Chapter the-portrait-of-a-lady: The Portrait of a Lady | Short Questions

The grandmother stopped helping because the medium and content of education changed completely. The author began attending an English school where subjects like Science, English, and Music were taught. Since she did not know English and did not believe in the scientific theories being taught, she found herself unable to assist him. This lack of involvement in his education distressed her, as she felt the school was neglecting religious and moral teachings, which she considered the most vital part of a child's upbringing.

When the author returned after five years, the grandmother met him at the station. She showed no outward emotional outburst but clasped him in her arms while reciting her prayers. That evening, she did something highly unusual; she omitted her prayers for the first time. She gathered the women of the neighborhood, got an old drum, and spent hours singing about the homecoming of warriors. This rare display of physical celebration showed her deep joy and relief at having her grandson back home safely.

The happiest part of her day was the afternoon when she fed the sparrows in the verandah. She would sit down and break bread into hundreds of little crumbs. Hundreds of sparrows would gather around her, creating a 'veritable bedlam of chirrupings.' Some birds perched on her legs and shoulders, and some even on her head. She never shooed them away but smiled throughout the process. This activity provided her with the companionship and joy that she lacked in her increasingly isolated city life.

Once the author went to university and was given his own room, the grandmother accepted her loneliness with quiet resignation. She rarely left her spinning wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset, she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. Her only break was in the afternoon to feed the sparrows. This routine shows her discipline and her ability to find peace within herself through labor and devotion, rather than relying on others for emotional fulfillment or entertainment.

The rosary is a symbol of the grandmother's constant devotion and her spiritual anchor. Throughout the story, her fingers are described as 'busily telling the beads.' It represents her detachment from the material world and her focus on the divine. Even at the moment of her death, the rosary was in her hand. When it fell from her lifeless fingers, it served as a silent announcement that her soul had departed. It highlights that her life was a continuous prayer, dedicated entirely to her faith.