The Address NCERT Solutions Class 11 PDF Download 2026

Ans: Yes, this statement gives a crucial clue about the story's background. It indicates that the story is set against the backdrop of a tragic event, specifically World War II and the Holocaust in Holland. The woman (Mrs. Dorling) assumed that the narrator and her family, who were likely Jews, had perished in the war or concentration camps. Her shock at seeing the narrator reveals her guilt and her secret hope that the original owners of the valuable antiques would never return to claim them.

Ans:
Pre-war times: The girl lived in constant fear of the war. Her family had to flee their home to save their lives, leaving behind all their precious belongings. She witnessed her mother giving away their heirlooms to a stranger (Mrs. Dorling) out of desperation.
Post-war times: She lost her mother and became a refugee in her own country. She lived alone in a small rented room with shred-like curtains, struggling with the trauma of her past and the loss of her loved ones. The struggle shifted from physical survival to emotional healing.

Ans: The narrator wanted to forget the address (Number 46, Marconi Street) because the objects stored there had lost their true value. When she finally saw her mother's precious things—the silver cutlery, the Hanukkah candlestick, the green knitted cardigan—they were arranged tastelessly in a strange, musty-smelling room by Mrs. Dorling's family. Instead of comforting her, the objects instantly triggered painful memories of her dead mother and her lost past. She realized she couldn't live in the past, so she resolved to forget the address and move on.

Ans: The story perfectly illustrates the devastating aftermath of war. War causes not only physical destruction but also emotional trauma. The narrator loses her mother, her home, and her sense of belonging. The "predicament" is her internal conflict: she desperately wants to reconnect with her past through her mother's belongings, but when she finds them, they only bring her pain. The story shows how war displaces people, destroys human trust (as seen in Mrs. Dorling's betrayal), and leaves survivors with the heavy burden of letting go of their past to survive the present.

Ans: Mrs. Dorling reacted with shock and coldness. She held the door slightly open as if to prevent the narrator from entering. She refused to recognize the narrator initially, but when the narrator noticed her mother's green knitted cardigan on Mrs. Dorling, the woman quickly hid behind the door and dismissed her, saying she had no time.

Ans: The narrator's mother told her that Mrs. Dorling was an old acquaintance who had suddenly renewed their contact. The mother believed Mrs. Dorling was doing them a great favor by risking her own safety to take away their heavy silver and antiques in suitcases every time she visited, to keep them safe from the war.

Ans: The narrator first saw Mrs. Dorling during the first half of the war. She saw a woman with a "broad back" walking out of their house carrying a heavy suitcase. Her mother introduced the woman as Mrs. Dorling from Number 46, Marconi Street.

Ans: Immediately after the war, the narrator was terrified of confronting things that belonged to a connection that no longer existed. She was living in a small, rented room and was afraid that seeing those objects would bring back unbearable memories of her mother and her lost life.

Ans: During the second visit, Mrs. Dorling was not at home. Her 15-year-old daughter opened the door and welcomed the narrator inside. The narrator was finally able to enter the living room and see all her mother's belongings, unlike the first visit where she was turned away at the door.

Ans: The heavy silver Hanukkah candlestick, which originally belonged to the narrator's family, was hanging next to a mirror in Mrs. Dorling's house. The narrator recalled they never used it much because it was too cumbersome to handle.

Ans: Mrs. Dorling is portrayed as an opportunistic, greedy, and insensitive woman. She exploited Mrs. S's fear during the war by offering to "save" her valuable antiques, but her real intention was to steal them. After the war, when the narrator returns, Mrs. Dorling shows no sympathy. She is shocked that the narrator survived and acts highly unwelcoming, refusing to let her in. She is shameless enough to wear Mrs. S's green cardigan and use all the stolen antique plates, silver, and furniture without any guilt, making her a highly negative character.

Ans: When the narrator sat in the living room, she experienced a profound sense of horror and alienation. She was surrounded by objects she had desperately wanted to see—the silver cutlery, the apple tea-pot, the burned table cloth. However, seeing them arranged tastelessly in a strange room with a "muggy smell" completely severed her emotional connection to them. The objects suddenly looked ugly and meaningless. She felt oppressed by the atmosphere and realized that things lose their value when severed from their true owners and surroundings.

Ans: Mrs. S and Mrs. Dorling are complete opposites. Mrs. S is a naive, trusting, and generous woman. She easily believes Mrs. Dorling's false promises of keeping her things safe and even scolds her daughter for doubting the woman's intentions. She represents innocence and vulnerability during the war.
In contrast, Mrs. Dorling is cunning, materialistic, and manipulative. She pretends to be a savior but is actually a thief. While Mrs. S loses her life, Mrs. Dorling thrives on the tragedy of others, enjoying the luxurious items she deceitfully acquired.

Ans: This powerful concluding statement highlights the narrator's decision to break free from the trauma of her past. She had spent years remembering the address—Number 46, Marconi Street. However, upon finding her mother's things, she realizes they only bring grief and belong to a past that cannot be restored. Since she now lives in a small rented room where the heavy silver wouldn't fit anyway, she decides to leave everything behind. Forgetting the address becomes the "easiest" thing because the address no longer holds her mother's love; it only holds stolen, lifeless objects.

Ans: The author uses objects (the silver cutlery, Hanukkah candlestick, green cardigan) as symbols of memory and identity. Before the war, they represented the narrator's happy family life. During the war, they became items of survival and greed (for Mrs. Dorling). After the war, the narrator seeks them out to reconnect with her dead mother. However, she discovers that objects have no intrinsic emotional value; their value comes from the people and the environment they belong to. Without her mother, the objects are just meaningless metal and fabric.

Ans: This paradox describes the narrator's feeling when she enters Mrs. Dorling's living room. She "knew" the room because every object in it (the furniture, the plates, the tablecloth) belonged to her own mother and her childhood home. However, she "did not know" the room because these familiar objects were arranged in an unfamiliar, tasteless manner in a stranger's house with a strange smell, making her feel completely alienated.

Ans: The narrator knew it belonged to her family because she remembered there was a burn mark on the edge of the woolen tablecloth that had never been repaired. When she rubbed her fingers on the edge in Mrs. Dorling's house, she found that exact burn mark.

Ans: The 15-year-old daughter was pouring tea from a white pot with a gold border into teacups. She offered a cup of tea to the narrator, completely unaware that the teapot, the cups, and the spoons they were using actually belonged to the narrator's family.

Ans: The narrator suddenly felt oppressed by the room and the memories it brought back. She looked at her watch and realized she had to catch her train. More importantly, she had made her decision to let go of the past and didn't want to face the woman who had stolen her mother's things.