THE LITTLE GIRL (PROSE)

Katherine Mansfield
EXTRACTS

1. To the little girl he was a figure to be feared and avoided. Every morning before
going to work he came into her room and gave her a casual kiss, to which she
responded with ‘Good Bye Father’. And oh, there was a glad sense of relief when she
heard the noise of the carriage growing fainter and fainter down the long road! ,
1. What was the daily routine of the father ?
2. When did the daughter feel relief ?
3. Trace a word from the passage which means ‘answered’.

2. But the same old nightmare came the butcher with a knife and a rope who came
nearer and nearer, with that dreadful smile, while she could not move, only stand still,
crying out “Grandma!”. She woke shivering to see father beside her bed, a candle in
his hand. “What is the matter ?” he said.
1. Why did she get the nightmare ?
2. Where was the butcher ?
3. Find a word from the passage that means “shake in fear and cold”.

3:“But it was for your b-b- birth day.” Down came the ruler on her little, pink palms.
Hours later, when grandmother had wrapped her in a shawl and rocked her in the
rocking-chair, the child clung to her soft body. “What did God make fathers for ?” she
sobbed.
1. Who is responding in the first line and before whom ?
2. How did the father react ?
3. Find a word from the passage that means “wept”.

4. On Sunday afternoon, Grandmother sent her down to file drawing room to have a
“Nice talk with Father and Mother”. But the little girl always found mother reading
and father stretched out on the sofa, his handkerchief on his flee, his feet on one of file
best cushion, sleeping soundly and snoring.
1. Who was ‘she’ and why did the grandmother send her down ?
2. What did she notice about her parents ?
3. Trace a word that means “undisturbed”.

5.She sat on a stool, gravely watched him until he woke and stretched, and asked the
time – then looked at her. “Don’t stare so, Kezia. You look like a little brown owl”.
1. Who is Kezia watching gravely ?
2. Why was she sitting there waiting for him to wake up ? ;
3. Trace the word in the extract which means “seriously’

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SHORT ANSWERS
1. What orders were passed to Kezia in the evening when father returned home
from office?
Ans: When Kezia’s father returned home from office she was supposed to come down,
take off father’s shoes and put them outside. She was also to put her father’s teacup on file
tea table.
2: Why did Kezia avoid her father?
Answer: Kezia avoided her father because according to her, her father was an emotionless
person. He never spoke to Kezia lovingly and calmly. He scolded Kezia and reprimanded
her for making mistakes. Kezia stammered in front of her father since he was a very huge
and giant like figure far away from the warmth of a father.
3: Why did Kezia stutter only with her father?
Ans:Kezia father always scolded her never spoke to her in a loving manner. So, Kezia
stammered in front of her father because she was afraid of him and found it difficult to
speak in front of him.
4:Why was Kezia afraid of her father ?
Answer:Kezia was a little sensitive girl. Her father was aggressive and always spoke
loudly. He always scolded her. He used to beat her. Even when she accepted her
mistakes. He never played with her. This made her afraid of her father.
5:What made Kezia’s father punish her ?
Answer:She tore important papers of her father to stuff in the pin cushion because she
was making a gift to present to her father. Since the papers had her father’s speech
written on it, she was punished for tearing it.
6:“Father’s great speech for the Port Authority had been lost.” What had happened
to father’s speech?
Answer:Father’s speech had been tom to pieces by Kezia, the little girl. She was making
a pin cushion as a gift to her father, for his birthday. As she was not able to find anything
to stuff it with, she tore the speech and stuffed it in her cushion.
7:Why did Kezia’s grandmother send her to the drawing room every Sunday
afternoon?
Answer:Kezia’s grandmother knew that she was afraid of her father and she felt that if
she spoke to him more often, she would gq£ rid of that fear. So, every Sunday afternoon
she used to send her to the drawing room to have a nice talk with her father.
8:What kind of a person was Kezia’s father?
Answer:Kezia’s father was a hard working man but short tempered. He was a strict
disciplinarian too. When Kezia’s mother was hospitalized, Kezia realized that her father
loved her but didn’t have the art of expressing his love.
9:What did Kezia find whenever on Sunday afternoons her grandmother sent her
down to have a talk with her parents ?
Answer: Whenever Kezia was sent by her grandmother to talk to her parents on Sunday
afternoons, she always found her mother reading and her father stretched out on the
sofa, sleeping soundly and snoring.

