked as a school teacher. Once the war broke out and quickly reached the stalemate of trench warfare, Ms. Kilman was fired because of her German heritage. She feels she is being cheated of a life she deserves because of this. Ms. Kilman portrays the oppression that  Anglo-Germans faced in England suffered through during this time period simply because of their distant relation to the enemy. Another idea she exemplifies is the separation  between the upper class and the rest of British society. Although Ms. Kilman never says anything directly to Mrs. Dalloway of a negative calibre, Ms. Kilman's tone suggests a deep hatred for Mrs. Dalloway's grandiose lifestyle. This sort of adversity portrayed in this section of the book shows some of the tension between the social classes in England during this time period. Also as a religious woman, she could see Clarissa's secular life as unnecessary and selfish. While Ms Kilman is not a crucial character to the story's plot, Woolf uses her as a way to better show the influence of the setting.