The Portrait Of A Lady Chapter Notes (CBSE Class 11 English)

Three Phases of the Relationship

1. Phase 1: Village Life - Complete Dependence and Companionship —
2. Phase 2: City Life - The Turning Point —
3. Phase 3: University & Abroad - Resigned Acceptance —

Character Sketch of the Grandmother

The grandmother is the central figure of the story, a 'portrait' of love, piety, and resilience. Physically, the author describes her as short, fat, and slightly bent, with a face that was a criss-cross of wrinkles. He found it hard to believe she was ever 'young and pretty'. Her white clothes and silver locks gave her an aura of an 'expanse of pure white serenity'. Spiritually, she was deeply pious and religious. Her life revolved around her prayers, telling the beads of her rosary, and reading scriptures. She was a woman of strong values, disapproving of the modern, secular education of the city school. Emotionally, she was a figure of unconditional love and quiet strength. Though she felt the pain of separation from her grandson, she accepted it with stoic resignation. She rarely showed her emotions, but her actions, like feeding the sparrows, revealed her compassionate nature. Her death, and the sparrows' silent mourning, elevates her to an almost saintly status.

Must Remember: Key Plot Points & Symbols

• The Grandmother's Appearance: Described as old, wrinkled, short, fat, and slightly bent. Always dressed in a spotless white sari.
• Daily Routine in the Village: Waking the author, bathing him, plastering his wooden slate, and walking him to the temple school.
• The Turning Point: Moving to the city, which led to the erosion of their close bond due to changes in schooling and lifestyle.
• The Sparrows: A crucial symbol. Feeding them became her sole happy activity in the city, representing her connection to nature and her capacity for love when human connection faded.
• Reaction to Music: She considered music to be the monopoly of 'harlots and beggars', showing her traditional mindset.
• The Author's Departure: When he went abroad, she showed no emotion but kissed his forehead, a cherished 'moist imprint'.
• The Final Hours: On the eve of her death, she stopped praying for the first time, collected women, and sang songs of the homecoming of warriors.
• The Sparrows' Mourning: The sparrows gathered silently around her body and flew away without eating the bread crumbs offered, signifying their genuine grief.

Key Terms & Phrases

An expanse of pure white serenity

A metaphor used to describe the grandmother's calm, peaceful, and spiritual personality, reflected in her white hair and white clothes.

The turning-point

Refers to the moment the author and his grandmother moved to the city, which marked the beginning of the decline in their close friendship.

Frivolous rebukes

Light-hearted, playful scoldings. The grandmother used to scold the sparrows in this manner when they sat on her.

Veritable bedlam of chirrupings

Describes the chaotic, noisy, and happy sounds made by the sparrows when the grandmother fed them. 'Bedlam' means a scene of uproar and confusion.

Accepted her seclusion with resignation

Means the grandmother calmly accepted her loneliness and isolation without complaining when the author got his own room for higher studies.

The moist imprint

The last physical contact the author had with his grandmother; the feeling of her kiss on his forehead which he cherished.

Dilapidated drum

An old, worn-out drum which the grandmother played to celebrate the author's return from abroad.

Grandmother's Life: Village vs. City

Exam Writing Tip

For questions on the grandmother's character, structure your answer around her key traits: pious, traditional, loving, and resilient. Use specific examples from the text for each trait. For instance, mention her disapproval of the English school to show she was traditional, and her silent acceptance of seclusion to highlight her resilience. The symbolism of the sparrows is a high-scoring point; always mention how they reflect her inner world and how their mourning signifies the purity of her soul.

Quick Revision Check

• What was the 'turning-point' in the author's relationship with his grandmother? Their move from the village to the city. They still shared a room, but she could no longer accompany him to school or help with his modern education, which weakened their bond.
• How did the grandmother spend her time in the city? From sunrise to sunset, she sat by her spinning wheel, reciting prayers. Her happiest half-hour was in the afternoon when she fed the sparrows.
• What was unusual about the way the grandmother died? She had an intuition about her impending death. She stopped talking to her family and spent her last hours praying and telling her beads. The day before, she had uncharacteristically stopped praying to sing and beat a drum.
• How did the sparrows mourn her death? Thousands of sparrows sat scattered silently around her body in the verandah. They did not chirrup and ignored the bread crumbs thrown to them by the author's mother. They flew away quietly after the body was taken for cremation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions