PUSHPALATA VIDYA MANDIR

CLASS XI – ENGLISH – SNAPSHOTS: 2. THE ADDRESS - NOTES

Textual Questions:
1. “Have you come back?” said the woman. I thought that no one had come back.”
Does this statement give some clue about the story? If yes, what is it?
The narrator went back after the war to Marconi – Street – Number 46, in
search of her mother’s belongings. The belongings were with a non-Jewish lady,
Mrs. Dorling, who had stayed close by. This woman had often come to their
place and regularly taken heavy boxes of silverware, cutlery, crockery etc. to
keep with her till after the war. Not only did she volunteer to keep them, but
had also insisted that they leave the things with her for safety. However, the
narrator returned, Mrs. Dorling at first refused to recognise her and then she
expressed her surprise and said that she had not expected anyone to return.
This is the first vital clue that the people who had once left the country were
unwelcome. The people, who had volunteered to keep their belongings safely,
were using their things as their own and had no intention of returning them.
The political animosity had seeped into personal lives as well.
2. The story is divided into pre-War and post-War times. Explain.
The story is divided into pre-War and post-War times. The situations lend a
direct contrast to each other. During the pre-War times, the narrator and her
mother lived a comfortable life, where there was bonding between the people in
their neighbourhood. When during the first half of the War, the narrator visited
her home she noticed that various things were missing. Her mother told her
about Mrs. Dorling, an old acquaintance, who had suddenly turned up and
renewed their contact. Since then, she had come regularly. She had insisted on
taking their things to ‘save’ all the ‘nice things’. The narrator’s mother also
censured her daughter for not trusting the lady.
As the narrator feared, when she went back after the war, Mrs. Dorling stood at
the door and “wanted to prevent it opening any further. Her face gave
absolutely no sign of recognition.” She was wearing her mother’s green knitted
cardigan but refused to talk to the narrator. She said that it was ‘not
convenient’ for her to talk. It was a betrayal of trust and sentiment.
3. What hardships do you think the girl underwent during these times?
The girl, like anyone who goes through war, must have undergone a traumatic
experience. They were uprooted and insecure. They had to leave the country
that they thought to be their own, leave their house and belongings that were
not merely things but held memories and had sentiments attached to them.
The basic necessities of life were not available. Moreover, they left behind the
people who they thought were their friends. Above all, they lived a threatened
life. This is evident through the observation of the narrator – “But gradually
everything became more normal again. Bread was getting to be a lighter colour,
there was a bed one could sleep in unthreatened, a room with a view one was
more used to glancing at each day.”

4. Why did the narrator of the story want to forget the address?
The narrator’s visit to Mrs. Dorling’s house horrified her. She had come out of
curiosity to see her possessions – to see them, touch them, and relive the
memories attached with them. But she felt oppressed in the strange
atmosphere. Her eyes fell on the woolen tablecloth. The memories came
flooding back to her. She followed the lines of the pattern and knew that
somewhere on the edge there should be a burn mark that had never been
repaired. The cups on the tea table, the white pot, the spoons, all were so
familiar and yet so strange. She recalled how as a child she had always fancied
the apple on the pewter plate. She said one gets so used to touching all the
lovely things in the house that one ceases to notice them unless something is
missing. She recalled the time her mother had asked her to polish the silver. It
was then that she had realized the spoons, forks and knives, they ate off every
day were silver. The objects were linked in her memory with the familiar life of
earlier times but now they had lost their value because with the passage of
time she felt cut off from them as they were now in unfamiliar surroundings.
Moreover, she now lived in a small rented room where no more than a handful
of cutleries could fit in the narrow table drawer. Hence, she thought of an
easier way out – to forget the address.

5. ‘The Address’ is a story of human predicament that follows war. Comment.

Although, this is apparently a very sad story about loss and regret emanating
from the persecution of the Dutch Jews during the Second World War. It also
speaks, more intimately, of the personal challenges we all must face as
individuals in resolving crisis in our own lives. The story relays events before
and after the war as the female narrator attempts to confront her past as she
visits ‘the address’ where her family’s past belongings were ‘stored,’ at a non-
Jewish neighbour’s house. She felt the urge to see them, touch and recall
memories. On a deeper level, the story is a commentary on memories and
remembering – on what is worth remembering and what is worth forgetting:
things “lose their value when you see them again, torn out of context...”

Answer the following questions in about 40 words each:

1. Where had the narrator come? Why was she back?
The narrator is a Dutch Jew, who had to leave Holland during the Second World
War. She had left along with her mother for safety. Now she was back to
where her past ‘things’ lay. She wanted to see and touch her belongings in
order to relive those memories.

2. Whom did the narrator desire to meet in Holland? Why?

The narrator was told by her mother to remember ‘Number 46, Marconi Street’,
where Mrs. Dorling lived; she had insisted on keeping their things safely till the
War was over. After the war, the narrator was curious about their possessions
that were still at that address and she went to meet Mrs. Dorling.

