NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English (Woven Words) Short Stories 5 Pappachi’s Moth

Class : 11th

Subject : English

Chapter : 5

Chapter Name : Pappachi’s Moth

Q1 Comment on the relationship shared by Mammachi and Pappachi.

Answer. The relationship shared by Mammachi and Pappachi is like the one where there's no
visible intimacy between the two but also they cannot live without each other. Having a
difference of 17 years in age, both of them have grown into each other. Although there are
pieces of evidence in the chapter that show the brutal ways in which Pappachi would treat
Mammachi. Despite all these factors, Mammachi cried bitterly not because she loved him but
because she was habitual of his presence. She was attached to him that she missed his
presence in the way he used to supervise the pickle factory or simply in the way he used to sit
all by himself. The beating was overlooked by all this.

Q2 How does Mammachi stand out as an independent and resilient woman in the text?

Answer. Mammachi stood out as an independent
and resilient woman despite the fact that she was never supported by her husband, rather she
was always downgraded by him. The husband was jealous of the talent of his wife and did not
want her to be self-dependent. The reason behind this was that he did not get the desired
attention for the discovery of the moth and thus the lack of recognition haunted him. Despite no
support from her husband, Mammachi continued with the work with pickles as that kept her
busy throughout the year. Thus by keeping herself busy with what she liked, Mammachi stood
out as an independent woman.

Q3 Why does John Ipe consider retirement to be a dishonour?

Answer. John Ipe considered retirement to be a dishonour because he had retired from an
honourable post. After retirement, he was reduced to nothing, just a normal person who was
once a very high ranking officer. He missed the respect that he enjoyed. At the same time, he
was also affected by the fact that he has retired but his wife was still young as she was 17 years

younger to him. Thus the negligence that was struck to him suddenly was the reason that he
considered retirement to be a dishonour.

Q4 What was the underlying reason for John Ipe’s disgust with the world?

Answer. The underlying reason for John Ipe's disgust with the world was that he did not get the
desired name for his discovery. This is with respect to the moth, that was discovered and not
named after him. This took the cost of his pride and at the same time when his wife was getting
credit for this work, he felt even more disgusted. So he started removing that frustration by
beating his wife who bore everything without saying a single word.

Q1 Chacko’s firmness in dealing with the irrational behaviour of his father.

Answer. Chacko, the son of the retired man, was an individual with a strong body. He was back
home from his study at Oxford. One day he saw his father beating his mother and found that
behaviour very irrational. He stopped his father from hitting her just by forcefully holding his
hand. The way in which he dealt with his father was very firm as the act done by his father was
completely wrong as he was just using power against the silent mother. That was the only way
to stop him that a more assertive figure made an action to stop the same, which was clearly
done by Chacko. The father's ego was broken to pieces when the son used the muscular power
over him as he never faced anything like this.

Q2 The contrast between the outward elegance of a person and his private behaviour.

Answer. This statement is completely true as compared to the behaviour of John Ipe. He was a
high ranked officer always suited in three pieces having a very rational public image. But there
was a completely different perspective on this story. John was a true gentleman in the eyes of
the world but the reality was seen in his house. He was among the men who did not want to
support their wives or were jealous of the achievements and name of their wives. Same was the
case with John Ipe, he completely disapproved of his wife being renowned as a public figure
and never supported her pickle factory or the violin classes. Thus this shows the contrast
between the behaviour of an individual as to what he behaves privately as compared to in the
general world.

Q3 Approval from the outside world and approval within the family.

Answer. Mammachi was an extremely talented woman but she lacked support from her
husband. Her husband, John Ipe was a jealous man and he did not want to let her wife outshine
the fame and be known to the world. The same reason was behind the fact that he called off her
violin classes despite her being so talented. He didn't even support her for the pickle factory.
Thus, here comes the part where approval from the outside world is considered more important
than approval within the family as when you are not getting the desired motivation or support
from the family, there's nothing wrong in making use of the external factors to outshine.

Q1 How does the author succeed in raising crucial social issues not through open criticism but
through subtle suggestions?

Answer. The author succeeds in raising crucial social issues through subtle suggestions, this is
very evidently proved in the story as the protagonist of the story represents male chauvinist
society where women are never given a chance to prove themselves. Even having the potential
isn't enough for women, what they require is a place to establish themselves in society only then
their potential shall be valued. Thus, the subtle suggestions that the story provides lie in the
extracts that the external factors should be fair enough to make the women start a set up of their
own even if they lack support from within the households.

Q2 Within a few pages, the author has packed the important events in the lives of John Ipe and
his wife. Discuss how conciseness and economy of expression can achieve effective portrayal
of entire lives.

Answer. The narration of the story is short and crisp yet the writer did not miss out on any
evident fact of their lives. The complete story of the retired man has been narrated that how
miserable he has become after his retirement and that the loss of fame of discovery of the moth
has not given to him affected him so much that he did not want his wife to be famous. All this
resulted in the poor lady suffering without any resilience.

Q3 Identify instances of ironic comment in the story.

Answer. The irony in the story is that the couple was not actually in love but they were so grown
into the presence of each other that Mammanchi cried brutally on the death of her husband.
Although he used to beat her with the brass vase yet she was so engrossed in his presence that
she wept badly.