Mother's Day

Mother's Day
By J. B. Priestley
VALUE POINTS
*Mrs. Pearson is a dedicated wife and mother who tends to each and
every demand of her husband George and children Doris and Cyril, both
of whom are adults.
*Yet, she is disrespected and taken for granted by them. All the three
family members lack gratitude towards her. In fact they treat her like a
domestic help.
*Mrs. Pearson shares her grief with her neighbour Mrs. Fitzgerald. Mrs.
Fitzgerald tells her that her own soft behavior is responsible for the
misgivings of the family members.
*Mrs. Fitzgerald has a plan for her. With the magic that she once learnt
in the far east, she suggests that the two of them should exchange their
spirits with each other.
*Initially reluctant, Mrs. Pearson agrees to the idea. They both hold
hands and their spirits get exchanged when Mrs. Fitzgerald reads a
spell.
*Doris is shocked to find her mother smoking when she comes home.
She orders her mother to prepare tea. But Mrs. Pearson remains
indifferent towards her demand. This sudden change baffles Doris.
*She goes to her room to find that her yellow dress has not been ironed.
She gets rearly upset and almost scolds her mother for not doing this
work.
*Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Pearson replies with disgust that Doris
being a grown up should do her work on her own. Also, she makes fun of
her friend Charlie Spence and calls him a "half-witted buck tooth".
*Doris feels deeply offended and starts weeping.
*Then her son Cyril comes home and notices Doris crying and mother
playing with cards. He too demands tea and snacks but is met with the
same indifference from his mother.
*The children discuss their mother's strange behavior when they see her
filling a glass of wine for herself.
*Doris hints that perhaps the mother has gone mad owing to some head
injury after a fall or so.
*The mother chides them for their callousness and tries to give them a
piece of her mind.
*She tells them that she would not work for more than eight hours every
day like them from then onwards and will also go for a vacation during
weekend.
*She also proclaims that she would do some work on Saturday and
Sunday only if she is thanked for everything.
*Her husband George Pearson enters the room and senses tension in
the ambience.
*He is annoyed that instead of preparing tea his wife is sipping wine and
relaxing. But Mrs. Pearson shows only indifference.
*He then tells her that he would have supper at the club. Mrs. Pearson
gets annoyed at his attitude and rebukes him by telling him that people
at the club make fun of him behind his back.
*All the family members are feeling miserable. Just then enters
Mrs.Fitzgerald (actually Mrs.Pearson).
*Mrs. Pearson(actually Mrs. Fitzgerald) tells her that she was just putting
everyone at place and that the things were alright.
*The family members look at each other in confusion when Mrs.
Fitzgerald (actually Mrs.pearson) requests to have their spirits re-
exchanged. Mrs. Pearson (actually Mrs. Fitzgerald) agrees on a
condition that Mrs. Pearson would not go soft on her family again. They
get into their original bodies and Mrs. Fitzgerald leaves.
*The mother, the children and husband smile at each other with relief
and it is decided that they all will have the dinner together and play a
game of rummy.
*This play provides a glimpse into the miserable lives of house-wives
and mothers who work tirelessly from morning to night for keeping their
family members happy. Their sacrifices are taken for granted and they
are treated as domestic helps. It teaches us to be thoughtful and
respectful for our mothers.
*Mrs. Pearson is a dedicated wife and mother who tends to each and
every demand of her husband and children, both of whom are adults.
*Yet, she is disrespected and taken for granted by all of them. They lack
gratitude towards her, infact they treat her like a servant.
*Mrs. Pearson shares her grief with her neighbour Mrs. Fitzgerald tells
her that her own soft behaviour is responsible for the misgivings of her
family members.
Main Events
1. The incident with Doris
A. Doris is shocked to find her mother smoking when she comes home.
She orders her mother to prepare tea. But Mrs. Pearson remains
indiffferent towards her demand. This sudden change baffles Doris.
B. She goes to her room to find that her yellow dress has not been
ironed. She gets really upset and almost scolds her mother for not doing
it.
C. Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Pearson replies with disgust that Doris
being a grown up should do her work on her own. Also, she makes fun of
her friend Charlie Spence and calls him a "half-witted buck tooth".
2. Mrs. Pearson Takes Cyril to the Book

