EnglishCBSE Class 11 · The Address

The Address (Marga Minco): The Narrator and Mrs Dorling, Class 11

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In The Address the narrator is a young Jewish woman who returns after the war to reclaim her mother's things from Mrs Dorling. Mrs Dorling is evasive and, it is hinted, greedy: she wears the mother's cardigan and has made the objects her own. The narrator, shaken to see familiar things in a strange, tasteless room, leaves and decides to forget the address and move on.

Notice that Mrs Dorling's guilt is inferred from small clues like the cardigan and her words, while the narrator ends by choosing to move on.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained

Two women, two attitudes. The story is told in the first person by the daughter of Mrs S. Her mood changes across the story: afraid of the stored things at first, then curious, then oppressed, and finally resolved to let go. Mrs Dorling is shown only through small details. She opens the door, does not know the visitor, wears the green knitted cardigan, says "I thought that no one had come back" and closes the door. The cardigan is the proof that the narrator has come to the right house.

Reading Mrs Dorling. The author never calls her a thief. She was trusted by the mother, who gave her the silver, plates and vases for safekeeping. After the war she acts as if the things were hers. Her unease at the sentence about "no one" coming back suggests she did not expect the family to return. A good answer gives this as an inference from the details, not as a stated fact.

The objects. The woollen tablecloth with the old burn mark, the white teapot with a gold border, the box of spoons and the still life with the apple on a pewter plate were part of a real family life. In Mrs Dorling's ugly room they feel out of place, so the narrator feels she is in a room she "knew and did not know".

The ending. The narrator walks away when the girl goes to check whether the cutlery is silver. She resolves to forget the address, because holding on to things from a lost life would keep her tied to the past. Her decision is not defeat; it is a way of moving forward. Neighbouring topics (summary and war background) are on the chapter page.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

I thought that no one had come back.
Mrs Dorling: Said at the door on the first visit.
Hints that she did not expect the family to return and the narrator's family did not survive.
I was in a room I knew and did not know.
Narrator: Inside Mrs Dorling's living room.
Shows familiar objects made strange by their new surroundings.
I resolved to forget the address.
Narrator: At the end of the story.
Her decision to let go of the past and move on.

The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained: key facts

Clue to evidence: Trait
Detail from the text
What it shows; Never state a trait without a detail such as the green cardigan.
Two visits: Visit 1: refused at the door | Visit 2: let in by the daughter; Use this to organise a 6-mark answer.
Inference marker: suggests
hints
implies; Use when the author does not state a fact outright.

How to answer The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained questions

Use this for any question on the narrator's feelings or Mrs Dorling's nature.

1State who the character is and the situation in one line.
2Give two or three details from the story as evidence.
3Explain what each detail shows, using words such as "suggests".
4Link to the theme: loss, war, objects and memory.
5End with the narrator's decision and what it means.

The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Objects out of place

Suppose a family's old wall clock is given to a neighbour for repairs and, years later, hangs in the neighbour's shop with a new price tag. The family member who sees it feels the clock is no longer theirs.

Which feeling of the narrator in The Address does this match, and why?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The clock is the same but its setting has changed.
The narrator also sees her mother's things in a strange room.
Both feel the object has lost its meaning.

Answer: It matches the narrator's sense of being in a room she knew and did not know. An object tied to a loved life loses its meaning when seen in a stranger's surroundings.

Memory hook: Same thing, changed place, changed meaning.

Tricks to remember The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

C-C-D-D
Cardigan, Closed door, Daughter, Decision.
Use it when: The sequence of the story's key moments.
Know and not know
The room is known (objects) and not known (setting).
Use it when: The narrator's feeling in the living room.

The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The giveaway · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

What made the narrator sure she had reached the right house even though Mrs Dorling said she did not know her?
(a) the number on the door (b) the green knitted cardigan Mrs Dorling wore (c) the teapot (d) the daughter's voice

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The cardigan was her mother's, so it was proof (1 mark).

Answer: (b)

Example 2: Why she hesitates at first · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Why was the narrator at first not interested in the things her mother had given away for safekeeping? Answer in 30-40 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

She was afraid of them and wanted to rebuild her life (1).
They reminded her of the loss (1).
Only later did curiosity make her go (1).

Answer: After the Liberation the narrator was afraid of those belongings and not interested in them, because they recalled her lost family. Only when life became normal did curiosity grow and she decided to visit the address.

Example 3: Greed or fear? · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Mrs Dorling never says anything cruel, yet readers feel uneasy about her. Using two details from the story, explain how the author creates this impression. (40-50 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Detail 1: she wears the cardigan and pretends not to know the visitor (1).
Detail 2: "I thought that no one had come back" shows she did not expect them (1).
Inference: the author hints, and does not state, her greed (1).

Answer: The author lets small details speak. Mrs Dorling wears the mother's cardigan yet claims not to know the visitor, and says she thought no one had come back. These hints suggest she treated the goods as her own, without the author calling her greedy.

Example 4: Objects and memory · 6 marks · Long answerHarder board level

"Objects only have meaning in the setting where they belong." Do you agree, with reference to the second visit? (120-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Introduce the claim and the second visit (1).
Describe at least three objects: tablecloth with burn mark, teapot, spoons, still life (2).
Explain how the ugly room changes them (1).
Link to the girl checking if the cutlery is silver, which turns them into goods (1).
Conclude with the decision to forget the address (1).

