 Human Predicament- dilemma about PAST – Memories

 World War II
 Jews were sent to Concentration Camps by Hitler (search
Auschwitz )
 Holocaust Museum https://www.ushmm.org/
 https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introducti
on-to-the-holocaust

Marga Minco (pseudonym of Sara Menco;

born 31 March 1920) is a Dutch journalist and
writer. Her real surname was Menco, but an
official accidentally switched the first vowel.

Her prose also occupies a special position in Dutch

and European Shoah literature, because Minco is
one of the few Dutch Jews who were able to escape
deportation. After returning to Amsterdam and
various other locations after the liberation of the Netherlands, the
experiences and emotions she evokes in her novels and stories,
including The Address (1957) and An Empty House (1966), can be

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Shoah/ˈʃəʊə/ - noun - the mass murder of Jewish people under the
German Nazi regime during the period 1941–5; the Holocaust
compared to those of concentration camp survivors: social isolation,
self-alienation amid indifferent - even hostile - surroundings, and
survivor’s guilt. And we must not forget about the fact that those who
returned were shamefully robbed as it turned out they were not
allowed to take back their possessions they had left in the care of
acquaintances.

We are introduced to Minco’s completely unique voice by her ability

to surpass this subject matter by repeatedly creating new literary
variations of the theme in a continuous effort to process the war
years.

Reading The Text!

Chink – narrow opening Fleetingly – for a short time

Musty – stale
Jamb – side post of a window,
fireplace or doorway
Lugging – carry a heavy object with
great effort
Crick – cramp or spasm in muscles
Beckoned – signalled
Endured – suffered
Hanukkah – The Feast of Lights, a
Hebrew festival in December
Midst – middle
Jingling – ringing
Enamel – an opaque or semi-transparent substance
that is a type of glass
Acquaintance – stranger or social contact
Pityingly – feeling sorrow
Reprovingly – critically
Liberation – Liberty or Freeing
Vain – hopeless
Cumbersome – unmanageable
Muggy – humid

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This short story is a poignant (/ˈpɔɪnjənt/) account of a
daughter who goes in search of her mother’s belongings after
the War, in Holland. When she finds them, the objects evoke
memories of her earlier life. However, she decides to leave
them all behind and resolves to move on.

 The dehumanizing effect of the war in human lives

 The Greed and ‘selfishness of people during the crisis of others
(2021 as well)

Characters

1. The narrator – Marga Minco

2. Mrs. S – Mother of the narrator

3. Mrs. Dorling– an acquaintance of the narrator’s

mother

4. A girl of 15 – Mrs. Dorling’s Daughter

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Summary

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 some time. But
the woman cautiously closed the door. The narrator stopped there for
some time 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 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

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Street. After many days after the war, the narrator was curious to take
a 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 the desire to
possess them. She got up, walked to the door, and left the room. She
resolved to forget the address and moved on.

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Review at http://www.keveinbooksnreviews.in/ September 04, 2018

The Address by Marga Minco is a short war-fiction story about a family

lost in the heat and hatred of WW-II. The story is staged immediately
after the Second World War. In this world war, Hitler and his Nazi army
carried out brutalities on Jews. They sent millions of Jews from almost
all parts of Europe to the concentration camps to die. That’s was
shocking and equally sad.

So the story is about a young girl (the narrator itself). The war is over
and she has survived the dark days of the Nazi regime but sadly all her
family members are dead. She lives in a small, hut-kind of room,
devoid of all facilities and luggage not so far from a station.

She remembers an address told by her mother: Number 46, Marconi

Street. Now the narrator is inquisitive about the luggage which they
had when living in their own house during wartime. She knows that
her luggage is there at that address. She goes there and an old lady
opens the door. The narrator recognizes the old lady because she is
wearing the old green cardigan of her mother. The narrator calls for
Mrs Dorling – an old acquaintance of her mother. But surprisingly, the
old lady refuses to recognize her. She rather says, “Have you come
back? I thought that no one had come back.”

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The narrator thinks that she has pressed the wrong doorbell but after
seeing that green cardigan she thinks otherwise. No matter what, the
narrator returns home empty-handed and frustrated.

