Back to: CBSE Class 11th English Summary
Table of Contents
The Door
The narrator asked the woman if she still knew her, and she denied it. The narrator introduced herself as Mrs. S’s daughter, but the lady on the other side of the door was silent. For a moment, the narrator pondered if she had knocked on the wrong door.
Perhaps it was not the woman she was looking for, but that woman wore her mother’s green knitted cardigan. She had opened the door, and a musty smell hit her olfactory lobe. The narrator wanted to talk to that lady.
A Dull Atmosphere
The lady refused to talk and closed the door. The narrator saw someone staring at her from inside the house. She rechecked the nameplate of the house, and it had Dorling written on it. As she walked back to the station, she thought about her mother.
Before the war, her mother gave her the address of Mrs. Dorling, an old acquaintance of her mother. After she returned home, the narrator noticed some changed in the rooms.
Number 46!
Mrs. Dorling took away something from the narrator’s house every time she visited her. Mrs. S was silent as it was Mrs. Dorling’s idea to shift the narrator’s mother’s possessions to her own house to keep them safe. The narrator had arrived at the station.
The narrator remembered how her mother introduced her to Mrs. Dorling for the first time. She had a broad back. She remembered the way Mrs. Dorling picked up the briefcase back then.
She asked her mother about her address, and she told him that Mrs. Dorling lived in Marconi Street, Number 46.
The Urge
Initially, the narrator was not interested in going to Mrs. Dorling’s house and find things that had such an old connection that no longer existed. Also, these things were hidden away in cupboards and boxes.
However, as time passed by, she had developed an urge to go and check the possessions. After trying once, she decided to go to that address for a second time.
No Strings Attached
After she knocked, a girl of about fifteen opened the door. The narrator asked for Mrs. Dorling, and as she was busy, the narrator decided to wait for her. As she followed the girl, she came across a candle-holder. As she entered the living room, she saw everything poorly arranged.
The girl asked her for a cup of tea. The girl put the teacup on the table. Everything was known and familiar to the narrator. She saw spoons lying and at once went into the past when her mother would ask her to help her clean the silver spoons.
No Feelings
She stood up and exited the house. She read the address once again and wanted to forget it. All the objects had no value to her. Because they were detached from her mother and were placed in strange surroundings, she did not want to awaken the feelings of war and her mother’s memories.
