The Portrait of a Lady Summary
Table of Contents
In this post, I am sharing The Portrait of a Lady Summary Class 11 English Hornbill with Important Value Points. This is beneficial for those who are going to appear at exam 2023-24.
Summary of Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady Summary – Class 11th Hornbill
INTRODUCTION OF THE AUTHOR
Khushwant Singh (February 2, 1915 – March 20, 2014) was an Indian novelist, lawyer, politician and journalist. An Indo-Anglian writer, Singh was best known for his trenchant secularism,[1] his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit. He served as the editor of several literary and news magazines, as well as two newspapers, through the 1970s and 1980s. He was the recipient of Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India.
CENTRAL IDEA OF THE STORY
The Portrait of a Lady describes a special bond between grandmother and grandson. Khushwant Singh narrates how the relationship develops over the years, and changes as the grandson grows up and the grandmother grows older. Solitude and silence fill the grandmother’s days as she distances herself from the real world. She now prefers the company of the gods and the birds. She enters a world of her own and is content with herself.
The Portrait of a Lady Summary
The “Portrait of a Lady” summary is a true story about the author’s grandma. The writer, named Kushwant Singh, shares memories of his time with his elderly grandmother. He describes their bond as it evolved over the years. The writer reflects on his grandmother’s daily life and how she changed as a person. He also paints a picture of her appearance to help readers imagine her better.
“The Portrait of a Lady” summary is a true story about the author’s grandma. The author, Kushwant Singh, tells us about his time with his elderly grandma during his childhood. He shares how their relationship developed over the years. He talks about her daily routines and how she changed as a person. He also describes what she looked like to help us imagine her better.
The Theme of the Story
The themes in this story cover different parts of the author’s life. When he was a child, the main themes were innocence, looking up to someone, and the love between him and his grandma. When he lived in the city, the themes changed to being apart and feeling like strangers. Finally, when he came back from overseas, the main theme seemed to be getting back together, but with a mixture of happiness and sadness at the end.
The Portrait of a Lady Summary in English
The writer remembers his Grandma as a little, strong, and slightly hunched lady. Her hair was silver, and it was all over her wrinkled face in a messy way. She wore white clothes and strolled around the whole house. One hand was on her waist, and the other hand was busy with her prayer beads.
The writer sees his Grandma as not conventionally pretty but always beautiful in her own way. He likens her peaceful face to the winter scenery. When they lived in the village for a long time, Grandma would wake him up early, get his school supplies ready, make his breakfast, and send him off to school. The school was next to the temple, where she would sit and read holy texts while the children learned their ABCs.
On their way back home, she would often feed old, hard chapattis to the stray dogs. Their special bond started to change when they moved to a city. Even though they shared a room, they became more distant. The writer began going to a city school on a bus and studied subjects like English, Physics, math, and others that his grandmother couldn’t grasp.
His grandma couldn’t accompany him to school anymore, which made her sad. She was disappointed that the city school didn’t teach about God and sacred texts like their village school did. Instead, he had music lessons, but she didn’t complain. She believed music was bad and only suitable for certain people, like prostitutes and beggars, not for gentlemen.
When the writer went to university, he had his own room in the house. This made the special bond between the grandson and the grandmother weaken. Grandma hardly spoke to anyone in the house anymore. She embraced her solitude quietly. She kept busy with her spinning wheel and prayers, rarely speaking to anyone. In the afternoon, she’d pause her work. Every day, she’d break bread into bits and feed it to the birds. They would land on her legs, head, and even her shoulders.
When the writer was leaving for his studies abroad, his grandma wasn’t upset. She actually went to the train station to say goodbye, but she didn’t speak. Instead, she kissed his forehead while silently praying and counting her rosary beads. Seeing her at that old age, the writer thought it might be their last meeting. But when he returned home after 5 years, his grandma was there to welcome him, and he saw her celebrating his return.
The morning after her grandson’s return, she fell ill. Even though the doctor said it was a mild fever that would pass, she felt that her time to leave this world was approaching. She didn’t want to spend her time talking to anyone. She kept her fingers busy, reciting her rosary beads.
She went to bed, praying and counting her beads, until she stopped moving her lips and dropped the rosary from her lifeless hand. After she passed away, her body was found on the floor, covered in a red shawl. To mourn her death, thousands of sparrows flew in and scattered around her body. They all quietly flew away when her body was taken for the final ceremonies.
Conclusion of The Portrait of a Lady
In the summary of “The Portrait of a Lady,” the writer and his grandmother shared a wonderful and loving bond. The story shows us how special the relationship between a grandson and his grandmother can be.
Value Points of The Portrait of a Lady Chapter 1
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