# Mrs. Hilbery — Night and Day character guide

> Mrs. Hilbery in Night and Day by Virginia Woolf.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Heaven Mrs. Hilbery, Hastily Mrs. Hilbery

**First appearance:** 0001-night-and-day

## Snapshot

Katharine's mother drifts through her own house like a distracted comet, forever adding another paragraph to the Life of Richard Alardyce.

## Who they are

Mrs. Hilbery is the widow of a poet's daughter, absorbed in the biography of her father and largely indifferent to the practical running of her household, which Katharine quietly manages. She is charming, vague, and romantically certain that marriage is the happiest thing in the world, a conviction that sits oddly beside her own distracted marriage. Her unworldliness shapes Katharine's sense of duty and gives the novel its tender, comic portrait of a family living in the shadow of a great man.

## Relationships

### [Katharine Hilbery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/characters/katharine_hilbery)

_family_

Katharine and her mother share a loving but sometimes strained relationship, with Mrs. Hilbery's romantic idealism clashing with Katharine's practicality.

### [Ralph Denham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/characters/ralph_denham)

_social_

Mrs. Hilbery is initially wary of Ralph but later accepts him as a suitable match for her daughter, viewing him with cautious approval.

### [Katharine Hilbery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/characters/katharine_hilbery)

_family_

Katharine and her mother share a loving but sometimes strained relationship, with Mrs. Hilbery's romantic idealism clashing with Katharine's practicality.

### [Ralph Denham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/characters/ralph_denham)

_social_

Mrs. Hilbery is initially wary of Ralph but later accepts him as a suitable match for her daughter, viewing him with cautious approval.

### [Katharine Hilbery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/characters/katharine_hilbery)

_family_

Katharine and her mother share a loving but sometimes strained relationship, with Mrs. Hilbery's romantic idealism clashing with Katharine's practicality.

## In the story

### [Night and Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/night-and-day)

Mentioned as Katharine's mother, part of the family legacy.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/i)

The hostess, who forgets Denham's name and later invites him to stay for supper while praising the room's atmosphere.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned in Ralph's memory of the evening at the Hilberys'.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/iii)

The poet's daughter, enthusiastic but undisciplined writer, prone to romantic daydreams and unable to commit to editorial decisions.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/vii)

Reflects on love and marriage, urges Katharine to be sure of her love, and shares anecdotes about Augustus Pelham.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/viii)

Is kept unaware of Cyril's situation; Katharine and Mr. Hilbery plan to tell her.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/ix)

Muses over old photographs, sings a lyric, and is shocked to learn of Cyril's secret family.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xi)

Reflects on Katharine's happiness and future marriage in a letter or internal monologue.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xii)

Mentioned as being in her room with a cold; Katharine prepares a tray of bread and butter for her.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xvii)

Visits the Otway family; discusses country living and travel; shows a vague alarm at her daughter's reserve but admires her independence.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xviii)

Mrs. Hilbery sleeps or feigns sleep during the carriage ride, as is her habit.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xxiv)

Briefly interrupts Katharine and Rodney, referring to them as 'dearest children' before withdrawing.

### [Chapter XXX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xxx)

Interrupts Katharine and Denham in the dining-room, speaks vaguely but penetratingly about poetry and the unwritten, and seems to understand something about Denham.

### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xxxi)

Impulsively leaves for Stratford-on-Avon to visit Shakespeare's tomb, leaving Katharine with a sense of emptiness and freedom.

### [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/chapters/xxxiii)

Attempts to comfort Katharine with romantic memories of her own courtship and urges faith in love.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/characters/mrs_hilbery
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/night_and_day_se/characters