summary of the chapter the address
Answers
The story The Address is all about human predicament that follows war. The story narrates how a daughter goes to her native place in Holland in search of her mother's belongings after the war.
In the beginning of the story it is narrated how the protagonist was given a cold reception when she went to her native place after the war in search of her mother's belongings. After ringing the bell of
House Number 46 in Marconi Street, a woman opened the door. On being introduced,the woman kept staring at her in silence. There was no sign of recognition on her face. The woman was wearing
her mother's green knitted cardigan. The narrator could understand that she had made no mistake. She asked the woman whether she knew her mother. The woman could not deny this. The narrator wanted to talk to her for sometime. But the woman cautiously closed the door. The narrator stopped there for sometime and then left the place.
In the subsequent sections, the memories of the narrator's bygone days come to light. Her mother had provided the address years ago during the war. She went to home for few days. She could find that various things were missing. At that time her mother told her about Mrs Dorling. She happened to be an old acquaintance of the narrator's mother. Lately she had renewed contact with her and had been coming there regularly. Every time she left their house she took something home with her. She told that she wanted to save all their nice possessions. The next day the narrator saw Mrs Dorling going out of their house with a heavy suitcase. She had a fleeting glimpse of Mrs Dorling's face. She asked her mother whether the woman lived far away. At that time the narrator's mother told about the address: Number 46,Marconi Street. After many days the after the war,the narrator was curious to take record of the possessions that must still be at Number 46, Marconi Street. With this intention she went to the given address.
The concluding part of the story describes the second visit of the narrator. As the narrator's first visit yielded no result so she planned to go once again. Interestingly, a girl of fifteen opened the door to her. Her mother was not at home. The narrator expressed her wish to wait for her. The girl accompanied her to the passage. The narrator saw an old fashioned iron candle holder hanging next to a mirror. The girl made her sit in the living room and went inside. The narrator 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 troubled her in the strange atmosphere. She had no courage to look around her. But she no longer had desire to possess them. She got up, walked to the door, and left the room. She resolved to forget the address and moved on.
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.