3. What kind of a welcome did the narrator get from Mrs. Dorling?
Mrs. Dorling was cold and indifferent and evidently displeased to see the author.
In fact, she tried to prevent her from entering by blocking her entrance. Later,
she said it was not convenient for her to talk to the narrator at that point of
time and refused to meet her.

4. When did the narrator first learn about the existence of Mrs. Dorling?
The narrator recalled the time when she was home during the first half of the
War. She had noticed that various things were missing. Her mother then told
her about Mrs. Dorling, an old acquaintance who renewed their contact and
came regularly, each time, carrying away some of their things.

5. What was the narrator’s mother’s opinion about Mrs. Dorling?

The narrator’s mother considered Mrs. Dorling a very benevolent lady, who
strived to ‘save’ their ‘nice things’ by carrying some of them away, each time
she visited. The narrator’s mother was unable to see through the lady, who
wished to cheat her out of her valuables; instead, she was full of gratefulness to
Mrs. Dorling.

6. What did the narrator recall about her first meeting with Mrs. Dorling?
The narrator saw Mrs. Dorling for the first time on the morning after the day
she came to know about her. Coming downstairs, the narrator saw her mother
about to see someone out. It was a woman, dressed in a brown coat and a
shapeless hat, with a broad back; she nodded and picked up the suitcase.
7. Why did the narrator return to Marconi Street after a long time?
The narrator returned to Marconi Street after a long time because in the
beginning, after the Liberation, she was interested in all that stored stuff. She
had lost her mother and was also afraid of being confronted with things that
remained as a painful reminder to their past.

8. How did the narrator decide to go back to the ‘things’?

Gradually, when everything became normal again – the bread was of a lighter
colour and she had a bed to sleep in, securely, and the surroundings became
familiar again – the narrator was curious about all the possessions that must
still be at that address that her mother had talked about and went there to
relieve her memories.

9. Explain: “I stopped, horrified. I was in a room I knew and did not know.”
When the narrator went to Mrs. Dorling’s house the second time, a girl of about
fifteen let her in. She saw familiar things but arranged differently that lent
unfamiliarity to the surroundings. She found herself surrounded by things that
she had wanted to see again but which really oppressed her in that strange
atmosphere.

10. Why did the narrator not want to remember the place?
The narrator had primarily returned for the sake of memories that were linked
to the things that had once belonged to her mother. However, she realised, the
objects linked in her memory with the familiar life that she had once lived lost
their value as they had been removed and put in strange surroundings.

Answer the following questions in about 150 words:

1. Describe the narrator’s first post-war meeting with Mrs. Dorling.
When the narrator knocked at Mrs. Dorling’s door and introduced herself as Mrs.
S’s daughter, Mrs. Dorling showed no sign of recognition. She held the door in a
way making clear that the narrator was not welcome. For some time, she
stared quietly at the narrator at which she felt that it was not the person that
she had been looking for. When Mrs. Dorling let her in, the narrator noticed her
wearing her mother’s green knitted cardigan. The lady saw her looking at the
cardigan and hid herself partially behind the door. When the narrator
mentioned her mother, she said that she had thought that none of the people
who had left had come back. The lady expressed regret at her inability to do
anything for her but the narrator insisted on talking to her having come all the
way for it. However, the lady refused to talk to her, claiming it was not a
convenient time; the narrator had no option but to leave.

2. Contrast the character of the narrator’s mother and Mrs. Dorling.

The narrator’s mother was a woman who blindly trusted people. She told her
daughter about Mrs. Dorling, an old acquaintance who had suddenly turned up
and renewed their contact and since then had been a regular visitor. The
mother did not doubt her kindness and was obliged that she insisted on taking
all her nice things with her to save them. The mother was worried about Mrs.
Dorling getting a crick in her back from carrying the crockery and lugging the
large vases. When the narrator showed her skepticism, she was annoyed. On
the other hand, Mrs. Dorling was an opportunist. She renewed her contact
primarily to take the antique things the narrator’s mother owned. When the
narrator came back after years, she made her feel unwelcome as she did not
wish to part with the things that had belonged to the narrator’s mother. She
was rude and brusque with the narrator and did not allow her to enter the
house.

3. Describe the narrator’s second visit to Mrs. Dorling’s place.

On her second visit, a girl of about fifteen led the narrator in and she noticed an
old–fashioned iron Hanukkah candle-holder that belonged to them. In the living
room, the sight was dismal. The room had a strange, stressful effect – the
atmosphere, the tasteless way everything was arranged, the ugly furniture or
the muggy smell that hung there. She noticed the woolen table cloth and
recalled the burn mark on it that had never been repaired. When the girl put
cups on the tea table and poured tea from a white pot with a gold border on the
lid and the pewter plate – these things clouded her mind with strange emotions.
The narrator noticed various things that brought back memories of the past.
The narrator rushed out for her train as the girl went to get their cutlery. As
the author walked out, she heard jingling of spoons and forks.

