NCERT solutions for class 11 English, Chapter 41, The Address

This statement gives us a hint that both the woman and the narrator know each other. The narrative revolves around a girl trying to find her mother’s ancient possessions with an adult lady. This girl’s mother knew about an upcoming war and so had gradually moved all her valuable belongings to the residence of her acquaintance, Mrs. Dorling. As her mother had expired during the war, the woman Mrs. Dorling did not expect anyone to come afterwards and claim the precious belongings. When the girl came to collect them, she was shocked. The given statement shows that the lady is selfish and does not want to share the antiques that do not even belong to her. She doesn’t even recognize the girl as her past acquaintance and refuses to even let her inside her home.

The account “The Address” is divided into post-war and pre-war times. The girl belonged to a rich family. The girl’s family had a lot of valuable things. There is clear evidence of the difficulties which the storyteller had to experience in these times. During the pre-war times, the girl lived in another place distant from her mother and visited her very rarely. During those times, her mother was worried that her precious things would be lost in the war. They were worried that they would have to leave the house. The girl was in a small hired house with its shutters overlaid with blackout paper. She was unable to see anything outside and the threat of death was also upon them. However, during the post-war period, everything returned to normalcy. The girl could open the shutters of her room and look outside without worrying about anything. She had a powerful urge to look at her mother’s properties and so also visited Mrs. Dorlings.

The narrator desired to forget the address as it prompted her to remember the tender remembrances of her mother, their home and valuable belongings, and her earlier life before the war, which she could never have back. She, therefore, decided to forget the address and move on.

War brings death and destruction with it. The story The Address describes a girl’s life in post-war and pre-war times. The war created many obstacles for the narrator both physically and emotionally. She lost her house where they lived and also lost her mother. Her valuable belongings were carried away from them by a stranger who refused to return them. Many pre-war post-war perceptions can be seen in the story. Starting from the loss of life to the selfish and cruel nature of a woman, so many varied emotions are portrayed through this short story.