Yellow Face2

Class – 7
Subject – English Literature

Prose --The Yellow Face
Exercises
A. Questions
1. What could Sherlock Holmes tell about the man from his pipe?
Ans : Sherlock Holmes deduced from the pipe that the man was disturbed of mind (because he forgot
the pipe); that he valued it highly (because he had repaired it with silver bands which was more costly than
the original pipe), rather than replaced it, when it was broken. Holmes also concluded that he was
muscular, left-handed, had excellent teeth, was careless in his habits and was well-off.
2. How did Holmes learn the man’s name?

Ans : The man i.e. Mr Grant Munro was wearing a hat in which, in the lining of the hat the name was
written. Holmes was a keen observer, so he could easily learn the name of the man from the hat.
3. Why was the man hesitant to speak to Holmes about his problem?
Ans : The man was hesitant as he was troubled by his wife. He said that it was dreadful to discuss about
the conduct of one’s wife with two men (Mr Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson) whom he had never seen
before. The man was also impatient as he was disturbed due to his wife’s behavior.
4. What was Holmes’ provisional theory about the people in the cottage? How accurate was he?
Ans : Sherlock Holmes believed that this woman (Effie) was married in America, her husband contracted
some diseases. She fled from him, returned to England, changed her name and started her life afresh. She
had been married three years and believed that her position was secure as she had shown her husband
the death certificate of some man whose name she had assumed. When suddenly her whereabouts was
discovered by her first husband or by some unscrupulous woman, who had attached herself to him. They
wrote to Effie and threatened to expose her. So she asked for hundred pounds from Munro to settle the
matter. After taking the money, they settled in the cottage near their house.
Sherlock Holmes was not totally accurate with his theory because at end of the story, the readers
find that the concerned person who had created problem in the life of Mr and Mrs Munro was not the first
husband of Effie, but her small child from her first marriage.
5. In what way did the face at the window appear ‘inhuman’ to Grant Munro?
Ans : Grant Munro described the face to Sherlock Holmes which he had seen at the window of the cottage
near his house. He saw at the window a face which he described as "unnatural and inhuman" and went on
to say that it was "set and rigid".
Munro described it as "livid dead yellow". The inhuman nature of the face was of course eventually
revealed as being due to a mask, being observed over the face of Effie's child.
6. Why did the woman not want her husband to know about the child?
Ans : Effie said that her only child, the small girl was having dark complexion because her father was an
African descent. She continued that after marrying Munro, she feared to tell the truth to her husband, as
she feared that she would lose her. So she had kept her child’s existence as a secret.
Effie informed that she instructed the nurse of her daughter to cover her face with mask and hands
with gloves, when they had come to the new place to stay, so that even if those who would see her at the
window, should not gossip about her dark complexion.
7. Who was the old woman in the house? How did she come to be there?
Ans : The old woman in the house was the nurse of the only child of Effie, from her first marriage. Effie had
given her small daughter to the care of that faithful Scotchwoman, as her daughter’s health was weak,
when she returned to England after the death of her first husband.
After three years, when Effie came to know from that nurse about her daughter’s recovery from her
weakness, she had a desire to see her child once more. So she sent a hundred pounds to the nurse and
gave her instructions about that cottage, which was near the house of Mr Munro. She ordered the old
woman to keep the child in that house. Thus the old woman came to the cottage at the instruction of Effie.
8. What means of persuasion did Mrs Grant Munro use to stop her husband from entering the house or
asking further questions about the inmates?
Ans : Mrs Grant Munro did not want to disclose the identity of the people in the cottage. So, when Mr Munro
reached the cottage with Holmes and Watson, she tried to stop them. She requested Munro to keep trust
on her. But she failed to convince her husband. Thus she had to explain everything to Mr. Munro.
When the three visitors had entered the room and seen the small child, then Mrs Munro was forced
to tell the truth. Thus she could not stop her husband from entering the room or ask any further question.
9. What was the husband’s reaction when the story was revealed?
Ans : Mr Munro after knowing the truth from his wife, lifted the little child, kissed her and then, still carrying
her, he held his other hand out to his wife and turned towards the door. He said to Effie that they could talk
about it more comfortably at home.
10. Why did Holmes ask Watson to whisper ‘Norbury’ in his ear?
Ans : Holmes himself was often very sure of himself and his abilities and usually had no patience with
people who were not as quick as him, even in this story. When Watson asked him if he had any theory, he
said yes, a provisional one. But he would be surprised if it did not turn out to be correct. Then he started
analyzing the facts. He explained that the woman’s ﬁrst husband was in that cottage. But it turned out as a
surprise for even himself when the yellow face turned out to be the daughter in a mask, in contrast to his
erroneous theory of a husband with leprosy.
Holmes is often depicted as the ultimate thinking machine, incapable of error. The reader may
draw some small satisfaction in finding that even Holmes is capable of human mistakes and further that he
was humble enough to admit to it. The deeper message to Holmes’ comment is that we all are capable of
mistaken judgment or prejudice and must be willing to own up to our faults.
B. Reference to context
1. “Oh’, said she, in her playful way, ‘you said that you were only my banker, and bankers never ask
questions, you know.”
a. Who is narrating this story to whom?
Ans : Mr Munro is narrating this story to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.
b. When did the narrator make this report?

Ans : The narrator Mr Munro made this report to Sherlock Holmes when he found his wife was acting
strangely, keeping secrets from him and most importantly visiting his neighbouring cottage, where he saw
the peculiar yellow face. So, in order to know the truth behind Effie’s aloofness, lies and the yellow face, the
narrator informed Holmes to solve the mystery.
c. When does the woman say these words to the narrator and why?
Ans : Effie said these words when she had asked for hundred pounds from her husband, Mr Munro.
Effie initially did not disclose the reason for taking that amount from Munro. Later she informed
Munro that after knowing about her child’s recovery from her sickness, she had a desire to see her child
once more. So she sent a hundred pounds to the nurse of her child and instructed her about the cottage
where her child could stay safe.
d. What particular job does the narrator do?

Ans : Mr Munro was a notable, rich merchant that made him travel across towns in different seasons. He
had less to do in summer. Overall, he was a well-off man with a happy life.
2. “I don’t wonder that you are surprised, said she, trembling. Why, I felt a longing for a breath of fresh air.”
a. Who says these words and to whom?
Ans : These words are spoken by Effie to her husband Mr Munro.
b. What is the question to which this statement is a response ?

Ans : Mr Munro asked Effie where she had been, as it was so late in the night. Effie had gone out late in the
night, when Munro was sleeping.
c. Why is the person trembling?

Ans : Effie went out of the house stealthily late in the night without informing her husband. When she
returned home, she found Munro awake and she was asked about her whereabouts so late in the night.
Effie answered Munro tremblingly, because she could not disclose the secret that where she had gone and
why she went out of the house so late in the night.
d. Is the second statement she makes true or false?

Ans : The second statement in the extract is totally false. She went out of the house not because she
wanted to breath fresh air, but she went to the cottage near their house to meet her only child, whom she
had met after three long years.

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Class – 7

Subject – English Literature

2. How did Holmes learn the man’s name?

b. When did the narrator make this report?

d. What particular job does the narrator do?

b. What is the question to which this statement is a response ?

c. Why is the person trembling?

d. Is the second statement she makes true or false?

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