The Address CBSE Class 11 Notes and Summary

Have you ever lost something or someone so important that even going back to the past feels painful? The chapter “The Address” by Marga Minco is a touching story about loss, memories, and moving on after a terrible war.

This story helps us understand what people went through after World War II, how they lost their homes, their families, and even their sense of belonging. It shows how hard it is to return to the past and how sometimes, the things we once loved don’t feel the same anymore.

To score well in your English exam, you need to understand the story deeply, its summary, themes, message, and character emotions. That’s why we’ve prepared these easy notes to help you revise with confidence and clarity.

Let’s go through the chapter, understand what the author wants to say, and see how this story connects with real-life experiences of loss and healing.

The Address Short Summary

The Address by Marga Minco is a moving short story set in the aftermath of World War II. It captures the trauma of war, the struggle for survival, and the painful experiences of people who lost their homes, belongings, and loved ones. The story is narrated from the perspective of a young girl who visits the house of an old acquaintance to reclaim her family’s possessions.

• The Visit to Mrs. Dorling’s House

The narrator recalls visiting Mrs. Dorling’s house, who was an old acquaintance of her mother. During the war, Mrs. Dorling had offered to keep the narrator’s mother’s valuable possessions safe. She had taken away their belongings, promising to return them after the war.
When the narrator visits her after the war, Mrs. Dorling does not let her inside the house and behaves coldly, as if she did not know her well.

• The Memories of the Past

The narrator remembers how Mrs. Dorling used to come frequently to their home during the war and take away their belongings in the name of safety. Her mother trusted Mrs. Dorling, although the narrator always felt suspicious and uneasy about her frequent visits.

• The Narrator’s Second Visit

Not satisfied, the narrator goes to Mrs. Dorling’s house once again. This time, Mrs. Dorling is not at home, but her daughter opens the door. The narrator gets a chance to enter the house. She sees all her mother’s belongings, the silverware, antique plates, cutlery, tablecloths, and furniture but instead of comfort, they only remind her of her painful past.

• Realisation and Disconnection

The narrator feels suffocated and overwhelmed seeing her family’s possessions in an unfamiliar setting. The objects that once gave warmth and comfort now appear lifeless and strange. She realises that reclaiming those items cannot bring back her lost family, her old home, or her past life. The war had taken away much more than material possessions—it had stolen her peace, relationships, and happiness.

• Conclusion of the story

The narrator leaves the house without taking anything back. She understands that there is no point in holding on to the objects from her past, as they cannot restore what she has truly lost. The story ends on a note of acceptance and detachment, highlighting the deep scars left by war and the futility of clinging to material possessions when life itself has been torn apart.

Character Sketches (Narrator, Mother, Mrs Dorling, Daughter)

The Address by Marga Minco is a moving story that explores the emotional aftermath of war through a few key characters. Each character plays a significant role in portraying themes like loss, betrayal, and the struggle to let go of the past. 

Let us study a brief analysis of the main characters in the story.

1. The Narrator (Unnamed Daughter)

The narrator is a young Jewish girl who returns home after surviving World War II and the Holocaust. Her name is never mentioned, which reflects the anonymity and displacement that many war survivors faced.

Traits:

• Sensitive and Reflective: She experiences deep emotional pain while revisiting her past. She is not materialistic, and she processes everything inwardly.
• Mature and Courageous: Despite the trauma of war, she makes a brave journey back to her old neighborhood.
• Emotionally Detached: Though she sees her mother’s belongings again, they feel unfamiliar. She realizes that retrieving material possessions can’t bring back the emotions or people attached to them.
• Resilient and Wise: In the end, she decides to move on with her life rather than cling to the painful past.

Role in the Story

She is both the protagonist and the narrator. Through her perspective, the reader experiences the emotional aftermath of war. Her journey symbolizes the internal struggle between memory and moving forward.

2. Mrs. Dorling

Mrs. Dorling is an old acquaintance of the narrator’s mother who was entrusted with the family’s valuables during the Nazi occupation.

Traits

• Secretive and Cold: When the narrator visits, Mrs. Dorling pretends not to recognize her and refuses to engage.
• Possessive and Opportunistic: She appears to have kept and used the family’s belongings for herself rather than returning them.
• Morally Ambiguous: While she may have initially taken the items to “protect” them, her refusal to return them shows a selfish and insensitive nature.

Role in the Story

Mrs. Dorling represents the betrayal and insensitivity some people displayed during wartime. She contrasts sharply with the narrator’s sense of emotional loss, showing how some profited while others suffered.

3. Mrs Dorling’s Daughter

She symbolizes innocence, unaware of the painful history of the belongings.

Traits

• Naive and Innocent: She has no knowledge of the belongings’ true origin or the narrator’s suffering.
• Polite but Detached: She welcomes the narrator in without hostility, but there’s no emotional connection.

Role in the Story

She highlights the generational gap and the disconnection between those who lived through the trauma and those who didn’t. Her presence reinforces the narrator’s realization that the objects now belong to a different world.

4. The Narrator’s Mother (in Memory)

She represents trust and misplaced hope during the war, highlighting human vulnerability in crisis.

Traits

• Trusting and Hopeful: She believed Mrs. Dorling would keep their belongings safe and return them.
• Protective: Her actions show a mother trying to save whatever she can for her family.

Role in the Story

Though not present in the narrative physically, she plays a vital role through memories. She represents the lost warmth of home and the tragic consequences of war.

‍Line by Line Explanation of the Story

Let us now go through the story part by part.

• From “Do you still know me?’ I asked…” to “…she half hid herself again behind the door. But I knew now that I was right.”

