Ch 2 The Address Summary Class 11 Snapshots by Marga Minco

You will find The Address Summary here that will be helpful in understanding the story and scoring good marks in the examinations as well. It is an emotional story which details how war affects human lives. It narrates how a daughter goes in search of her mother’s belongings after the War, in Holland. The story is written by Marga Minco, a Dutch novelist. You can also view The Address Hindi Summary if you want detail insights.

Ch 2 The Address Summary Class 11 Snapshots

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.

You can also check NCERT Solutions of The Address
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