Additional Questions:
1. ‘The Address’ is a story of human predicament that follows war. Comment.
War brings with it death and destruction. It has a dehumanising effect on
human beings. It kills the finer feelings of love and sympathy. It makes man
cruel and selfish.
Mrs. Dorling had carried away the narrator’s mother’s valuables to her home for
safety during war. The narrator went to the woman to claim her mother’s
belongings. The woman pretended that she did not recognise the narrator. She
was surprised to see her come back. Later she realised that she was found out.
Yet she did not allow the narrator enter her house. The narrator found various
things missing. But she wanted to see and touch her mother’s valuables. They
were linked in her memory with the life of former times, before war. She failed
to get back her mother’s belongings. They still remained in the strange
surroundings with Mrs. Dorling. Mrs. Dorling’s daughter behaved properly but
she could not restore her valuables. Therefore, the narrator wanted to forget
everything.
The narrator to have to forget the past could have been due to the painful
memories of the life of luxury; she had lost on account of war. She would have
felt that to take back her mother’s valuables would stir in her mind the pain of
loss both of their past life and of her loving mother.
2. Comment on the significance of the title of the story The Address.
The story has been aptly given the title, The Address. The title is significant.
The story moves around Mrs. Dorling’s address: Number 46, Marconi Street. Mrs.
Dorling was an old acquaintance of the narrator’s mother. She had carried their
valuables to her house for safe-keeping during the time of war. She said that
she wanted to save all their nice things because they would lose everything if
they had to flee from the place. The narrator was instructed by her mother to
remember Mrs. Dorling’s address. It is evident that the narrator remembered
the address.
When the war was over and things became almost normal, one day the narrator
had an intense longing to see and touch the objects which were linked with the
memories of her former life and her mother. She knew that all the things must
still be safe with Mrs. Dorling. So, she went to Number 46, Marconi Street. She
was horrified to find herself in a room she knew and did not know. She found
herself in the midst of familiar things which she longed to see again but which
oppressed her in the strange atmosphere. Suddenly, the objects she valued very
much lost their value and appeared strange to her. She realised that the
address lost all its significance for her and she wanted to forget it.

3. The story is divided into pre-war and post-war times. What hardships do you
think the girl underwent during these times?
The story, ‘The Address’, is distinctly divided into pre-war and post-war times.
There are clear indications of the hardship which the narrator, a young girl, had
to undergo during these times. The girl belonged to a well-to-do family. They
lived comfortably in their house. They had a lot of valuable possessions. Then
the war broke out. A shrewd and cunning woman Mrs. Dorling, an old
acquaintance of the girl’s mother, renewed their contact and started visiting
their house. She took away all their valuables, one after the other, under the
pretext that she wanted to save all their nice things in case they had to leave
the place. Perhaps they had migrated to a place of safety. They must have
faced untold hardships also. Then the war was over. Things became almost
normal. Now the girl was living all alone in a rented house. She happened to
know the address of Mrs. Dorling. She went to the address in the hope that her
mother’s belongings might be still there. She found Mrs. Dorling using her
mother’s things recklessly. Suddenly, she lost interest in the things that had
belonged to a connection that no longer existed. She decided to leave it all
behind and resolved to move on.

4. What did the narrator learn about Mrs. Dorling from her mother?
The war was going on. The narrator was home for a few days. She immediately
noticed that something or about the rooms had changed. Various things were
missing. She looked at her mother questioningly. Then her mother told her
about Mrs. Dorling. The narrator had never heard of that woman. Obviously,
she was an old acquaintance of her mother, whom she had not seen for years.
Since then, she had been coming to their house regularly. Every time she left
the place, she took something with her. She took all the table silver, cutlery
set, then the antique plates and several other precious things. She herself
explained that she wanted to save all their nice things because they would lose
everything in case, they had to leave the house. The narrator’s mother never
doubted her intention. She rather felt obliged to Mrs. Dorling for taking all the
trouble while carrying their things.

5. What impression do you form of the narrator?

The narrator leaves a very favourable impression on us about her emotional and
intellectual qualities. We find her an intelligent but devoted daughter. She
loves and respects her mother, but does not approve of her soft behaviour
towards her acquaintance, Mrs. Dorling. She puts a pointed question, which her
mother thinks impolite.
The narrator has a keen power of observation. She notices during her brief stay
at home that various things are missing from the rooms. She was a sharp
power of judgements she at once sizes up Mrs. Dorling of her own identity and
the latter’s relations with her mother reveal her indomitable spirit. She visits
46, Marconi Street twice to see, touch and remember her mother’s belongings.
She is a realist, who doesn’t like to remain tagged to the past. Her resolution
to forget the address and move on shows her grit and forward-looking nature.
She has a progressive personality.

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CHECKED & APPROVED BY

MS. BLISS BERNARD