The narrator remembers that whenever she used to come home

(probably she was living out for studies) she would see Mrs Dorling
carrying something or other to her house. Upon asking, her mother
said that Mrs Dorling would keep their valuable luggage safe and
return once the bad time was over.

The narrator on an impulse comes again to the same address. This

time the door is opened by her daughter, a young girl of around
fifteen. She says that her mother is out and will be back in some time.
The narrator agrees to wait till Mrs Dorling comes home. The girl
invites the narrator inside. Shockingly, the narrator inside sees that
their house is full of luggage that once belonged to her family. She
feels back at her home but there is a strange voice within her that
disturbs her. She wants to take this entire luggage with her but at the
same time, her old memories compel her not to do so. As this may
force her to remind all those people who once were part of her life. It
is melancholy to live with the memories of the dead. To get rid of bad
times’ memories, she leaves the home.

After reading this story, it becomes clear that Mrs Dorling betrayed
her family. She had ulterior motives behind her help, in reality, she
wanted to grab their luggage. How war affects simple people’s lives is

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clearly evident from this story. The story not only evokes deeply
hidden pain but also sheds light on the misery associated with
unwanted wars.

Reference Material

1. https://youtu.be/LWHW1r1CwqU
2. Video Shown in Class by Educator
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRx59DFCPxQ
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2eTmCEbzeg

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The Address- NCERT Book Questions and Answers
1. ‘Have you come back?’ said the woman. ‘I thought that
no one had come back.’ Does this statement give some
clue about the story? If yes, what is it?

Ans: The quoted statement gives us a clue about the story. It

means that the two families were acquaintances who knew each
other and stayed nearby. During the war, many families left the
land to take refuge in another place while some of the families
stayed back at the same place. Mrs. Dorling thought that the
family of Mrs. S died during the war and that is why she gave
such a cold reaction to the girl who came to visit her.

2. The story is divided into pre-War and post-War times.

What hardships do you think the girl underwent during
these times?

Ans: The story is based on the pre-War and post-War period.

The family of the girl was rich before the war and they had
valuable possessions in their house. When the war started, Mrs.
Dorling established contact with them and started visiting them
again. She started taking the possessions with her whenever she
would visit as she believed if they would leave the place, such
things should not be wasted. The girl suffered a lot, her mother
died and she had to live in a rented place. She found it really
difficult to go back to the place where her childhood was spent

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and she wanted her belongings back. When she went to meet
Mrs. Dorling, she noticed how the things were arranged in a
tasteless manner. She could no longer connect to them and she
lost her interest in them and partly she was afraid. The girl finally
decided to leave the house and forget the address.

3. Why did the narrator of the story want to forget the

address?

Ans: Mrs. Dorling kept the valuable items in her house until the
war was over as she didn’t want them to lose during the war in
case they decided to leave the place. Her mother gave her the
address of Mrs. Dorling ’46, Marconi Street’. She remembered
the address and decided to visit her anyway. She was afraid to
visit the place again as it brought back many memories. When
she saw all the possessions, they were arranged in a tasteless
manner and she lost interest in them. She could not connect with
the things and thought that she would not stay at the house any
longer, she would destroy the good memories she had with those
items. She finally decided to forget the address and not go back
to that place.

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4. ‘The Address’ is a story of a human predicament that
follows war. Comment.

Ans: The war always brings a lot of suffering to human beings.

It brings them both destruction and death. ‘The Address’ is based
on the same theme. During the war, all the belongings were
taken by Mrs. Dorling who promised to keep them safe. The
mother of the protagonist died and all the possessions were left
with the acquaintance. Years later the girl decided to visit the
house whose address was given by her mother years ago. The
woman showed no sympathy to her and took the time to even
recognize her. She thought everyone in her family had died. The
girl wanted to take back her belongings. She didn’t allow the girl
to enter the house. She seemed like a woman who didn’t have
any human emotions. So, the war leaves the world desolated
and it cannot be healed.

Q1. Why did the narrator go to Number 46, Marconi Street?

