Important Questions: The Address | English Class 11 PDF Download

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Q1: Where and when does the story take place?
Ans: The story takes place in Holland after the war.

Q2: Who lived at number 46, Marconi Street?
Ans: Mrs Dorling lived at number 46, Marconi Street.

Q3: Who took away things from the narrator’s house?
Ans: Mrs Dorling removed items from the narrator's home.

Q4: How does the narrator recognise Mrs Dorling?
Ans: Mrs Dorling is recognized by the narrator due to the green knitted sweater she was wearing, which belonged to the narrator's mother.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q5: How did the narrator get confirmation of her doubt?
Ans: Mrs Dorling was wearing the narrator's mother's green knitted sweater, which verified the narrator's suspicions about her. The narrator noticed that the buttons had turned pale from washing, and Mrs Dorling hid behind the door as soon as she saw the cardigan. Mrs Dorling's reaction verified the narrator's suspicions.

Q6: What did the narrator’s mother tell her about Mrs Dorling?
Ans: Mrs Dorling was a friend of the narrator's mother. Her mother hadn't seen her in a long time. Mrs Dorling unexpectedly appeared to the narrator's mother one day and renewed their contact. Mrs Dorling had a practice of taking something from their home every time she went, such as table silver, antiques, and so on.

Q7: What was the reaction of Mrs Dorling when the narrator said she is the daughter of Mrs S?
Ans: Upon hearing that she is Mrs S’s daughter, Mrs Dorling gave an odd reaction. She pressed her hand on the door to prevent it from opening further. She couldn't recognise the storyteller and stared at her without saying anything.

Q8: Who gave the address to the narrator and why?
Ans: Her mother gave the narrator the address years ago, during the first half of the war. The narrator went home for a few days and discovered that numerous materials and belongings were stolen from her room; therefore, her mother told her about Mrs Dorling and gave her the location.

Q9: What reasons does the narrator give to explain that she might be mistaken?
Ans: The narrator suspected that the woman who opened the door was not Mrs Dorling since she refused to acknowledge her. As a result, the narrator claims to have only seen her once, for a brief moment, many years ago. She also suspected that she had rung the wrong bell.

Q10: What were the things that the narrator remembers about Mrs Dorling from their first meeting?
Ans: The narrator has few memories of Mrs Dorling from their initial meeting. She recalls some details, such as Mrs Dorling having a broad back, dressed in a brown coat and a shapeless hat when they first met. Only she had taken up a big suitcase sitting under the coat rack and departed their house during that meeting. She recalls living at Marconi Street, number 46.

Q11: Why did the narrator become curious about the possessions of her mother?
Ans: After the narrator lost her mother, she grew interested in obtaining her mother's goods as normalcy was restored in the post-liberation period. She was certain that her mother's stuff would still be at the address that her mother had given her, which was Mrs Dorling's address. The narrator desired to view and touch the items, as well as reminisce about her past.

Q12: What reason did Mrs Dorling give to the narrator’s mother to take her belongings?
Ans: Mrs Dorling and the narrator's mother knew one other and had acquired each other's trust. Mrs Dorling stated that she would put the narrator's mother's stuff in a safer area since she wanted to save all of the narrator's mother's nice things. She warns her that if they ever have to empty the place, they may lose everything.

Q13: Why did the narrator wait for a long time before heading to the address her mother gave?
Ans: The narrator delayed a long time before going to location number 46, Marconi Street that her mother gave her since she first did not care about her mother's goods that were lying in the store. Furthermore, she was terrified of being presented with items that had belonged to her deceased mother.

Q14: How did the narrator recognise her own familiar woollen tablecloth?
Ans: The narrator fixed her gaze on the woollen tablecloth. Then she traced the lines of the cloth's pattern. She recalled seeing a bum mark somewhere that was either not fixed or could not be cleaned away. And when she discovered the bum stain on the table linen, she knew it was one of her mother's items.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q15: Write in brief about the narrator’s visit to 46, Marconi Street.
Ans: During the post-war time, when things were returning to normal, the narrator grew inquisitive about her mother's goods, which had been taken by one of her acquaintances Mrs Dorling. The narrator recalls her mother giving her the address 46, Marconi Street.
The narrator went to the address to see what her mother had left behind. The narrator pays a visit to Mrs Dorling and notices that she did not properly open the door. The host couldn't recognize the visitor, so she told him she was Mrs S's daughter, and Mrs Dorling looked at her in silence, unable to recognize her. Mrs Dorling's green-knitted jumper with wooden buttons was recognized by the narrator. She declined to see or assist the narrator.

Q16: How would you define the character of the narrator?
Ans: The narrator's character seems both emotional and intelligent. She is a thoughtful and caring daughter. She adored and feared her mother, but she despises the concept of Mrs Dorling. She interrogates her mother about Mrs Dorling, which her mother considers to be quite disrespectful. The narrator has an acute sense of observation. She observes that some items are gone from her mother's house and is quite critical of a person. She went to 46 Marconi Street twice to see, touch, and remember her mother's possessions. She prefers to leave the past behind and move on with her life.

Q17: How does the mother come to know about Mrs Dorling and her address?
Ans: Several years ago, during the first half of the war, the narrator visited her mother in her hometown. After staying there for a few days, the narrator discovers that something about the rooms has changed. She notices that some of the items are gone. Her mother then tells her about Mrs Dorling, an old acquaintance of hers.
Her mother told her that the lady reappeared after a long absence and began paying her regular visits. The narrator's mother informed her that she had taken their stuff to store at her home, which is why her mother provided her with Mrs Dorling's address.

Q18: How is the narrator’s second visit to Mrs Dorling’s house different from the first one?
Ans: The first and second meetings at Mrs Dorling's place were very different from one another. Mrs Dorling did not invite the narrator to the first meeting, but she was invited to the second meeting and escorted to the living room, where she was able to touch and see some of the objects that belonged to her mother, not Mrs Dorling. Her visit was to look at her mother's possessions. The touch and sight of familiar things triggered memories of her life before the war. She assumed that because the artefacts had been isolated from their own lives and stored in ludicrous settings, they had lost their true value to her.

Q19: What is the significance of the title “The Address”?
Ans: The title of the story, "The Address," is the focal point of the entire chapter. The title is highly evocative and appears three times in the story: at the beginning, middle, and end. Marga Minco draws the reader's attention to it through the narrator's uncertainty about where she went wrong and confidence that she had arrived at the correct address. According to the account, her mother gave it to her since Mrs Dorling, an old friend of hers, resided there. The story concludes dramatically, with the narrator attempting to forget the address.