Summary of Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is a play written by British novelist, essayist and playwright J.B. Priestley. Just like the author is noted for his varied output and ability for shrewd characterisation, the characters in Mother’s day are portrayed as sharp, witty and realistic. The story centres around a housewife, Mrs Pearson, who has two children, Doris and Cyril. She is incessantly caught up in household chores that comprise mostly the demands and needs of her children and her husband George. While she adores them and does everything in her capacity to make their lives comfortable, the rest of the family does not seem to care about her problems and needs. Her neighbour Mrs Fitzgerald convinces her to stand up for herself. The play tells us how Mrs Pearson finally learns to take speak up for herself. The play starts with Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Pearson talking to each other in the latter’s living room. Read the complete Mother’s Day Class 11 Summary to understand the chapter in detail. Students can also refer to BYJU’S CBSE Notes and CBSE Summary to access learning materials on CBSE Class 11 English.
CBSE Class 11 English Mother’s Day Summary
The play starts with a scene of Mrs Pearson and Mrs Fitzgerald drinking tea during an afternoon in early autumn. Mrs Fitzgerald is a fortune teller and is telling Mrs Pearson’s fortune. Both of them have contrasting personalities. While Mrs Pearson looks pleasant but anxious, Mrs Fitzgerald looks stronger with a sinister personality. The former is in her forties, and the latter is older.
The conversation starts with Mrs Fitzgerald advising Mrs Pearson to take a stand and be the boss of her own family. Mrs Pearson replies meekly that it was not that simple – she was still fond of them even if they were thoughtless and selfish. Mrs Fitzgerald reminds her that it is not acceptable to be treated the way she was treated by her children and her husband. Mrs Pearson replies dubiously that she does try to drop them a hint, and she does not know how to begin. She looks at the clock and panics, saying they will be home soon and nothing is ready.
Mrs Fitzgerald tries to calm her down and asks Mrs Pearson to put her foot down, but Mrs Pearson does not seem to be sure about her capabilities. To this, Mrs Fitzgerald replies that she will do it for Mrs Pearson. The latter denies politely explaining that her husband and children would resent Mrs Fitzgerald. Then Mrs Fitzgerald reveals her plan, which involves an exchange of their personalities. She then takes Mrs Pearson’s hands and chants a spell, after which Mrs Pearson talks out of Mrs Fitzgerald’s body and vice versa.
Mrs Pearson, who is now Mrs Fitzgerald, sounded alarmed at this transformation and expressed her fear – in case they were not able to reverse their personalities into their own respective bodies. Mrs Fitzgerald, who is now Mrs Pearson, convinced her not to worry and go to her home. She could come back after some time to check on things. Mrs Fitzgerald hurries back to her house while the real Mrs Fitzgerald, in the form of Mrs Pearson, waits for the children and husband to return home from work. She smokes away carelessly, whereas the real Mrs Pearson has never smoked in her life.
The daughter Doris, a pretty young girl in her twenties, bursts inside the room asking her mother to iron her yellow silk dress because she is going out for the night. She notices her mother smoking and starts questioning her. Mrs Pearson calmy retaliates, saying there is no law against smoking. When Doris asks her mother if tea is ready, Mrs Pearson informs her that she has had her tea and is thinking about going for dinner at Clarendon. Doris, who has now become sulky, reminds her mother that she works hard and Mrs Pearson has always prepared tea and ironed clothes for her. Mrs Pearson rebukes Doris’s comments and reminds her that she works twice as much as Doris but gets paid in neither wages nor thanks. She also goes further to insult Charlie Spence, with whom Doris had planned to go out in the evening in her yellow dress. Doris is on the verge of tears.
Mrs Pearson’s son Cyril arrives home after a while and starts asking for tea and things that he needs for going out in the evening. In a similar manner to how she put down Doris, Mrs Pearson replies curtly to Cyril’s demands and queries – implying that she could not care less. She reminds Cyril that everyone in the family expects her to listen to their rude comments and demands. She has decided to fight against it just like Cyril goes to the Union in case of any discrepancies at work.
As Cyril stands there baffled by Mrs Peasrson’s unnatural behaviour, Doris joins him in the living room. She had been crying, and her mother just aggravates the situation by telling her that a crying face does not suit her for an evening out with Charlie Spencer. As Cyril tries to figure out what Mrs Pearson could have possibly said to Doris, he finds her looking for some stout in the kitchen. Cyril and Doris talk to each other about the new development in Mrs Pearsons’s attitude. They find the thought of their father dealing with Mrs Pearson’s behaviour funnily intriguing and wait for his arrival.
As Mrs Pearson enters the drawing room with her stout, she intercepts the siblings’ laughter and giggles and reprimands them for not behaving their age. When Doris asks the reason behind her sudden change in behaviour, Mrs Pearson replies that all the family members do is come home, ask her for something and go back again. She also threatens them by saying that her work of eight hours is done and that she might go for an outing during the weekend.
The husband, George, arrives home and is treated in the same way as Cyril and Doris. Mrs Pearson also goes ahead to tell him how people at the club called him ‘Pompy-ompy George’. Mrs Fitzgerald enters the house now and is worried about how Mrs Pearson is treating the family members. She begs Mrs Pearson to stop, but the latter seems furious at her family’s behaviour and scolds them to learn some manners. Mrs Fitzgerald asks Mrs Pearson to exchange their personalities back while Mrs Pearson is intent on doing some more reforms in the family members’ behaviours. But Mrs Fitzgerald is no longer able to bear it, and Mrs Pearson exchanges their personalities back.
The original Mrs Pearson starts talking in a pleasant manner while Mrs Fitzgerald reminds her to be strict. Mrs Pearson thus uses a strict tone with her family finally, and all seem to be aware of her problems and needs now. Cyril, Doris and George become polite and understanding in their behaviour towards Mrs Pearson. She proposes a nice game of rummy and asks them to help her with supper. Mrs Fitzgerald wishes the family goodnight and leaves the house. The play ends.
Conclusion of Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day Class 11 Summary teaches us to take a tough stance when it is necessary. Mrs Fitzegrald undertook the brunt of bringing Doris, Cyril and George to their senses. Mrs Pearson, who was reluctant in the beginning, saw the change in her family members and decided that it was the right thing to do. Mrs Pearson finally got the respect and attention she deserved.
Understanding the deeper meanings involved in a piece of writing is very important to have a good grasp of literature. Students can find other articles and materials related to CBSE English for better command over the syllabus. They can also find other related topics like grammar and writing on BYJU’S website.
