-J.B. Priestley
Text:
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Summary:
"Mother's Day" is a play revolving around a mother in a household who was not at all cared for and was taken for granted.However,her life completely changed when her neighbour Mrs.Fitzgerald intervened in her life.The play truly highlights
the problem that women are not cared much in our societies.The play is set in London.The play has 5 characters-
Mrs.Annie Pearson(Protagonist),Mrs.Fitzgerald
(Mrs.Pearson's neighbour),Mr.George Pearson(Husband of Mrs.Pearson),Doris Pearson(Daughter of the Pearsons) and Cyril Pearson(Son of the Pearsons).The drama certainly unfolds in an interesting one.
The play began with Mrs.Pearson sitting along with Mrs.Fitzgerald at a table together.Mrs.Fitzgerald had learnt a great deal of things when she was out in the Western part of our world.She was forcasting Mrs.Pearson's fortune using some cards.While talking,Mrs.Fitzgerald tells her neighbour as to why she should become the master of the house.She told Mrs.Pearson that her family members should learn to treat her better.She was ruining her life as well as theirs.She should not be treated like dirt.Mrs.Pearson told her neighbour that she is so fond of all of her family members even if they are all selfish and thoughtless.She also had dropped many hints and felt it hard hard where to start.Mrs.Fitzgerald tells Mrs.Pearson that she should let them them wait once and take care of themselves.Mrs.Pearson was reluctant as she was too soft for carrying out such an unpleasant act.She was not at all ready.
Mrs.Fitzgerald proposed an excellent idea.She had learnt many tricks when she was in the East and one of them was she could switch bodies with other persons.She told Mrs.Pearson how she could help in her dilemma.Mrs. Fitzgerald took Mrs. Pearson's hands and chanted a prayer. They exchanged their bodies and now Mrs. Pearson had the characteristics of Mrs.Fitzgerald such as confident and bold whereas Mrs.Fitzgerald was now timid and nervous.
Mrs.Fitzgerald (actually Mrs.Pearson) and Mrs. Pearson (Mrs.Fitzgerald) had finally exchanged roles.Mrs.Pearson asked Mrs.Fitzgerald to leave for her house.She was determined to teach her family members a lesson.
Her first victim was her daughter Doris.She was a girl in her early twenties.She came to instruct her mother that she wanted her silk to be ironed. But she was completely dumbfounded when she saw Mrs.Pearson smoking.She expressed her shock and exclamation but her mother gave a poised answer.Then she asked whether her tea was ready.Mrs.Pearson said it was not and she would n't bother to.She told her firmly and told how she has to work all the time and gets nothing.She even makes fun of Doris friend whom she was supposed to go out with.
After that,Cyril had to face Mrs.Pearson's wraith. She also told him that his tea was not ready either.He told his mother how he hasn't got a lot of time but Mrs.Pearson remained firm.She even tells her feelings that how she thinks Cyril is good for nothing.Mrs.Pearson also tells Cyril that he spends a ton of time and money on greyhound races and dirt tracks which will not give him anything.
Cyril and Doris became frightened and discused if they had commited any mistake.They even exchanged alarmed glances.Mrs.Pearson kept talking moodily with them which totally pissed them up.She told them that she will taking a off on weekends and would only work a bit if requested.She will only do the household chores only if her work is acknowledged.
Then,comes on to the scene,Mr.George Pearson. He was also behaved in a similiar by Mrs. Pearson.He was even answered back by Mrs. Pearson which usually didn't happen.George Pearson too was baffled seeing this kind of behaviour of her wife.She even spilled the beans that how his husband is made fun of in the club he regularly visits.
Mrs.Pearson was telling all this when Mrs. Fitzgerald came upon the scene.There Mrs. Fitzgerald saw the drama in her home and how it was unravelling.She was worried by Mrs. Pearson's activities and slowly but softly started protesting against it.Mrs.Pearson told how she had been putting all of them in their rightful places.That was when Mrs.Fitzgerald told that now they should switch back bodies.In this way, they could be in their own self.The original Mrs.Fitzgerald warned Mrs.Pearson that she should remain hard on them for sometime more.Otherwise,all their drama will be of no use.
Surprisingly,all of Mrs. Pearson's family members were completely transformed and started treating her nicely after this episode.They had understood her importance in the household and she also needed to be acknowledged for the services she imparting them out of love.
Difficult Words:
1)Settee:A long upholstered seat for more than one person.
2)Fortune-teller:A person who predicts someone's future.
3)Thoughtless:Not showing consideration for the needs of other people.
4)Dubiously:With hesitation or doubt.
