The Address

Marga Minco
Introduction

The story is about the human predicament that follows the pre-War and Post-
War periods. Mrs. S who was a Jews was a rich lady. Whereas, Mrs. Dorling
was a non-Jews. The girl, daughter of Mrs. S, had lost her house and her mother
during the war and now she had decided to come back to take her possessions
from Mrs. Dorling, an acquaintance whose address was given by her mother
years ago. When she reached the house, the woman treated her with a cold
reception and didn’t let her into the house. She decided to go back anyway and
then she met her daughter who let her in and told her to wait inside. When she
saw all the possessions in front of her, she couldn’t connect with them and
decided to leave the house.

Theme
The theme of ‘The Address’ revolves around the personal challenges that all of
us have to encounter as individuals while resolving crisis in our own lives. With
war comes death, destruction and a dehumanising effect on human beings.
“The Address” by Marga Minco is indeed an inspiring story which sheds an
adequate amount of light on the importance of letting things go. It further
reiterates that both past and future are illusions, and all we have with us is the
present. The story clearly brings to light the fact that holding onto the past can
be an extremely painful exercise. It goes without saying that forgetting the
moments and the experiences that torment you can be a really daunting task, but
once you accept your past wholeheartedly, you tend to get a big weight off your
back. The author, despite being attached to memories of her past, had the
courage to leave them behind in order to make a fresh beginning.
The story depicts the complex human emotions of intimacy, trust, hope and
betrayal as well as the ill-effects of war. It speaks of the greed and vices that
afflict a human being and how it makes them do horrible things like breaking
other people’s hopes, lying, stealing, cheating etc. Mrs Dorling refuses to return
what she took from her friend and do her duty as a friend and responsible
human being. She actually used the opportunity to take advantage of her
friend’s difficult circumstances. This represents the worst of human nature. The
background of War and persecution of innocent lives has strong connotations
and beautifully foreshadow the story itself.
Message
The story beautifully delineates the pain, anguish, and mental torture of the
survivors of war. It gives the message to live peacefully and sympathize with
those who are war victims. One should always be courageous enough to keep
moving on in their lives. The author undoubtedly reminds the readers that all we
got is the present and we must appreciate what we have when we have them.
Seldom do we realise how lucky we are until we experience loss. Further, the
behaviour of Mrs Dorling reminds one how not be as an individual.

Significance of the title

The Address is a very apt title as it brings out the pain and anguish inflicted on
the narrator and her mother by the war. The address 46, Marconi Street was
important because her mother had given her valuables to Mrs Dorling who lived
at that address. Although the narrator had found the address, she didn’t take her
belongings as they wouldn’t be able to bring her dead mother back. She felt that
the objects would only revoke the memories she had left behind. They were so
important to her mother, but now lay carelessly in a woman’s house who had
betrayed her mother’s trust. She decided to leave and forget the address. Hence,
the address plays an important role in the story.
Characters
The narrator (Author Marga Minco) – Marga Minco is a Jewish girl who
faced the pain, sufferings, and losses, including the irreparable loss of her dear
mother in war. She is a brave and courageous girl who faces the challenges of a
lonely life after the war is over. Minco is attached to her mother’s things and
after returning to her home city, she goes to Mrs Dorling to claim her mother’s
things back. Mrs Dorling’s cold, indifferent and discouraging behaviour further
depresses her. She had already suffered many losses, including the irreparable
loss of her dear mother. Finally, she decides to leave her mother’s things and
forget them forever as the things will evoke her mother’s memories more often
and make her more miserable.

Mrs S (narrator’s mother) – The war in Holland proved to be a disaster for

her. She was forced to part with all her nice and precious belongings and was
exploited by Mrs Dorling who promised that her belongings were safe with her,
but they never received them again. Also, she couldn’t survive the war and died.

Mrs Dorling- Mrs Dorling is portrayed in the story as an immoral

character. She was a thief and used the author’s and the author’s mother’s
belongings like clothes, utensils etc. of, despite promising to only look after
them. Mrs Dorling was dishonest. She did not invite Marga to her house to treat
her like a good guest.

Mrs Dorling’s daughter- She is a guileless young woman and is very different
from her mother as she politely asked the narrator to come in and made her feel
comfortable. Mrs Dorling’s daughter also offered her tea and showed the house
to her.

Short Question Answers

1.Where had the narrator come? Why was she back?

Answer: The narrator is a Dutch Jew, who had to leave Holland during the
Second World War. She had left along with her mother for safety. Now she was
back to where her past ‘things’ lay. She wanted to see and touch her belongings
in order to relive those memories.

2.Whom did the narrator desire to meet in Holland? Why?

Answer: The narrator was told by her mother to remember ‘Number 46 Marconi
Street’, where Mrs Dorling lived; she had insisted on keeping their things safely
till the war was over. After the war, the narrator was curious about their
possessions that were still at that address and she went to meet Mrs Dorling.

