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Kitty is Laura’s next-door neighbor and the wife of Ray. Though Laura envies Kitty for her self-assurance, she also feels sympathy for her, believing that Kitty’s husband, Ray, a war veteran, doesn’t treat Kitty well. Laura secretly desires Kitty and at one point even kisses her after learning that Kitty has to go to the hospital to get an unusual growth examined. However, the intimate moment comes to an abrupt end when Laura realizes that her son, Richie, witnessed the interaction.
Kitty Quotes in The Hours
The The Hours quotes below are all either spoken by Kitty or refer to Kitty. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9: Mrs. Brown Quotes
Laura releases Kitty. She steps back. She has gone too far, they’ve both gone too far, but it is Kitty who’s pulled away first. It is Kitty whose terrors have briefly propelled her, caused her to act strangely and desperately. Laura is the dark-eyed predator. Laura is the odd one, the foreigner, the one who can’t be trusted. Laura and Kitty agree, silently, that this is true.
Laura glances over at Richie. He is still holding the red truck. He is still watching.
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This quote comes during a surprising moment in the novel when, after Kitty reveals that she has to go to the hospital to have a growth checked out, she and Laura tentatively kiss on the lips. Lips are an important image in the story, with Clarissa’s inability to kiss people on the lips being a sign of her own fear of intimacy, and so when Kitty and Laura touch lips, it hints at sexual desires that both of them have repressed. In addition to hinting at the unfortunate social stigmas attached to homosexuality at the time, Laura’s guilt after kissing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis.
Chapter 13: Mrs. Woolf Quotes
Nelly turns away and, although it is not at all their custom, Virginia leans forward and kisses Vanessa on the mouth. It is an innocent kiss, innocent enough, but just now, in this kitchen, behind Nelly’s back, it feels like the most delicious and forbidden of pleasures. Vanessa returns the kiss.
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In this quote, Virginia kisses her sister Vanessa on the lips behind the back of Virginia’s servant, Nelly. The whole scene parallels an earlier moment when Kitty and Laura kissed on the lips. As the quote shows, Virginia’s real interest may be less in the kiss itself and more in the “forbidden pleasure” it represents, which is particularly “delicious” because it all happens right behind Nelly’s back. It is possible to read Virginia’s feelings as incestuous, but this quote seems to suggest that even an “innocent” kiss between sisters would be too intimate to do in front of Nelly. As Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi
Chapter 19: Mrs. Brown Quotes
The candles are lit. The song is sung. Dan, blowing the candles out, sprays a few tiny droplets of clear spittle onto the icing’s smooth surface. Laura applauds and, after a moment, Richie does, too.
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This quote describes the culmination of Laura’s day. After trashing her first cake to make a new, better one, she watches Dan accidentally spit onto all her hard work. Although Laura is clearly disappointed, she feels she has to clap, and this signals to Richie that he should clap, too. One of the reasons why this passage is significant is because earlier, Laura tried to overcome her insecurities around Kitty by rationalizing that at least Dan doesn’t spit everywhere like Ray when he talks. When Dan spits on Laura’s cake, even though it’s an accident, Laura realizes that maybe Dan Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta im
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Kitty Character Timeline in The Hours
The timeline below shows where the character Kitty appears in The Hours. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9: Mrs. Brown
...her from taking care of the other items on her birthday to-do list. Just then, Kitty (Laura’s friend and neighbor two doors down) shows up at the back door. Laura is...
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Kitty asks if she’s interrupting anything, and Laura says of course not. Kitty is younger and...
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Kitty takes some coffee and says she really likes it. She says she’s considering switching from...
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Laura hugs Kitty and tells her everything will be OK. Their lips touch, but they don’t quite kiss....
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Chapter 12: Mrs. Brown
...new cake she made looks much more elegant. She thinks about when her lips touched Kitty’s and realizes that she desires Kitty, although she also still desires Dan.
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Chapter 17: Mrs. Brown
...that concerns her because it seems desperate. She wonders if he’s thinking about her with Kitty or if he knows she did something unusual while she was away. She reassures Richie...
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Chapter 19: Mrs. Brown
...the cake. Laura goes to get dessert plates and thinks about her life compared to Kitty in the hospital. When she puts plates and forks on the table, she feels as...
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