The Address – Notes

About the Author

• Marga Minco (1920–2019) – Dutch writer and journalist.
• Survivor of the Holocaust; most of her works deal with the trauma of war, memory, and loss.
• Her stories often highlight the struggles of Jewish people during and after World War II.

Summary of the Story

• The narrator, a young Jewish woman, returns to her homeland after the Second World War.
• She visits Number 46, Marconi Street, looking for the house of a woman who has some of her family’s possessions.
• That woman is Mrs Dorling, an acquaintance of her mother.
• During the war, Mrs Dorling had persuaded the narrator’s mother to hand over their precious household belongings for “safekeeping.”
• At the door, Mrs Dorling does not invite the narrator inside and behaves coldly.
• The narrator remembers how her mother had trusted Mrs Dorling, though she herself had doubts.
• Later, the narrator makes a second attempt and is welcomed by Mrs Dorling’s daughter.
• Inside, she sees her family’s belongings — silverware, antique plates, cutlery, chairs, and a tablecloth — all arranged awkwardly, without warmth or memory.
• She realises that though these objects were once part of her life, they have lost their meaning after the destruction of her family and home.
• She leaves without claiming them, deciding not to return.

Themes

1. Loss and Memory
   • The war has destroyed families and homes, leaving survivors with only memories.
   • Objects of the past cannot bring back loved ones.
2. War and Its Aftermath
   • The Holocaust displaced millions.
   • Survivors often faced betrayal from those they trusted.
3. Identity and Displacement
   • The narrator feels disconnected from her past.
   • The material possessions now seem alien without emotional context.
4. Betrayal and Trust
   • Mrs Dorling symbolises betrayal—pretending to “save” belongings but keeping them for herself.
5. Letting Go
   • The narrator realises that clinging to material possessions only prolongs grief.
   • True survival lies in moving forward.

Character Sketches

The Narrator

• Sensitive, observant, and deeply affected by war.
• Values emotional connections over material wealth.
• Represents Holocaust survivors who struggled to rebuild their lives.

Mrs Dorling

• Practical, selfish, opportunistic.
• Symbol of betrayal—uses the war as an excuse to take advantage of others.
• Lacks compassion or guilt.

Mrs Dorling’s Daughter

• Innocent, unaware of the moral weight of the possessions in her house.
• Represents the younger generation who do not understand the past.

Symbolism

• Household Objects (silverware, tablecloth, plates):
  • Represent the narrator’s lost home and family.
  • Their presence in a strange house strips them of meaning.
• The Address (46 Marconi Street):
  • Symbol of betrayal and disillusionment.
  • Becomes a place of rejection, not belonging.

Style of Writing

• First-person narration.
• Subtle, restrained, and emotional.
• Focus on memory, flashbacks, and contrasts between past warmth and present emptiness.

Value Points for Exams

• The Address is about war, memory, loss, and letting go.
• Narrator realises objects lose meaning without people.
• Betrayal during wartime highlights moral decline.
• Ending shows narrator’s strength to move on instead of clinging to material past.