The Portrait of a Lady Vocabulary Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key expressions, metaphors, and cultural terms used in Khushwant Singh's 'The Portrait of a Lady' to describe the characters and their evolving relationship.

the thought was almost revolting

The idea that the grandmother might have once been young and pretty was so hard to believe it was nearly disgusting to the author.

an expanse of pure white serenity

A description of the grandmother as a peaceful, calm figure dressed in spotless white, resembling a winter landscape in the mountains.

a turning-point

A critical moment that changed the nature of the author's friendship with his grandmother, specifically when they moved from the village to the city.

accepted her seclusion with resignation

The grandmother quietly accepted her loneliness and isolation without complaint or protest as the author grew older.

a veritable bedlam of chirrupings

A scene of great noise and confusion created by hundreds of small birds gathering and making loud sounds.

frivolous rebukes

Light-hearted, playful, or silly scoldings given by the grandmother to the sparrows while she fed them.

the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum

The loose, worn-out surface of an old, broken-down musical instrument used by the grandmother to sing of the home-coming of warriors.

rosary

A string of beads used by the grandmother to count her prayers while her fingers moved constantly.

fables of the Prophets

The religious stories the grandmother used to tell the author, which he treated as fiction during his childhood.

silver locks

The grandmother's untidy white hair that was scattered over her pale, puckered face.

inaudible prayer

Prayer spoken characterized by moving lips but no sound that can be heard by others.

monotonous sing-song

The repetitive, unvarying tone in which the grandmother recited her morning prayers while bathing the author.

stale chapatti

Old, hard flatbread spread with butter and sugar, used as breakfast and later fed to village dogs.

lewd associations

The grandmother's belief that music was vulgar or inappropriate, belonging only to harlots and beggars rather than gentlefolk.

snapped

The breaking or sudden ending of the common link of friendship when the author moved to a separate room at the University.

sentimental

Showing feelings of tenderness or sadness; the grandmother was famously not like this even when the author moved abroad for five years.

moist imprint

The damp mark left by the grandmother's kiss on the author's forehead, which he cherished as a sign of physical contact.

peaceful pallor

A calm, pale appearance that spread over the grandmother's face at the moment of her death.

red shroud

The red cloth used to cover the grandmother's body as part of the funeral custom.

cremated

The process of disposing of a corpse by burning it, which the family prepared for by getting a crude stretcher.