Character
One Sentence Summary
Summary
Long- Question
2. What does Patricia Hampl say about women, marriage,
mother- daughter relationship and importance of a family?
Or, Describe what the essay tells us
about women and marriage.
Short- question
1. Explain the daughter's attitude to
marriage.
2. What do you mean by "Many things
fell that year"?
3. Discovering meaning of this essay
depends on discovering a thread of associations. Discuss.
4. How does Hampl see herself and her
mother connected by the teacup?
5. How can writing sharpen as image that
is only dimly recalled?
16. Look At a Teacup
Patricia Hampl
Character
Daughter : essayist,
Mother : writer's mother
1939 A.D. : Second World War
Czechoslovakia : destroyed by the Hitler
View on the marriage : writer and her mother's view
A tea cup : detail description, and links with various aspects
Destruction of Second World War
One Sentence Summary
The tea cup is a witness of history so it is a bridge between past and present, mother and daughter, destruction and creation.
Summary
The essay 'Look at a Tea cup' describes various things happened during the Second World War, and the writer's view on marriage and woman freedom. In this essay the writer describes relationship between the past and the present. Both of these themes are represented by a tea cup. The cup was brought by the writer's mother in 1939, the year her mother was married. It was made in Czechoslovakia. In 1939 Czechoslovakia was destroyed by the armies of Hitler.
The writer describes the cup in detail. She says that there are many flowers scattered to different levels of the cup. They represent various things. As the writer says 'many things fell that year' she refers to various things here. Bombs were dropped upon many places, and lots of people were killed. Girls were treated badly on the war. Many people got married in 1939. They are worried about the war. Many people feared to be killed. The writer is modern and says that her mother is traditional. For her mother marriage is important but for the writer work is important. She thinks marriage ends woman's freedom. The writer looks back to study past, because past is important for her. But her mother looks at the future and she wanted to forget the past.
The teacup brings two generation together. It links the past and the present because it was made in the past. It stands for the old generation as the mother. And now it has been given to the daughter. The mother wants to pass her things to her daughter one by one. It means that the mother wants to pass old tradition to her daughter. But the cup helps the writer to know many things about the past, because her mother does not want to say anything about the past.
Long- Question
1. Explain the cup is
a detail, a small uncharred finger from the mid century bonfire.
The
mid century bonfire is the reference to the Second World War. It was the most destroyed
war that the human civilization had ever seen. About 55 million people were
killed besides living many more million homeless, physically disabled and
wounded. Almost all the countries of Europe had to bear unparalleled loss of
life and property in the terrible fire of war. One of such countries, which
burnt in the fire of war, was Czechoslovakia. Patricia Hampl has a set of
teacup, which was made in Czechoslovakia safe with her. She considered it is a
part of Czechoslovakia since the country itself was burnt in fire of World War
II. She regards it an uncharred finger. It is not only the concrete example
superior Czech art but also reminds us the destruction of the Second World War,
the falling bodies’ soldiers, falling bombs, crumbling countries. Thus she
thinks it a detail, which could provide enough information to rewrite the
history.
2. What does Patricia Hampl say about
women, marriage, mother- daughter relationship and importance of a family?
Or, Describe what the essay tells us about women and marriage.
The Second World War was beginning in 1939. The same year the essayist's mother married. The year was the fall of culture (decline). She bought teacup too. She gave it as gift to her daughter. The cup inspired the writer in family life and mother daughter relationship. There was killed many people, newly married people and declined the destiny (fortune) of women. War raised a critical question over the importance of a family. There was no peace, no prosperity and no hope of fair future. The sense of the dark future created fear among people, especially among women. They were afraid of marriage. Thought the essayist's mother passed life with her husband. Many lost their husband. They became frustrate (upset) in marriage, family- life and so on.
Hampl says women are a doll on the hands of man. Marriage is not important for her, because it ends a woman's freedom. She thinks work is more important than marriage. She loves to meet her mother almost every weekend. Therefore, her and her mother's relation is very good. She is careless on the marriage but gives importance on family.
Short- question
1. Explain the daughter's attitude to marriage.
The Second World War was a dark period for women, bombs were fallen, and men were dying. Married women were crying for their poor destiny. Looking at these widows, unmarried young girls were afraid of their future. They were afraid of marriage. Therefore, she gives importance on work rather than marriage, because it ends women's freedom, so that, she has not positive attitude towards marriage.
2. What do you mean by "Many things fell that year"?
Many things fell that year because it was the year of Second World War. The bombs were fallen on the people. Soldiers were fallen on the battle- field. Many were force to fall on the bed. People fell from the belief of marriage, importance of family and so on. The culture and country fell and declined. The war destroyed nearly everything. This is the meaning of many things fell that year.
3. Discovering meaning of this essay depends on discovering a thread of
associations. Discuss.
This essay describes the details of a Czeck-made china tea cup and works out a meaning through the association of the details. Hampl, here presents the tea cup as a small uncharred finger from the mid century bonfire. It carries with it a long history of traditions and war time destruction. The falling of flowers into the tea cup is associated with the falling of bombs, bodies, cities and countries during the Second World War. Hampl’s mother represents traditions like marrying and bearing children just as this tea cup of the discontinued pattern is the remains of the pre-war world
4. How does Hampl see herself and her mother connected by the teacup?
Most of such tea-cups are still unbroken. For Hampl, the tea cup is a detail that carries a long history since the pre-world war II times. Hampl belongs to the people of new generation. She dislikes following traditions. However, her mother is a typical traditional house wife. Hampl considers work or career more important than marriage. Her mother is keen on Hampl’s wedding early as she views a woman’s life differently. The tea cup, though simple and delicate, stands for the continuation of old institutions. Thus, Hampl and her mother are far apart due to generation gap. However, the old tea cups have now been Hampl’s.
5. How can writing sharpen as image that is only dimly recalled?
A tea cup is a very ordinary thing. It holds no information on its own. It is the writer’s special treatment of the subject that really creates meaning through the association of ideas. Images remain in man’s mind in a vague, hidden state. It is the writing that develops them into a definite shape. In fact minor events attain significance just as they do in this essay and the credit goes to Hampl’s wonderful writing technique. She quickly moves from the details and the background to the more serious questions of the institution of marriage, mother, daughter relationship, importance of family and, above all, women.
6. Describe the
teacup and saucer
The teacup and saucers were brought
by Patricia Hampl’s mother in 1939. The cups were made in Czechoslovakia and
each has a stamp ‘Czechoslovakia’ on the bottom. Each cup was made of finest
china clay. The cup is water green in colour, which the essayist tells is even
hard imagine. There are golden lines on cups’ edges on base and on the edges
and inner circle of the saucer. There isn’t any other decoration outside the cups.
There are flowers falling inside the cup. Those flowers do not seem pasted.
They appear as if someone has shaken a bundle of flower and all the flowers are
cut in motion. There is a golden circle inside the cups, which shine beneath
the falling flowers.
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