The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions and Answers

 

Understanding the text

1.   Mention the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

Ans: The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are as follows:

1. First Phase: In his early childhood author was  living with her grandmother in the village.  They both would walk to school together and come back home together.

2. Second Phase: In this phase, the author and his grandmother shifted to the city as the author’s parents settled well in the city. Author no longer used to go to school with her. He was admitted to an English medium school.

3. Third Phase: When the author went to the university, he was given a room of his own. This made their friendship bond weaker as the common link between them ‘the same room’ snapped. She became quieter and private and kept spinning wheel all day long. She would feed the sparrows once a day.

 

2.   Mention three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

Ans: The grandmother was disturbed for the following reasons:

1. She no longer could help him in his lessons. As he started going to the English medium school. This became a barrier for her.

2. There were no teachings about God and the scriptures.

3. She didn’t like him taking the music lessons. According to her, music was only for beggars and harlots.

 

3. Mention three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

Ans: His grandmother changed a lot since he grew up. She would spend her day at the spinning wheel, chanting prayers and feeding sparrows.

 

4. Mention 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 started singing homecoming of the warriors with the help of the drum. The next morning when she fell ill, she said her end was near. She started praying peacefully while laying on her bed. She refused to talk to anyone during her last hours.

 

5. Mention the way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Ans: The grandmother used to feed the sparrows in her verandah each day.  When she died, thousands of sparrows expressed their sorrow by sitting in a scattered way around her in the verandah. 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.

Talking about the text

 1. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?

Ans: When she lived in the village with the author, she used to sing prayers in a monotonous sound while getting him ready each morning. She used to walk the author to his school and then visit the temple attached to the school everyday. She would sit and read scriptures. Later when they moved to the city, she would carry the beads of the rosary with her all the time. 

2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?

Ans: In the early days, they both shared a good bond. She would get him ready for school, accompany him and would come back with him later in the day. She would help him with his studies and would teach him prayers by singing in a monotonous tone every morning. When they moved to the city, their relationship was strained. He started going to an English medium school. She would no longer accompany him to the school. She didn’t like his new school as they never taught him about God or scriptures. Later, when he started taking music lessons, she disapproved of it as she thought that music was only for beggars or harlots.

 No, their feelings for each other didn’t change but during the time, a distance developed between them.

 

3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.

Ans: Yes, the grandmother was a strong person in character. The instances to show this are as follows:

1. She had her own thoughts about schools and their teachings. She considered learning scriptures a better thing than studying science or English.

2. She didn’t like music as according to her, music was for low-level people.

3. When the author went to the university, in seclusion, she would spin the wheel, chant prayers, tell beads and feed bread crumbs to the sparrows.