Ans. This was the address of the woman who had carried their
valuables to her home for safety during wartime. So the narrator
went there to claim the belongings of her mother.

Q2. Why was Mrs. Dorling cautious while opening the door?

Ans. Mrs. Dorling had committed the crime of misappropriating

the narrator’s household things a few years ago. She hoped that

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the war would uproot the entire family and they would never
return. But she also feared one day someone from the family
could turn up and claim the things that she kept at her home.
Hence she was cautious in opening the door.

Q3. Do you think the woman didn’t recognize the narrator,

or she was merely pretending? Give reasons for your
answer.
Ans. Obviously, the woman was pretending that she didn’t
recognise the narrator. As soon as she realised that she had
been found out she said, “Have you come back? I thought that
no one had come back.”

Q4. Why did Mrs. Dorling refuse to recognise the narrator?

Ans. Mrs. Dorling never thought that the narrator would return
after years to get her mother’s stuff back. She was a greedy
woman. She had been using all the stuff and didn’t want to return
it. When she recognized her, she hid behind the door and didn’t
even want to talk to the narrator. She lied that she didn’t
recognize her. The narrator’s mother trusted Mrs. Dorling as her
friend but she displayed inconsiderate and selfish behaviour
which hurt the narrator.

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Q5. How was the narrator convinced that she had made no
mistake and had reached the right address?

Ans. When the woman who opened the door gave no sign of
recognition, the narrator thought she was perhaps mistaken and
had rung the wrong bell. When she saw the woman wearing her
mother’s green knitted cardigan, she was convinced that she had
made no mistake and reached the right address.

Q6. How did the woman try to avoid the narrator?

Ans. First, the woman refused to recognise the narrator. When

she realised that she had been found out, she regretted that she
couldn’t do anything for the narrator. Then she asked the
narrator to come another time. She gave the impression that
there was someone in the house whom she didn’t want to be
disturbed.

Q7. Why did the author first hesitate to claim her belongings
from Mrs. Dorling?

Ans. When the war was over and the narrator began to feel a
little secure, she felt like missing her family belongings. On
second thought, she began to suspect that the presence of her
family articles would remind her of her dear ones who were no
more with her so she hesitated to claim those articles from Mrs.

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Dorling’s house. Besides, she lived in a poor room that looked
the oddest place to accommodate her expensive possessions.

Q8. Who was Mrs. Dorling? What did the narrator’s mother
tell her about the woman?

Ans. Mrs. Dorling was an old acquaintance of the narrator’s

mother whom she had not seen for years. She had recently
renewed their contract. Since then she has been visiting their
house regularly. Every time she left their house she took
something home with her.

Q9. Why did the narrator finally decide to forget the

address?

Ans. After the war, the author went to collect the things which
belonged to her family. Mrs. Dorling who had taken away
everything did not allow the author to enter her house. Later, she
tried to take another chance. This time her daughter received
her. The narrator entered and saw many things lying here and
there. Her memories stood before her eyes. But soon she
realised that the objects which are associated with the past had
lost their value as being cut off from them. The easiest way was
to forget. So she decided to forget the address.

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Long Answer Type Questions
Q1. Describe the narrator’s first visit to Mrs. Dorling’s house
in Marconi Street.

Ans. The narrator was sure that her mother’s belongings must
still be preserved by Mrs. Dorling. One day she felt an urge to
see and touch those objects. So she went to Mrs. Dorling’s
house in Marconi Street. She rang the bell. A woman opened the
door and looked at her searchingly. The narrator came closer
and introduced herself that she was Mrs. S’s daughter. The
woman kept staring at her in silence. There was no sign of
recognition on her face. The narrator thought perhaps she had
come to the wrong house. But she saw the woman was wearing
her mother’s green knitted cardigan. She knew at once that she
had made no mistake. She asked the woman whether she knew
her mother. The woman could not deny this. She said, “Have you
come back”? The woman regretted that she could not do
anything for her. She asked the narrator to come some other time
and cautiously closed the door. The narrator realized that her
visit was in vain. She stood on the step for a while and then left
the place.