Answer: I agree with the statement, and the second visit proves it. In her mother's house the woollen tablecloth with its old burn mark, the white teapot with its gold border, the spoons and the still life of the apple on a pewter plate belonged to a family. In Mrs Dorling's tasteless living room they lose that meaning, so the narrator feels she is in a room she knew and did not know. When the daughter goes to check whether the cutlery is silver, the objects become mere valuables. The narrator therefore leaves without waiting and resolves to forget the address. She understands that holding on to objects in the wrong place would keep her tied to a lost life, so letting go is a way of moving on. The story shows that memory lives in the family, not in the things.

Example 5: Read the extract · 4 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency

Read: "I was in a room I knew and did not know."
(i) Who is the speaker? (ii) Which room is it? (iii) What is known? (iv) What is not known? Answer each in one line.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) The narrator (1).
(ii) Mrs Dorling's living room (1).
(iii) Her mother's belongings (1).
(iv) The ugly, strange surroundings in which they now stand (1).

Answer: (i) The narrator. (ii) Mrs Dorling's living room at Number 46. (iii) The tablecloth, teapot, spoons and still life. (iv) The ugly room that now holds them.

Where students lose marks in The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Calling Mrs Dorling a thief
The text only hints.
Wrong working
Mrs Dorling is a thief who stole everything.
Right working
The details suggest she treated the things as her own; the author does not call her a thief.
Do this: Use "suggests" and quote the cardigan and the "no one had come back" line.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks of 6.
Mistake: Missing the second visit
The decision depends on it.
Wrong working
The narrator went once and left.
Right working
She visits twice; on the second the daughter lets her in and she sees the objects.
Do this: Mention both visits in a long answer.
Usually costs: 2 marks of 6.
Mistake: Retelling only
Character questions need analysis.
Wrong working
Listing events in order.
Right working
Pick details and explain what each shows about the person or theme.
Do this: Add one "this shows" sentence for every event.
Usually costs: 2 to 3 marks of 6.

Exam tips

Support every trait with a detail from the story.
Use "suggests" or "hints" where the author does not state a fact.
Mention the green cardigan and the "no one had come back" line, which the examiner expects.
Close a long answer with the narrator's decision.
Keep a 3-mark answer to about 40-50 words and a 6-mark answer to 120-150 words.

Practice questions on The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Whose address did the mother give the narrator to remember?
(a) the relative's (b) Mrs Dorling's (c) the Liberation office (d) a school friend's
Hint
The woman who took the silver.
Answer
(b)
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why does the narrator leave when the girl goes to check whether the cutlery is silver? (40-50 words)
Hint
Think of what the check turns the objects into.
Answer
The check turns her mother's belongings into goods with a price. The narrator, who already feels the objects are out of place, cannot bear it and leaves, deciding to forget the address.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why might the author have named the story The Address instead of a title about Mrs Dorling? (40-50 words)
Hint
The address is both a place and a memory.
Answer
The address holds the whole story: the mother's trust, the stored things, the two visits and the final decision to forget. It stands for the past the narrator must let go, so it carries more meaning than a character's name.
Q4 · 6 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Compare the narrator's two visits to Number 46 and say how her attitude changes. (120-150 words)
Hint
Give one paragraph on each visit and one on the decision.
Answer
On the first visit Mrs Dorling opens the door, says she does not know her and closes it, though she wears the mother's green cardigan. The narrator is hurt but sure of the house. On the second visit the daughter lets her in and she sees the tablecloth, teapot, spoons and still life in a tasteless room. Her feeling changes from anxious curiosity to oppression, because the objects seem to have lost their meaning. When the girl checks whether the cutlery is silver, she leaves. Her attitude changes from wanting to reclaim the past to deciding to forget the address. She realises that holding on to things in a stranger's house would keep her bound to loss. Leaving is her way of moving ahead with her life.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
"Of all the things I had to forget, that would be the easiest." Explain the irony of this remark in the context of the story. (40-50 words)
Hint
The narrator has far greater losses than an address.
Answer
The remark is ironic because the narrator has lost her family and her home, which she can never forget. By comparison, a mere address, linked to objects, seems easy. It shows how heavy her loss is and how small the address is next to it.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote The Address?Show answer
Marga Minco.
2.At which number and street did Mrs Dorling live?Show answer
Number 46, Marconi Street.
3.What did Mrs Dorling wear that the narrator recognised?Show answer
Her mother's green knitted cardigan.
4.Who lets the narrator in on the second visit?Show answer
Mrs Dorling's daughter.
5.What does the narrator decide at the end?Show answer
To forget the address.

The Address: The Narrator and Mrs Dorling Explained: frequently asked questions

Is Mrs Dorling a villain?

The author does not say so. The details suggest she kept the goods as her own, but the story focuses on the narrator's feelings.

What does the cardigan stand for?

It is the proof of the right house and a sign that the mother's things became Mrs Dorling's.

Why does the narrator not take her things back?

In that strange room they no longer feel like hers, and holding on would keep her tied to a lost life.