Class XL (The Portrait of A Lady)
Class XL (The Portrait of A Lady)
Background
The story is set in the years of the starting of modernization in India where the traditional
Indian culture failed to adopt the stages of change and modern culture. It also reflects the
rural life of Indian society.
Message
The message of the story "The Portrait of a Lady” is first and foremost the sweet
companionship of the grandmother and the author. The grandparent’s old age is well spent;
the children learn to take care of them. The author beautifully portrays that every child learns
the basic education of life in his childhood from his grandparents like in the story the child is
being attended by his grandmother, going to school and feeding stale chapattis to the stray
dogs. This sends the message of compassion for animals. Children learn many things from
the character of the grandparents. Basic ethics also get embedded in a child’s personality by
observation of nature and character of grandparents.
Themes
The Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh has the themes of:
a) Innocence -: The story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and it is a
memory piece. After reading the story the reader realizes that Singh dwells on the theme of
innocence.The narrator views his grandmother as always being old. This may be important as
it suggests that the narrator looked upon his grandmother with the eyes of an innocent child.
b) Friendship and love:It is also noticeable that the narrator loves his grandmother very
much and if anything both have it is a close and loving friendship.
c) Connection: The story suggests a strong bond between the narrator and his grandmother.
They have a strong connection with one another. It is also noticeable that the grandmother is
dedicated to God. Something that is clearer to the reader by way of the fact that the
grandmother is constantly praying. Just as she feels connected to the narrator likewise the
grandmother has a connection with God. It might also be significant that the grandmother has
a connection with both the village dogs and the sparrows she feeds.
d) Kindness and selflessness: When the narrator’s mother was in thevillage she fed the stray
dogs with stale chapattis and after shifting to the city she fed the sparrows with bread crumbs.
This reveals the theme of compassion.
Analysis
In The Portrait of A Lady, with an autobiographical stroke, the author displays his
relationship and bond with his grandmother. Khushwant Singh has touched the lives of grand
mother and her grandchild. Given below are the points which the writer has beautifully
expressed in the story.
a) Generation Gap: The fact that generation gap is not an unsurpassable gulf is
characterizedin the story. The days of our childhood spent with parents and grandparents are
depicted. We might grow up and grow apart but the morals and principles instilled in us by
the older generation remain with us always.
b) Old order gives place to new: As we grow up, various tasks and interests attract our
attention leaving us with little time to realize that we might be the only interest of someone in
our family. If the birth of a grandchild leading to boundless joy for grandparents is a reality in
every nook of the world, it is also true that the grandchildren’s attention will invariably be
taken over by other things pretty soon. We end up being so busy that those silent steps the old
ones take to retreat from our lives are rarely noticed.
c) Celebration of childhood years: The story by Khushwant Singh is an attempt to celebrate
those childhood years spent with his grandmother when the simple pleasures of chanting of
Gurubani and feeding the dogs kept the duo busy. There might not be anything dramatic in
their routine but the way she took care of the smallest of his needs and worked for his
education shows the depth of their relationship.
d) A story of self-withdrawal: When she finds her grandson participating in activities and
hobbies that she did not approve of she quietly withdraws herself from social life.
e) Care for all living creatures and philanthropic nature: She thinks of others (including
animals) before she thinks about herself. Where many may wish to be idle or do nothing in
their old age this is not the case when it comes to the grandmother. She appears to put others
ahead of herself.With time, the philanthropic nature takes over and she devotes all her time in
taking care of animals and spending her time in praying
The title of the chapter is a loving tribute to the author’s grandmother.Throughout the story
the author gives a vivid and picturesque description a lady who is his grandmother.
She was not “pretty” but beautiful. Each word in the story is full of meaning. “She said
nothing but her silence meant disapproval” beautifully depicts the seclusion and her dislike
towards city life. She was a pious and strong lady.
The reader can easily feel the presence of an affectionate old lady who accepts life as it
comes without showing any signs of annoyance. Thus we can say that the author has
discussed every thread of grandmother’s life making the story a perfect portrait of her.
Symbolism
Khushwant Singh remembers her limping with one hand resting on her waist to
balance her stoop -This symbolises the balance she keeps with herself and her family.
Her lips constantly moved inaudibly in prayers- this again is symbolic of the constant
work which the old parents offer and are always bothered about the wellbeing of their
family.
The contentment her face exhibited- symbolize the value of satisfaction.
Her white saree and the white strands of hair- symbolic of her strength and purity.
Her wrinkled face- symbolic of her age long experience of life.
a) Physical appearance: Grandmother was an old, slightly bent, short and fat lady. Her face
was covered with wrinkles.
b) A deeply religious lady: Her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer and one could
always see her connected with God. She was a very religious woman.
c) Kind and generous: When narrator lived with her in village she always fed dogs with
stale chapattis. But after coming to the city she was unable to feed dogs so she fed the
sparrows with bread crumbs.
d)Conservative and traditional: She was sad to hear that there was no teaching about God
and scriptures in narrator's city school. She also thought that music was not meant for gentle
folk.
e)Reserved and non-interfering: Never interfered in the matters of the house when she
came to live with her son in the city and was busy offering prayers.
f)A lady withstrong will power and controlled emotions: Calm and controlled and did not
break down when she went to see off her grandson. After five years was there at the station to
receive him with a smile.
g) Practical and realistic- after she realized that her views held no importance in her city
home so accepted the reality and confined herself to her room. At the end of the story when
she falls ill she accepts the fact that her end is near and dies with prayer on her lips and rosary
in her hand.