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10:How was Kezia’s father different from Mr. McDonalds ?
Answer:Mr. McDonalds played with his children. The girls would hang on to his coat,
they would laugh together. Kezia’s father had no time for such things. He really worked
very hard for the family.
11:How did the father comfort the little girl, Kezia, when she got scared in her
sleep ?
Answer:The father came to Kezia’s room with a candle, lifted her up in his strong arms,
lay beside her and made her stay close to him. She held his shirt and snuggled herself
close to her father. This comforted Kezia when she got scared in her sleep.

LONG ANSWERS

1:How did Kezia’s negative attitude towards her father change ? Or

What were the circumstances that forced Kezia to change her opinion about her
father?
Answer:When her mother was hospitalized, her grandmother went to stay with her. Kezia
used to sleep alone at night. She was so scared that she started shouting at night. She had
nightmares and trembled a lot with fear. Then her father came to her room and took her
into his aims to comfort her. She felt secured with her father near her. Then she realized
that her father was busy with work and had no time to play. She even realized that her
father loved her but didn’t have the art of expressing it. Thus, her attitude towards her
father changed towards positive.

2:How did Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him veiy
much ? Elaborate.
Answer:Kezia was very scared of her father and stuttered while talking to him. This
annoyed him a lot. When she waited and stared at him to have a nice long chat, he did not
like it. She unknowingly destroyed some of his important papers while stuffing a cushion
which die wanted to present to . him on his birthday. This made him very angry and he
beat her up badly. Therefore, Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing
him very much.

3:Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was
Mr. McDonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father ? Or
How is Kezia’s father different from Mr. McDonald ?
Answer:Mr. McDonald was their next door neighbour. Once Kezia saw her neighbours
playing “tag” together in the evening. Mr. McDonald with the baby Mao, on his shoulders
and the two little girls ‘ hanging on to his coat pockets. They ran round and round shaking
with laughter. On the other hand, her own father was very disciplined and strict. He never
played with her and neither interact much. He even beat her up for her little mistakes.

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4:Why was Kezia scared of her father and how did she get over her fear ?
Answer:Kezia’s father was big like a giant and was very strict. He punished Kezia when
she tore his important speech. One day, when Kezia’s mother fell ill, her mother and
grandmother were in the hospital. Kezia was left alone with her father at home. She had a
nightmare and screamed with fright. Her father then carried Kezia in his lap to comfort
and soothen her. That closeness with her father during those days made her forget all
fears.

5:How did Kezia feel in presence of her father ?

Answer:Kezia was scared of her father as he looked like a giant. Every morning he used
to give her a good bye kiss. She used to feel uncomfortable till her father was at home.
She even stammered while answering him. He scolded her one day and even beat her for
tearing some of his important papers.But when Kezia used to cry during the night, he
would carry her to his room. She then realized that her father was actually tender and
affectionate and this changed her perception towards him.

VALUE BASED QUESTIONS

1:Kezia in the story “The Little Girl” was afraid of her father because he never
communicated with her. Imagine you are parenting councellor, based on your
reading of the story write a paragraph advising the parents to make
communication with their children priority.

Answer:In the story, Kezia is always scared of her father. Her father was a strict
disciplinarian who was always strict towards her. He never spoke to her softly and in a
loving manner. He always scolded her and even beat her up for small mistakes. Parents
should not let their stress and workload interfere in their family life. Parents should
always spend quality time with their children. Bonding and understanding should always
be there so that the children can open up their feelings and problems with their parents.
There should be no communication gap between the parents and their children.

2: The relation between a parent and child should be distant and formal or should
it be close and warm?
Answer:In today’s modem context parents and children should be more like friends. The
relationship between them should be warm and close. This would be very helpful in
developing the overall personality of the child. It also helps in boosting the confidence of
the child and making him more strong in his relation. Therefore, it is necessary that
children share a close relation with their parents and there should be no fear but only
respect and love.

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