The narrator visits Mrs. Dorling’s house and introduces herself as Mrs. S’s daughter. Mrs. Dorling pretends not to recognize her and tries to shut her out. The narrator notices that Mrs. Dorling is wearing her mother’s green cardigan, which confirms her identity. This shows Mrs. Dorling’s dishonesty and unwillingness to acknowledge her past connection with the narrator’s mother.

• From “‘Well, you knew my mother?’ I asked…” to “…And on the jamb, a bit higher, the number. Number 46.”

Mrs. Dorling admits that she did not expect anyone from the narrator’s family to return after the war. She refuses to let the narrator in and closes the door politely but firmly. Someone peers from inside, showing her secretive behavior. The narrator checks the nameplate and address Number 46, Marconi Street and confirms that this was indeed the place her mother had once mentioned.

• From “As I walked slowly back to the station…” to “…She wanted to save all my nice things. If we have to leave here we shall lose everything, she says.”

The narrator recalls how, during the war, she had noticed things disappearing from her home. Her mother explained that Mrs. Dorling, an old acquaintance, had been taking their valuable items for safekeeping. She even insisted on taking silver, antique plates, and crockery. The mother trusted her completely, believing Mrs. Dorling was doing them a favor.

• From “Have you agreed with her that she should keep everything?’ I asked…” to “…she looked at me reprovingly and after that we spoke no more about it.”

The narrator had doubts about Mrs. Dorling’s intentions and asked if her mother had formally agreed to this arrangement. The mother found the question insulting and scolded her. This shows the blind trust her mother placed in Mrs. Dorling, ignoring her daughter’s suspicions.

• From “Meanwhile I had arrived at the station…” to “…I wanted to see them, touch, remember.”

After the war ended, the narrator initially avoided visiting Mrs. Dorling’s house. She was afraid of confronting her past and being reminded of things associated with her lost family. But as life slowly normalized, curiosity overcame her, and she decided to see those belongings again.

• From “After my first visit in vain…” to “…but I scarcely dared to look around me.”

On her second visit, Mrs. Dorling is not at home, but her daughter lets the narrator inside. The narrator sees her family’s belongings all around the room. However, instead of bringing comfort, the objects feel strange and suffocating in the tasteless, alien environment. They no longer hold the same warmth as before.

• From “The girl moved a chair…” to “…I didn’t know the cutlery we ate off every day was silver.”

The narrator touches objects like the tablecloth with a burn mark and recalls memories of her mother and home. She remembers polishing silver and laughing conversations, but these memories now sound unnatural in the strange setting. The connection between the objects and her past life feels broken.

• From “The girl laughed again…” to “…I resolved to forget the address. Of all the things I had to forget, that would be the easiest.”

The girl proudly shows off the possessions, treating them as ordinary items. For the narrator, however, they only deepen her pain. She suddenly leaves, realizing that these objects have lost meaning outside their original home. They cannot bring back her mother or her lost life. She decides never to return to the address and chooses to forget it, as forgetting the objects is easier than bearing the pain they carry.

Themes of the Story

This is a powerful story that touches on the emotional aftermath of war and personal loss. Through a simple narrative, the story explores deep themes that reflect the pain of memory, the struggle to reclaim the past, and the importance of moving on.

1. Impact of War

The story explores the emotional and material devastation caused by war. The narrator returns to a changed world where nothing feels familiar, highlighting the deep scars left by conflict especially on survivors of the Holocaust.

2. Memory and the Past

Memories play a central role in the narrator’s journey. The belongings she sees remind her of the past, but they feel strange and disconnected. The story shows how memories can be painful and how the past, once lost, cannot truly be reclaimed.

3. Loss and Displacement

The narrator has lost her family, home, and identity. She feels out of place in what was once her own world. This theme emphasizes how war uproots people not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well.

4. Betrayal and Selfishness

Mrs. Dorling, who was once trusted by the narrator’s mother, turns out to be selfish and unkind. Her refusal to return the family’s belongings shows how some people took advantage of others during difficult times.

5. Letting Go and Moving On

In the end, the narrator chooses not to take back her belongings. This shows emotional strength and the realization that healing sometimes means letting go of the past rather than holding on to it through material things.

Conclusion

“The Address” is a story about emotions, memories, and the courage to move forward. Through the narrator’s journey, we learn that sometimes letting go is the only way to heal. The past can be painful, and even though we may want to hold on to it, it’s not always possible.

This chapter teaches us to value people more than possessions and reminds us of the emotional scars that war leaves behind. It also shows the strength it takes to accept change and find peace.

Now that you’ve gone through the summary, key points, and themes, we hope you feel more confident about the chapter.

FAQs

Q1. “Have you come back? I thought that no one had come back.” What does this reveal about the story?

Ans. It reflects Mrs Dorling’s shock that any member of the narrator’s family survived the war. It hints at the loss of most of the narrator’s family and sets the tone of despair and survival.

Q2. What hardships did the narrator face during and after the war?

Ans. She lost her family, home, and sense of belonging during the Holocaust. After the war, she suffered emotional pain when revisiting her past, realizing her possessions could not bring back her loved ones.

Q3. Why did the narrator finally resolve to forget the address?

Ans. She realized that objects tied to memory lose their meaning when placed in strange surroundings. Instead of comfort, they brought her pain, so she chose to let go and move on

Q4. Comment: “The Address is a story of human predicament after war.”

Ans. The story shows how war destroys families, homes, and trust. It portrays betrayal (Mrs Dorling), loss (the narrator’s family), and the struggle to heal by letting go of the past.