Gone

                                              

"She had gone. Miss Kilman sat at the marble table among the eclairs, stricken once, twice, thrice by shocks of suffering. She had gone. Mrs. Dalloway had triumphed. Elizabeth had gone. Beauty had gone, youth had gone." (133)

             This passage shows the amount of focus that Miss Kilman has on Elizabeth and what she represents. On the previous page, there is a focus on Miss Kilman's hands and how she is trying to "grasp" Elizabeth. This symbolizes the attempt at reaching for something unattainable because Elizabeth cannot belong to her. When Elizabeth leaves, Miss Kilman clearly states what Elizabeth means to her and she says that beauty and youth have gone. For Miss Kilman, not only is Elizabeth unattainable but the her beauty and youth is also out of reach. However, Miss Kilman still cannot process what has already passed since she keeps repeating "she has gone" and once she is gone, she cannot come back. The past will never return. On another note, I find the rivalry between Miss Kilman and Clarissa amusing. They both believe that the other is pulling Elizabeth away from them and in reality Elizabeth herself is pulling away from both of them. This is shown by her bus trip to the strand to take a break from her life. Although, if it truly came down to a tug of war between Clarissa and Miss Kilman, I believe that Clarissa would win because Elizabeth is her daughter. This leaves people to sympathize with Miss Kilman because she is always miserable and her only love is not hers to keep. 

Resource: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf