NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Chapter 2 – The Address — Marga Minco

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Reading with Insight:

Q. “Have you come back” said the old woman, “I thought no one had come back.” Does this statement give any clue about the story? If yes, what is it?
Ans. Yes, it does. Mrs. Dorling getting surprised at seeing Mrs. S’s daughter after so many years. It gives a flashback to the background of the story. It pointedly hints that the woman, was just pretending not to recognise the narrator. She had not expected the return of the narrator or her mother as she had taken them for dead. Mrs. Dorling had promised to keep their precious possessions safe for them and return them when they are back. Now, she had no intention of parting away with them as she had been using them for years now and never expected the owners to come back and claim them.

Mrs. Dorling’s question clearly shows that the narrator was not welcomed at 46, Marconi Street. She had shown neither any sign of recognising the narrator nor any connection with somebody named Mrs. S.

Q. The story is divided into pre-war and post-war times. What hardships do you think the girl underwent during these times?

Ans. The lesson is a poignant tale of a mother and her daughter who were forced to leave home because of war. The narrative makes it apparent that the daughter used to live far from her mother probably because of the war and to earn a living for the two of them.
Before the war, the narrator had some valuable possessions–silver crockery, cutlery, valuable paintings, etc. The threat of war made them leave Holland as the Jews were being persecuted by Germany (Hitler). The narrator’s mother was alone but got a company through renewal of contact by an old acquaintance Mrs. Dorling. The mother failed to see the motive behind the lady’s visits who would come regularly and carry away her nice collection of things. The mother and the daughter left their entire valuables in the custody of Mrs. Dorling trusting her to return them after the war ended. The post war part of the story shows the daughter was left alone after her mother’s death. The house she lived in and the things of her mother brought all the good memories back to the narrator and she decided to retrieve her mother’s possessions to remember the precious times with her.

Q. Why did the narrator of the story want to forget the address?
Ans. The narrator of the story is a young girl. She had witnessed much pain and sufferings in the pre-war period and during the war. They belonged to an affluent family and had valuable possessions with them in pre-war days. The Jews were being persecuted by the German army. So, in order to keep them safe, the mother agreed to keep them in the custody of an old acquaintance Mrs. Dorling who had just renewed contact with her and had promised to return them after the war was over and things returned to normal. Her mother had told her the address 46, Marconi Street, where the lady lived. After the war, the narrator went to the address to search for her mother’s belongings but the lady feigned memory loss and did not let the narrator in. In fact, she did not intend to give back the valuables. The narrator decided to visit the Dorling’s again after her first visit went in vain. This time a girl (Dorling’s daughter) of fifteen opened the door and let the daughter in. She showed the narrator many things that once belonged to the narrator. From the tête-à-tête between the girl and the narrator it was clear that they did not intend to part away with the things. So, the narrator decided not to wait for Mrs. Dorling and to forget the address lest it made the life of the narrator more miserable.

Q. ‘The Address’ is a story of human predicament that follows the war. Comment.
Ans. War leaves behind great distress, misery, sorrow, grief, hardships, destitution and tribulation. The narrator and her family find their life quite unhappy, wretched, gloomy and unpleasant after the war. They had lost everything in the war. The comforts and prosperity of pre-war days haunts them. In hope of recovering their fortune, the narrator goes in search of her mother’s valuable possessions taken away by an old acquaintance, but, is met with disappointment. The lady pretends not to recognise her and regrets that she can’t do anything to help her. She asked the narrator to never visit her again. The narrator pays a second visit. This time she met with Mrs. Dorling’s fifteen year old daughter who let her in. Inside the house, the narrator finds herself amidst the things that once were their valuable possessions. It makes the narrator’s life all the more miserable. Her awkward situation and predicament was beyond description. On her way back with a sorrowful heart, the narrator resolves never to come back again and to forget the address–46, Marconi Street, and all the belongings. From the above account, we come to the conclusion that the story is of human agony and emotional sufferings that follows the war.