5)Flustered:Agitated or confused.
6)Lax:Relaxed or loose.
7)Fluttering:A heart beating feebly or irregularly.
8)Complacently:Behaving in a confident manner.
9)Incisive:Quick and direct.
10)Square Meal:A satisfying meal which also provides all the nutrients.
11)Clarendon:A restaurant chain in Europe.
12)Indiginantly:Feeling or showing at what is perceived as unfair.
13)Buck Teeth:A phrase to express someone's ugliness.
14)Half-Witted:A person not having good sense of humour.
15)Get Cracking:To get to work.
16)Laconic:Using very few words.
17)Stout(Here):A dark,top- fermented beer.
18)Clot(Here):An informal word to describe a stupid person.
19)Off-Colour:Slightly Unwell.
20)Barmy:To go mad or crazy.
21)Fathead:A stupid person.
22)Concussion:A state of temporary confusion.
23)Far-fetched:Unlikely and unconvincing.
24)Guffaw:A loud and hearty laugh.
25)Blubbering:To cry noisily and uncontrollably.
26)Self-important:Having an inflated perception of oneself.
27)Pompous:Affectedly grand,solemn or self- important.
28)Snooker:A game involving putting balls into
holes of billiard table.
29)Silly Old Bag:A term for a stupid old lady.
30)Edinburgh:A town in Scotland.
31)Savagely:In a fierce,violent and uncontrolled manner.
32)Chump:A foolish or easily deceivable person.
33)Memaking:Teaching good manners.
34)Rummy:A card game played in groups.
35)Cluster Round:To assemble round someone.
About Author:
John Boynton Priestley(13th September,1894-14th August,1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter,broadcaster and social commentator.He has created many writings which highlight simple yet important problems everyday people face in contemporary society.
NCERT Questions:
A) Reading with Insight.
1)i)The play highlights many serious issues in our society. The first and foremost is proper appreciation of a housewife's role and responsibilities.Those who work 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week treat the housewife as an unpaid domestic servant and take wife as granted. Moreover, we never thank her or grateful for the services towards us. The second issue is the reciprocity of love and gratitude. In the case of Mrs.Pearson,her husband and her children used to leave her alone every night to go somewhere out to enjoy themselves. The didn't take notice of her and had become thoughtless and selfish in this process.
Mrs.Pearson's excessive love and care has also played a part in spoiling them.
ii)The problems raised in the early may seem trivial but are serious and genuine. These are common in many households. The place is depicted the whole thing in a humorous way but highlight some important issues in our society. The playwright adopts an unusual method to solve these problems. Incantation of a magical spell helps in the interchange of personalities. This helps in the change in Mrs.Pearson's personality as she got the character traits of Mrs.Fitzgerald.She became bold and dominant like Mrs.Fitzgerald.After that,she remained firm and direct all throughout one day. She even told all her family members about their shortcomings.After this incident,people in the Pearson family respected Mrs.Pearson a lot more and acknowledged her hard work.
•I completely agree with the resolution for the problem.One must remain firm and claim his or her rights boldly without any hesitation.
2) women discrimination has always been an issue and we must address it is they are as much as a part of a society as we are. Various instances around us show women are not given their rightful place in our society. There has been various incidents of unfair treatment for the females at home,workin public places and elsewhere.Female workers getting lower wages than their male counterparts, harassment by senior colleagues at workplace, indecent remarks against women are some of the issues we need to address urgently. In rural areas,the problem is even worse as the husbands beat their wives in order to boast of their masculinity. They are tormented by inflicting physical violence on them.
3)Yes, drama is certainly a good medium for conveying a social message effectively. Drama is the perfect blend of humour and awareness which helps playwrights in conveying important social messages. Direct moralising using conventional ways of creating awareness is often ignored and sometimes even resented. Drama which is also a visual form of art helps the audience to correlate with their own lives. They feel more involved in the whole process. The social message is conveyed effectively by the interactions of the characters in the play. These days we find miniplate centre around themes aimed at making the society a better place.
4)Recently, as we are becoming more aware of our problems,we have started making films and enacting plays aimed at eradicating these problems.Some of the notable films or cinemas which have successfully helped in changing societies, according to us,are-
"Scam 1992" starring Pratik Gandhi has dramatically increased financial literacy in India.
"Dangal" starring Aamir Khan highlights how girls in rural areas are not given their dueful rights.He also prepare his daughters for a wrestling match of an Olympic level amidst existing social stigmas."Toilet"starring Akshay Kumar highlights problems of women in rural India who they could not attend to nature's call with respect.We want more of this films which helps in bringing certain change or reforms in our society.
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