Not Quite So Kind: Mrs. Dalloway and the Problem of Kindness

Abstract: An exploration of the two senses of the word kind—“kind” as “of a piece” and “kind” as “amiable”—in Virginia Woolf. The essay focuses on Mrs. Dalloway , with reference to the short story “The Man Who Loved His Kind” and To the Lighthouse . Unlike goodness or beauty, kindness in Mrs. Dalloway operates as a conservative virtue, designed to reinforce social hierarchies and demand gratitude from the recipient. Kindness is not only demonstrated in action, but also in thought. Despite Woolf’s satire, Mrs. Dalloway retains a faith in what we might term “real kindness,” though examples of such kindness are rare.