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Q2. Describe the narrator’s second visit to Mrs. Dorling’s
house.

Ans. The narrator’s first visit to Mrs. Dorling’s house was in vain.
She decided to try a second time. This time a girl of about fifteen
opened the door to her. Her mother was not at home. The
narrator said that she would wait for her. Following the girl along
the passage, the narrator saw their 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
oppressed her in the strange atmosphere. She dared not look
around her. The woollen tablecloth, the cups, the white tea-pot,
the spoons, the pewter plate, everything was full of memories of
her former life. Suddenly the objects linked with her former life
lost their value. In strange surroundings, they too appeared
strange to her. She no longer had the desire to possess them.
She got up, walked to the door, and came out of the house.

Q3. What did the narrator learn about Mrs. Dorling from her
mother?

Ans. The war was going on. The narrator was home for a few
days. She immediately noticed that something or other about the
rooms had changed. Various things were missing. She looked at

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her mother questioningly. Then her mother told her about Mrs.
Dorling. The narrator had never heard of that woman. Obviously,
she was an old acquaintance of her mother, whom she had not
seen for years. Since then she had been coming to their house
regularly. Every time she left the place she took something home
with her. She took all the table silver, then the antique plates and
several other precious things. She explained that she wanted to
save all their nice things because they would lose everything in
case they had to leave the house. The narrator’s mother never
doubted her intention. She rather felt obliged to Mrs. Dorling for
talking all the trouble while carrying their things.

Q4. Why had the narrator remembered Mrs. Dorling’s

address? Why did she want now to forget the address?
Ans. Mrs. Dorling was an old acquaintance of the narrator’s
mother. She had carried their valuables to her house for safety
during the wartime. She said that she wanted to save all their
nice things because they would lose everything if they had to flee
from the place. The narrator’s mother told her Mrs. Dorling’s
address. The narrator had remembered the address.

When the war was over and things became almost normal, one
day the narrator had an intense longing to see and touch the
objects which were linked with the memories of her former life.
She knew that all the things must still be preserved by Mrs.
Dorling. So she went to Number 46 in Marconi Street. She was

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horrified to find in a room she knew and did not know. She found
herself in the midst of familiar things which she longed to see
again. Suddenly the objects lost their value. In strange
surroundings, they too appeared strange to her. She realised
that she no longer wanted to possess them. Now the address
lost all its significance for her and she wanted to forget it.

Q5. Comment on the contrasting elements in the characters

of Mrs. S and Mrs. Dorling?

Ans. The mother of the author, Mrs. S was a lady of simplicity.

She didn’t seem to have seen the harsh and cruel side of this
two-faced world. She could easily befriend people, and rather
more easily, trust them. That’s why she trusted Mrs. Dorling, who
was just an acquaintance of her and allowed her to keep all her
precious belongings for the time being. Moreover, she was so
kindhearted that she was sympathetic enough for Mrs. Dorling,
who had to carry all her heavy articles all alone.

In contrast, Mrs. Dorling was an absolute thief, a unique

combination of cunningness and betrayal. She cheated Mrs. S
and seized her very precious belongings very wittingly. She can
be called a perfectionist in this ‘occupation’ of hers.

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Q6. Who is Mrs. Dorling? Do you justify her behaviour in
the story?

Ans. Mrs. Dorling is an acquaintance of Mrs. S, the narrator’s

mother. In the story, Mrs. Dorling exploits Mrs. S’s fears and
insecurity during the war. She insists Mrs. S and took away all
her valuable things after giving assurance that she would keep
them safe until the war was over. In fact, Mrs. Dorling had no
intentions of returning the valuables as she was sure that Mrs. S
and her family would not survive the war. So when the narrator,
Mrs. S’s daughter, went to Mrs. Dorling’s house to claim those
articles to which her mother’s precious memories were
associated, she even pretended not to recognize her. Instead of
returning those articles to the narrator, she shamelessly used
them which actually belonged to the narrator’s mother and also
behaved rudely to the narrator. So, in the context of the above
Mrs. Dorling’s behaviour cannot be justified.

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