The Address
By Marga Minco • Memories vs. Materialism
Set in post-WWII Holland, the story follows a young Jewish woman who returns to Marconi Street, Number 46. Her goal is to reclaim the precious belongings her mother (Mrs. S) had entrusted to an acquaintance, Mrs. Dorling, before the war to save them from the Nazis.
Mrs. Dorling is the antagonist. During the war, she acted as a "savior" by taking the family's silver, antiques, and furniture. After the war, she refuses to recognize the daughter and treats the items as her own. Her behavior is cold, manipulative, and devoid of empathy.
The narrator realizes that objects derive their value from the people and environment they belong to. In Mrs. Dorling's house, her mother's things are just "things." She decides to leave them behind and forget the address. Reclaiming them would not bring back her dead mother or her lost past.
- Post-War Trauma: The difficulty of moving on after immense loss.
- Sentimental Value: How memories are tied to physical objects.
- Detachment: The psychological choice to let go of the past to survive the present.
Extract Qs - The Lost Identity
[ WAR SURVIVAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL DETACHMENT ]
The woman looked at me searchingly. She had opened the door a chink.
Mrs. Dorling was . She never expected the narrator to survive the war and come back for the belongings. By pretending not to recognize her, she hoped to avoid the obligation of returning the valuable possessions she had appropriated.
The narrator Knew the objects—the candle-holder, table-cloth, and crockery—because they were her mother's. But she Did Not Know the room because the atmosphere was alien, messy, and tasteless. The emotional connection to her past was broken by the present surroundings.
The burn mark was the Physical Evidence that the tablecloth indeed belonged to her family. When her finger found the mark while sitting at Mrs. Dorling's table, it confirmed that she was not mistaken about the address or the person.
She realized that reclaiming the items would be Pointless. Her mother was dead, and her old house was gone. These items in a small rented room of her own would look strange. Letting go of the address was her way of letting go of the pain of the war.
Mrs. S was Trusting and Grateful. She thought Mrs. Dorling was doing them a huge favor by "saving" their things, not realizing that Mrs. Dorling was actually exploiting their precarious situation as Jews during the war.
Number 46, Marconi Street.
Marga Minco.
Post-War Glossary
The Address: Marga Minco