1. Who is Mrs Fitzgerald? What does she advise Mrs Pearson?

Answer: Mrs Fitzgerald is Mrs Pearson’s neighbour and friend. A fortune teller, who had learnt the art
from the East, she tells Mrs Pearson that her fortune could turn either way. With effort and counsel, the
situation would swing in her favour. She advised her to assert herself as the boss of the house.

2. What was Mrs Pearson’s reaction to Mrs Fitzgerald’s advice?

Answer: Mrs Pearson said that it would not be easy to put her family members in place as she was very
fond of them. She knew that they were thoughtless and selfish but felt, perhaps, they did not mean to
be so.

3. What was Mrs Fitzgerald’s opinion of Mrs Pearson’s attitude?

Answer: Mrs Fitzgerald said that Mrs Pearson’s family was undoubtedly spoilt. She felt that it was Mrs
Pearson’s attitude that did them no good, tending to their needs, taking their orders, and staying at
home every night while they went out enjoying themselves.

4. What does Mrs Fitzgerald offer to do for her?

Answer: Mrs Fitzgerald sensed that Mrs Pearson was far too gentle, submissive and
generous to tackle her family. Mrs Fitzgerald offered to make them realize the error of
their ways not as Mrs Fitzgerald but as Mrs Pearson. She offered to change their bodies
and change back again.”

5. How did the two women react after their bodies were changed?
Answer: When Mrs Pearson looked down at herself in Mrs Fitzgerald’s body, she gave a
scream of fright. On the other hand, Mrs Fitzgerald is rather pleased and feels that the
transition was so neat that she did not even know that she had it in her.

6. What is Doris’s first reaction on seeing her mother? Why?

Answer: Doris was taken aback to see her mother smoking and playing cards. When
Doris asks her what she was doing, she is startled to get her answer—‘whitewashing the
ceiling.’ Moreover, her conduct was not nervous and apologetic but cool and incisive.

7. What did Doris want her mother to do? How did the mother react?
Answer: Doris wanted her to iron her yellow silk dress that she ‘must wear’ that night.
She also wanted her mother to make tea for her. She refused to get her tea and iron her
dress, telling her that she put in twice the hours Doris did but got neither wages, nor
thanks for it.

8. What does Mrs Pearson say to Doris that really bothered her?
Answer: Mrs Pearson asked where Doris would wear her yellow silk dress. She said that
she planned to go out with Charlie Spence. Mrs Pearson told her to find somebody
better, and insulted Charlie Spence by calling her buck-toothed and was half-witted.

9. What does Mrs Pearson have to say to Cyril that shocks him?
Answer: When Cyril walk in and insists on her getting the tea and his clothes ready, he is
stunned to hear that she doesn’t ‘like mending’. She goes on to tell him that when he
does not want to do something, he does not do it. She planned to do the same. Cyril
could not believe his ears.

10. What do Doris and Cyril feel about Mrs Pearson’s changed behaviour?
Answer: Doris and Cyril discuss that there is something wrong with their mother as she
is not behaving in character. They discuss how Mrs Pearson behaved oddly with each of
them. They try to fathom if she had gone crazy or had a concussion.

11. What is Mrs Pearson’s reaction to see her children giggling when she returns to the
room?
Answer: Mrs Pearson asks them the reason for their amusement. Doris answers that
she had never understood their jokes. To which Mrs Pearson retorts, rudely, that she
was bored at their jokes even before they were bom. Doris is tearful and Mrs Pearson
blames them for being selfish about their needs.

12. What reason does she give Cyril for not making the tea?
Answer: When Cyril again asks for tea as he had been working for an eight-hour day,
Mrs Pearson replies that she had done her eight hours and henceforth she would work
only for forty hours a week. She declared that she would have her two days off on the
weekend.

13. What, according to Mrs Pearson, were her plans for the weekends?
Answer: Mrs Pearson tells her children that at the weekend she would have her two
days off. She agreed to make beds and cook a little as a favour, conditional to how she
was treated. Mrs Pearson tells her children that in case they did not like the
arrangement, she would go elsewhere for the weekend.

14. Why was George Pearson surprised when he came home? What was the answer
that he got?
Answer: Mr George Pearson was surprised to see Doris crying and was shocked to see
Mrs Pearson sipping beer. He said that it did not look right. Mrs Pearson replied that it
was ‘a nice change’ and it had been quite some time since he was surprised at her.

15. What did Mrs Pearson say to her husband when he was angry with her for not
making tea?
Answer: Mr Pearson informed Mrs Pearson that he did not want tea but grew angry at
being told that tea was not ready. She taunted him that if he went up to the bar at the
club and refused a glass of beer and showed irritation because they had not served it
earlier, he would invite ridicule.

16. What was the truth about Mr George Pearson that hurt him the most?
Answer: Mrs Pearson told George that that he was one of the standing jokes in the club.
He was called ‘Pompy-ompy Pearson’ because they thought that he was slow and
pompous. She was surprised that he spent so much time at a place where people
always ridiculed him, leaving his wife at home.

17. What was Mrs Fitzgerald’s reaction to Mrs Pearson shouting at Cyril? Why?
Answer: Mrs Fitzgerald was in reality Mrs Pearson, so when she saw Mrs Pearson (the
real Mrs Fitzgerald) shouting at Cyril, she protested as she was actually Cyril’s mother.
But Mrs Pearson told her not to interfere.

18. What were the two slips that could have let out the real identity of Mrs Fitzgerald?
Answer: Mrs Fitzgerald, in her nervousness, addresses Mr Pearson, as George. Mr
Pearson is surprised to be called thus, but Mrs Pearson covers up for Mrs Fitzgerald.
Later, when Mrs Fitzgerald attempts to slap George, following an argument, the real Mrs
Pearson exclaims and calls out to her, ‘Mrs Fitzgerald’, which confuses George.

19. How was the experience for the two women after the change of bodies?
Answer: The real Mrs Pearson (now Mrs Fitzgerald) had not enjoyed the experience as
she had seen her family being treated roughly and rudely by Mrs Fitzgerald. On the other
hand, Mrs Fitzgerald had enjoyed the experience, as she had been able to teach
Doris,Cyril and George Pearson a lesson to value Mrs Pearson.

20. What was Mrs Fitzgerald’s advice to Mrs Pearson after she had put back the family
members in their proper place?
Answer: Mrs Fitzgerald advised Mrs Pearson not to be soft and waste all the effort she
had put in to change the attitude of her family for the better. Mrs Pearson is unsure how
she would explain her behaviour. But Mrs Fitzgerald warns her not to yield.

21. What was the change that came over the Pearson family in the end?
Answer: When Mrs Fitzgerald left, Mrs Pearson’s family was relieved to see her smile.
Mrs Pearson decides to stay home for a family game of rummy, and have the children
prepare dinner. They readily agree and gather around Mrs Pearson as the play ends.