summary of english chapter "The adress"
Answers
Background
The II World War (1939 – 44) is the background. Hitler and his Nazi soldiers were sending the Jews to the concentration camps to die.
The narrator’s was a Jewish family somewhere in Holland or Germany. One day, when she came home (probably she had been away in a hostel), the narrator saw that much of her furniture and crockery was missing. While looking around, she caught sight of a woman carrying some of the valuables out into a carriage. The narrator was puzzled.
On asking her mother who the woman was and where she was carrying their expensive movables, mother introduced the mysterious-looking woman to her daughter.
“We had been friends years ago and luckily we met recently. She is carrying our expensive movables to her home. She is not a Jew so our expensive movables will be safe at her home. If we have to run away for a while, we can get them back in one piece when we return.”
The narrator was not convinced. She noticed a mysterious look on the woman’s face. “What if she is fake? Will she return the movables once war is over?” she asked mother. Mother was angry with her daughter. “It is too bad to suspect her. See what a risk she is running for us! If the Nazis come to know that she is helping a Jewish family, she will go into prison/jail. Just do one thing – remember her address. She lives at Marconi Street and her house number is 46!”
After this incident, the Jews had their worst days. The narrator’s family was sent to one of the concentration camps and all of them died in different camps except the narrator. However, in 1944, the war ended and Hitler died and peace was established, slowly.
The Story
When the war was over, the narrator returned to her place but the war had destroyed her house. She lived in a little room. One day the narrator remembered the woman who had carried her dear movables. She boarded a train to Marconi Street, found out house number 46 and rang the bell. Opening the door, the familiar face of Mrs. Dorling – ‘her mother’s friend’ – appeared. On recognizing the narrator, Mrs. Dorling did something that was worse than what Hitler himself had done. All she said was – “Have you come back? I thought none of you would come back!”
Mrs. Dorling was a betrayer. When she had offered to help the narrator’s family by carrying their valuables to her home’s safety, she had a vicious plan in her mind. She wished, she prayed that all the narrator family died in the war! Staring at the narrator, Mrs. Dorling repeated that she didn’t know her and that she was busy. Walking away, the narrator was felt cheated and confused.
After a while, the narrator wanted her valuables back so she goes to Marconi Street once again. This time she was well prepared and determined and reached house number 46 once again and rang the bell. The door opened and Mrs. Dorling’s daughter welcomed the narrator.
After ringing the doorbell of Mrs. Dorling who lived at Number 46, Marconi Street, the protagonist was given a cold reception and Mrs Dorling took much time to recognize her. Mrs Dorling had thought everyone in the protanogist’s family was dead and asked if anyone else had come along with her. Mrs Dorling refused to let the protagonist inside her home and told her to come back sometime later. The protagonist recognized her mother’s green cardigan which Mrs Dorling was wearing. She decided to go back to the train station and thought about her mother and how she told her about Mrs. Dorling who was an acquaintance of hers. During the war, Mrs Dorling would visit their house and take their possessions with her as she didn’t want them to get lost if they ever left the place. Mrs. Dorling had a broad back.
The protagonist decided to go to Mrs Dorling’s home to get back their belongings. When she rang the bell, Mrs. Dorling’s daughter answered the door. She let her in and asked her to wait in the living room. When they were crossing the passage, the protagonist noticed their Hanukkah candle stand that they had never used because it had been unmanageable. When she reached the living room, she was horrified as she saw all her mother’s things that were arranged in a tasteless manner. The furniture was ugly and the room had a muggy smell and it made her disinterested and she wanted to leave the place. Mrs. Dorling’s daughter offered her a cup of tea and the protagonist noticed the old table cloth that had a burn mark on it. When the girl was showing her the silver fork and spoons that actually belonged to the protagonist, she jumped up and walked out of the house. She decided not to visit the place again as it brought back memories of the past and hence, she decided to forget the address.