A. Doris feels deeply offended and starts weeping.
B. Then her son Cyril comes home and notices Doris crying and mother
playing with cards. He too demands tea and snacks but is met with the
same indifference from his mother.
C. Both Cyril and Doris discuss the sudden change int heir mother's
behavior.
3. Mrs. Pearson Declares her Agenda

A. The mother chides them for their callousness and tries to give them a
piece of her mind.
B. She tells them that she would not work for more than eight hours
every day like them from then onwards and will also go for a vaction
during weekend.
C. She also proclaims that she would do some work on Saturday and
Sunday only if she is thanked for everything.
4. Mrs. Pearson's Attitude Towards George

A. He is annoyed that instead of preparing tea his wife is sipping wine
and relaxing. But Mrs.Pearson shows only indifference.
B. He then tells her that he would have supper at the club. Mrs. Person
gets annoyed at his attitude and rebukes him by telling him that people
at the club make fun of him behind his back.
5. The Big Change

A. When Mrs. Fitzgerald and Mrs. Pearson exchange their spirits again,
the children and husband smile at each other with relief and decide that
they will change their selfish attitudes and cooperate with their mother.
B. This play provides a glimpse into the miserable lives of house-wives
and mothers who work tirelessly form morning to night for keeping their
family members happy. Their sacrifices are taken for granted and they
are treated as servants. This lesson teaches us to be thoughtful and
respectful for our mothers.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (40 TO 50 WORDS)
Q1. How was Mrs. Pearson different from Mrs. Fitzgerald?
Ans. Mrs. Pearson was a pleasant but worried looking woman in her
forties. Mrs. Fitzgerald was older, heavier and a strong and sinister
personality. Mrs. Pearson was soft spoken with a touch of suburban
while Mrs. Fitzgerald had a deep voice with Irish accent.
Q2 How does Mrs. Fitzgerald plan to deal with the family of Mrs.
Pearson.
Ans. Mrs. Fitzgerald changed their bodies through magic spell. Now Mrs.
Fitzgerald looked like Mrs. Pearson, while Mrs. Pearson looked like Mrs.
Fitzgerald. Mrs. Fitzgerald in the body of Mrs. Pearson dealt with the
family very sternly.
Q3. How did the members of the club use to treat George Pearson.
Ans. The members of the club used to call George Pearson, pompy-
ompy Pearson because they used to think that he was slow and
pompous.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (120-150 WORDS)
Q.1 Do you thinks that the issues raised in the play have any
contemporary relevance? Give reasons.
This is an open ended question.
Q2. What personal and family values are dear to Mrs. Pearson?
How do they create problems for her?
Value points:
* Mrs. Pearson loves her family
* A dedicated mother and housewife
•Takes orders from everyone including her children
* Tries hard to complete all their work
* She is disrespected
Q3 Do you think the title of the play 'Mother's Day' is appropriate?
Give reasons for your answer.
Value points:
* Each day is a mother's day
* The whole play revolves around the mother, Mrs. Pearson
* Problems faced by mothers are discussed
* The play teaches us to be thoughtful and respectful towards our
mothers
Q4. A Mother's work is never done. Do you agree? Explain on the
basis of the play and day to day life.
Value points:
* A mother works endlessly from morning till night as does Mrs. Pearson
* Mrs. Person works endlessly for her family without any expectations
from them
* She does all the household chores
*She takes orders from all the family members

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Mother's Day

2. Mrs. Pearson Takes Cyril to the Book

3. Mrs. Pearson Declares her Agenda

4. Mrs. Pearson's Attitude Towards George

5. The Big Change

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