Words and Expressions
Wrinkled- having lines or folds
Portrait- painting or picture
Mantelpiece- a structure of wood, marble, or stone above and around a fireplace.
the thought was almost revolting- it was very hard to believe
Revolting – unpleasant
Absurd – Illogical
Undignified- disrespectful
Fables- fictitious stories with a moral teaching
Prophets- saints
Criss- cross - a pattern of intersecting straight lines
Hobbled – walked in an awkward way
spotless white - she wore clean, white coloured dresses
Stoop – bend one’s body forward
Rosary- a string of beads for keeping count of number of chants made of a religious prayer
Locks- hair
Scattered – disorganized
Untidily - not neat
Puckered – a face contracted, wrinkled because of age
Inaudible- unable to be heard
Serenity – the state of being peaceful and calm
an expanse of pure white serenity - refers to the calm, relaxed and peaceful character of the
author’s grandmother
Contentment – a state of happiness and satisfaction
Monotonous – dull and boring
Bothered- to be concerned
Fetch – go for and then bring back something for someone
Slate- a flat plate of slate formerly used for writing on in schools
Plastered- covered with a layer of plaster
Earthen- made of baked or fired clay
Stale- no longer fresh and pleasant to eat; hard, musty, or dry.
Scriptures - the sacred writings of a religion
Growling - making a low guttural sound in the throat
Courtyard- veranda
Years rolled by- time passed
Distressed - suffer from extremely sorrow, anxiety or pain
Lewd Association – Indecent or Obscene
Harlots – Prostitutes
Gentlefolk - People of noble birth
Snapped- break suddenly and completely
Seclusion – the state of being private and away from the people
accepted her seclusion with resignation- the grandmother accepted a lonely life as she
accepted the separation from her grandson without objection
Spinning-wheel - a household machine with a wheel attached to it for spinning yarn
A veritable bedlam of chirruping - refers to the noise and confusion caused by the
chirruping of the sparrows
Veritable - use to describe something which is very interesting or unusual
Bedlam – confusion
Chirruping – the noise of a small bird
Perched - alight or rest on something
Shooed - make a person or animal go away by shouting or saying ‘shoo’
Sentimental - a feeling of nostalgia, sadness or tenderness; an emotional feeling
Beads - a small piece of glass or stone threaded with others to make a rosary or necklace
Cherished - hold something dear
Moist- wet
Imprint - impression or stamp
Clasped – hold tightly
Frivolous – not having any serious purpose, light-hearted
Rebuke - disapproval of something or someone
frivolous rebukes - light hearted scoldings
Thumped- hit
Sagging – sinking downwards
Dilapidated – in a state of despair or ruin
the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum- The loose surface of the worn out drum
Persuade - to talk someone into doing something, requested
Overstraining- overdoing something
Omitted - leave out or exclude something
Protested - express an objection against something or someone
Pallor – an unhealthy pale appearance
Customary – traditional
Crude – in a natural state, roughly made
Cremated - dispose of or burn a body after it is dead
Blaze - a very large burning fire
Shroud – a piece of cloth used to wrap a dead person
Corpse- dead body
Q2. Whywas the author’s grandmother disturbed when he started going to the city
school?
Ans: When the author used to live in the village with her, they both had a good friendship.
She used to wake him up, got hxim ready and would also accompany him to school. All this
changed when they moved to the city. The grandmother was disturbed because she could no
longer help him in his lessons. As he started going to the English medium school, this became
a barrier for her. Moreover, there were no teachings about God and the scriptures. She didn’t
like the author taking the music lessons. According to her, music was only for beggars and
harlots.
Q3. Describe the odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she
died.
Ans: She didn’t pray the evening before dying. She collected the women from the
neighbourhood and celebrated the home coming of the author the whole day. The next
morning when she fell ill, she said her end was near. She started praying peacefully and
refused to talk to anyone during her last hours.
Q5. How did the sparrows express their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died?
Ans: The grandmother used to feed the sparrows in her veranda each day. She developed a
special relationship with them. When she died, thousands of sparrows expressed their sorrow
by sitting in a scattered way in the veranda. They didn’t chirrup and there was complete
silence. The author’s mother tried to feed them by breaking the bread and throwing it in front
of them. But they didn’t eat anything. When the family carried grandmother’s corpse, they all
flew away quietly.
Assignment
1. Answer the following questions. ( 30 to 40 words)
a)Why did the grandmother stop talking before her death?
b) How can you say that the author and his grandmother were good friends?
c) Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes,
give one instance that shows this.
d) Bring out the significance of the phrase ‘winter landscape’ in the context of author’s
grandmother.
2. Answer the following question(120 to 150 words)
a)The author’s mother was a very religious woman. What instances of this noble value do
you find in the story?
RTC
Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow:
He looked as if he could only have lots and lots of grandchildren. As for my grandmother
being young and pretty , the thought was almost revolting.
(i) Who is ‘He’ in the above lines?
(ii) Which thought was almost revolting?
(iii) How did the grandmother look?
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