English (Core) · Ch 13 — The Address
Summary
Summary
- Author: Marga Minco, a Dutch writer and the only survivor of her Jewish family in the Second World War.
- Context: Post-War Holland. During the War, the narrator's mother gave the family's valuables to an acquaintance, Mrs Dorling (Number 46, Marconi Street), to "keep them safe."
- Plot: After the War, the surviving daughter goes to reclaim the belongings. Mrs Dorling coldly denies knowing her ("I thought that no one had come back"). On a second visit, Mrs Dorling's teenage daughter lets her in, where she sees all her mother's things crammed into an ugly, oppressive room. Overwhelmed, she leaves and resolves to forget the address.
- Key characters: the sensitive, resilient narrator; the greedy, dishonest Mrs Dorling; her friendly but ignorant daughter; the trusting, generous mother (in flashback).
- Themes: the aftermath and human cost of war; loss, memory and belongings; alienation from the familiar; human greed versus generosity; moving on. …