3.What kind of a welcome did the narrator get from Mrs Dorling?
Answer: Mrs Dorling was cold and indifferent and evidently displeased to see
the author. In fact, she tried to prevent her from entering by blocking her
entrance. Later, she said it was not convenient for her to talk to the narrator at
that point of time and refused to meet her.
4.When did the narrator first learn about the existence of Mrs Dorling?
Answer: The narrator recalled the time when she was home during the first half
of the War. She had noticed that various things were missing. Her mother then
told her about Mrs Dorling, an old acquaintance who renewed their contact, and
came regularly, each time, carrying away some of their things.

5.What was the narrator’s mother’s opinion about Mrs Dorling?

Answer: The narrator’s mother considered Mrs Dorling a very benevolent lady,
who strived to ‘save’ their ‘nice things’ by carrying some of them away, each
time she visited. The narrator’s mother was unable to see through the lady who
wished to cheat her out of her valuables, instead she felt grateful to Mrs
Dorling.

6.What did the narrator recall about her first meeting with Mrs Dorling?
Answer: The narrator saw Mrs Dorling for the first time on the morning after
the day she came to know about her. Coming downstairs, the narrator saw her
mother about to see someone out. It was a woman, dressed in a brown coat and
a shapeless hat, with a broad back; she nodded and picked up the suitcase.

7. Why did the narrator return to Marconi Street after a long time?
Answer: The narrator returned to Marconi Street after a long time because in the
beginning, after the Liberation, she was not interested in all that stored stuff.
She had lost her mother and was also afraid of being confronted with things that
remained as a painful reminder to their past.

8. How did the narrator decide to go back to the ‘things’?

Answer: Gradually, when everything became normal again the bread was of a
lighter colour and she had a bed to sleep in, securely, and the surroundings
became familiar again the narrator was curious about all the possessions that
must still be at that address that her mother had talked about and went there to
relive her memories.

9. Explain: “I stopped, horrified. I was in a room I knew and did not know.”
Answer: When the narrator went to Mrs Dorling’s house the second time, a girl
of about fifteen let her in. She saw familiar things but arranged differently that
lent unfamiliarity to the surroundings. She found herself surrounded by things
that she had wanted to see again but which really oppressed her in that strange
atmosphere.

10.Why did the narrator not want to remember the place?

Answer: The narrator had primarily returned for the sake of memories that were
linked to the things that had once belonged to her mother. However, she
realized, the objects linked in her memory with the familiar life that she had
once lived lost their value as they had been removed and put in strange
surroundings.

Long Answer Type

1.Describe the narrator’s first post-War meeting with Mrs Dorling.
Answer: When the narrator knocked at Mrs Dorling’s door and introduced
herself as Mrs S’s daughter, Mrs Dorling showed no sign of recognition. She
held the door in a way making clear that the narrator was not welcome. For
some time, she stared quietly at the narrator at which she felt that it was not the
person that she had been looking for. When Mrs Dorling let her in, the narrator
noticed her wearing her mother’s green knitted cardigan.
The lady saw her looking at the cardigan and hid herself partially behind the
door. When the narrator mentioned her mother, she said that she had thought
that none of the people who had left had come back. The lady expressed regret
at her inability to do anything for her but the narrator insisted on talking to her
having come all the way for it. However, the lady refused to talk to her,
claiming it was not a convenient time; the narrator had no option but to leave.

2.Contrast the character of the narrator’s mother and Mrs Dorling.

Answer: The narrator’s mother was a trusting woman. She told her daughter
about Mrs Dorling, an old acquaintance, who had suddenly turned up and
renewed their contact and since then had been a regular visitor. The mother did
not doubt her kindness and was obliged that she insisted on taking all her nice
things with her to save them. The mother was worried about Mrs Dorling
getting a crick in her back from carrying the crockery and lugging the large
vases. When the narrator showed her scepticism, she was annoyed.
On the other hand, Mrs Dorling was an opportunist. She renewed her contact
primarily to take the antique things the narrator’s mother owned. When the
narrator came back after years, she made her feel unwelcome as she did not
wish to part with the things that had belonged to the narrator’s mother. She was
rude and brusque with the narrator and did not allow her to enter the house.
3.Describe the narrator’s second visit to Mrs Dorling’s place.
Answer: On her second visit, a girl of about fifteen led the narrator in and she
noticed an old-fashioned iron Hanukkah candle-holder that belonged to them. In
the living room, the sight was dismal. The room had a strange, stressful effect
the atmosphere, the tasteless way everything was arranged, the ugly furniture or
the muggy smell that hung there. She noticed the woollen tablecloth and
recalled the bum mark on it that had never been repaired.
When the girl put cups on the tea table and poured tea from a white pot with a
gold border on the lid and the pewter plate these things clouded her mind with
strange emotions. The narrator noticed various things that brought back
memories of the past. The narrator rushed out for her train as the girl went to get
their cutlery. As the narrator walked out, she heard jingling of spoons and forks.