How we cite our quotes:
Quote #1
[Hugh’s] his wife had some internal ailment, nothing serious, which, as an old friend, Clarissa Dalloway would quite understand without requiring him to specify. Ah yes, she did of course; what a nuisance […]. (1.9)
Hugh’s wife suffers from some vague illness – just the kind that Lady Bruton can’t stand. It’s almost expected that she would be ill, so Clarissa doesn’t ask for specifics; many women were "ill" from the oppression of society and all of the expectations placed upon them.
Quote #2
[…] Miss Kilman would do anything for the Russians, starved herself for the Austrians, but in private inflicted positive torture, so insensitive was she, dressed in a green mackintosh coat. (1.21)
Miss Kilman uses her suffering as a weapon. For her, suffering conveys a political message and gives her a cause.
Quote #3
Look! Her wedding ring slipped – she had grown so thin. It was she who suffered – but she had nobody to tell. (1.66)
Septimus is too far gone to really be concerned with his wife. He can’t handle the fact that his madness causes her to suffer, too. Her suffering is, of course, just another sign that everyone was affected by the war, not just those fighting in it.