THE ADDRESS

AUTHOR - MARGO MINCO

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“THE ADDRESS” is a short story written by "MARGO MINCO” a re owned

Dutch author and Journalist born on a March 31, 1920, in the
Netherlands.
She was best known for her autobiographical novel Address" she Bitter
herbs and her short story the address. She was born in Ginneken to an
Orthodox Jewish family and survived the Holocaust by going into hiding
she experienced the hand-ships and tragedian of world war II . which
heavily influenced her literary works. Her writing often explores themes
loss, memory and the impact of war on individuals and families. In this
story also Minco wrote about Young Jewish girl who returns to her
hometown in Netherland, after world war II.
 CHARACTER SKETCH

[Link]:- Sensitive and emotional Visits Mrs. Dorling to reclaim her

mother’s belongings.
Realizes memories matter more than objects.
2. Mrs. Dorling:-Selfish and greedy.
Took away Mrs. S’s things in wartime.
Cold and unwelcoming to the narrator.
3. Mrs. S:- Kind and trusting.
Allowed Mrs. Dorling to keep her belongings.
Symbol of love and warmth.
 SUMMARY
The narrator is the daughter of Mrs S. who went to her native place after the
war in search of her mother's belongings after her mother's death. She rang
the bell of House Number 46 in Marconi Street in search of Mrs Dorling who
was an old acquaintance of her mother. A woman opened the door. The
woman was wearing her mother's green knitted cardigan thus, narrator knew
she was the right person. She asked the woman whether she knew her
mother. The woman did not denied but the woman cautiously closed the door
despite narrator wanted to talk to her for sometime. The narrator left the
place after sometime The story goes into flashback when her mother was
alive and her own country Holland was in midst of war. Her mother had
provided the address years ago during the war. She went to home for few
days. She could find that various things were missing. Her mother informed
her about Mrs Dorling who happened to be an old acquaintance of the
narrator's mother. Mrs S told her about Mrs Dorling who had taken away all
the vases, antique plates, crockery as she promised to keep all those nice
things safely. Every time she left their house she took something home with
her.
While on the train on the way to home, the narrator remembered how the
next day the narrator saw Mrs Dorling going out of their house with a heavy
suitcase. She had a brief glimpse of Mrs Dorling's face and saw her broad
back. She asked her mother whether the woman lived far away. At that time
the narrator's mother told about the address: Number 46, Marconi Street.
After the war of liberation had come to an end, the narrator returned to her
city. After the first failed visit, the narrator decided to go once again. This
time, Mrs Dorling's 15-year-old daughter opened the door to her. Since her
mother was away, the narrator decided to wait for her. She followed the girl
along the passage. She saw an old fashioned iron candle holder hanging next
to a mirror. She was taken to the living room. She found herself in the midst
of things which she wanted to see. But she was pained to see them arranged
in a tasteless way. She sat down at a table and noticed that the table cloth
was hers. It had a burn mark to the edge, left unrepaired by her mother.
• The girl offered her tea from a white pot which had a gold border on the lid.
She opened a box and took some spoons out. All those things were a part of
the narrator's mother's belongings. She walked to the side board and
wanted to open a drawer. But the narrator didn't wait to see them. She
started feeling upset. So, she got up, walked to the door to catch her train.
She had lost interest in the things that had been taken away from her house
and put in strange surroundings. She decided to forget the address and
moved on.
 QUESTION AND ANSWERS

[Link] happened when the narrator visited Mrs. Dorling

for the first time?
[Link] did the narrator realise that she was at the right
address?
[Link] did Mrs. Dorling refuse to even talk to
the narrator?
[Link] had the narrator noticed during her visit to her
house during the first half of the war?
[Link] did the narrator's mother tell her about Mrs.
Dorling?
6. What explanation did Mrs. Dorling give for taking the
belongings of Mrs. S?
1 ans:- After the war, the narrator visited Mrs. Dorling for the first
time at Number 46, Marconi Street. But Mrs. Dorling denied
recognising her and showed no intention of returning the belongings
of the narrator's family. Mrs. Dorling did not even talk to her.
2 ans :-The narrator realised that she had come to the right address
when she noticed that Mrs. Dorling was wearing her mother's green
knitted cardigan. Its wooden buttons had gone pale from washing

3 ans:-Mrs. Dorling was selfish and wanted to permanently keep

Mrs. S's valuable possessions. That is why, at the beginning of the
war, she suggested to Mrs. S that she could safely keep the items for
her. In fact, she physically carried them to her house. So, when the
narrator returned, she understood that the narrator had come for
her belongings, so she refused to talk to her.
4 Ans:-During the first half of the war, when the narrator was home
for a few days, it struck her immediately that something had changed
about the rooms. She missed various things like the table cloth,
silver, cutlery, the antique plates that hung in the dining room, some
large
5 vasesnarrator's
ans :-The etc. mother told her that Mrs. Dorling was an old
acquaintance. They had not seen each other for many years but now
she had renewed the relationship and was a frequent visitor at her
mother's place.
6 ans :-Every time Mrs. Dorling visited Mrs. S she took away
something with her. She said that she wanted to save all the things
of Mrs. S by keeping them with her. If somehow they had to leave,
then they would lose everything. Mrs. S willingly agreed to the idea
 NEW WORD
Fleetingly - for a very short time
Musty-stale,wouldy or damp smell
Enamel- referred here as; a type of paint
Jamb- side post or surface of a doorway or window
Hanukkah- a hebrew festival in December, festival of lights
Errand- journey to deliver or collect something
Cumbersome - large or heavy
Lugging - carry or drag
Crick- a painful stiff feeling in neck or back
Crockery - tableware (such as plates, dishes cups etc)
Liberation - setting someone free from imprisonment or oppression
Oppressed - harsh/authoritarian treatment
Black-out paper - material fit in your windows to block light and creat privacy