1. Pre‑War / During‑War Hardships
In the pre‑war and war period, the narrator is a young girl from a well‑to‑do family, but her life is gradually filled with fear, separation and uncertainty as the war spreads.
- Fear of losing home and belongings: Her mother is constantly worried that they may have to leave their house and “lose all their nice things”. This atmosphere of fear and suspense affects the girl, who sees her safe world slowly collapsing.
- Strange visits of Mrs Dorling: Mrs Dorling frequently comes to their house and carries away tablecloths, silverware, crockery, furniture and other valuables “for safekeeping”. The girl does not fully understand, but she senses that something is terribly wrong and that they may not be able to stay.
- Separation and danger: Because of the war (and, implied, persecution), the girl has to live in another town, away from her mother, and can visit her only rarely. Later, she loses her mother altogether. This emotional loss is the greatest hardship.
- Living under war conditions: In the city, she lives in a small room whose windows are covered with blackout paper; she cannot even look out freely. Air‑raids and the constant threat of death create a tense, suffocating life.
2. Post‑War Hardships
After the war, the outward fighting stops, but the girl faces a new set of hardships – emotional, practical and moral.
- Loneliness and displacement: She returns as the only surviving member of her family and lives alone in a small rented room. Though the country is “liberated”, she has no real home or family left.
- Painful search for the past: The address (46, Marconi Street) is her only link to her earlier life. Going there, she has to relive memories of her mother and their home, which is emotionally very hard.
- Coldness and betrayal: At the address, Mrs Dorling refuses to recognise her properly, behaves rudely and tries to shut the door. The girl feels the additional hardship of being betrayed by someone her mother trusted.
- Strangeness of familiar things: On the second visit, when she finally sees her mother’s possessions, they are kept in a crowded, tasteless way in Mrs Dorling’s house. The same objects that once gave warmth and security now seem alien and lifeless.
- Inner conflict and letting go: She realises that the past cannot truly be recovered. The harder she tries to “get back” her old life through these things, the more painful it becomes. The final hardship is to accept this truth and decide to forget the address and leave the belongings behind.
3. Exam‑style Answer (Joined)
The story is clearly divided into pre‑war and post‑war times, and in both periods the narrator undergoes severe hardships. Before and during the war, she lives under constant fear of losing home and possessions, watches Mrs Dorling quietly remove their valuables “for safety”, is separated from her mother and finally loses her, all while living in a tense city with blackout windows and the threat of death. After the war, though the fighting has ended, her difficulties continue in a new form: she returns alone, lives in a small rented room, and must face the shock of seeing her mother’s belongings in Mrs Dorling’s house, where they look strange and lifeless. Betrayed by Mrs Dorling’s coldness and unable to reconnect with her past, she suffers an inner struggle before finally deciding to forget the address and move on. Thus, the story shows that war creates not only physical hardships but also deep emotional and moral suffering for the girl in both pre‑war and post‑war times.