THE COOKIE LADY

1.Who Was Mrs. Drew? Why Did Bernard Visit Her House Every Day After School?

Answer :- Mrs. Drew Was An Elderly Woman Who Lived Alone In Her House,
Characterized By Her Warm And Seemingly Kind Demeanor. She Became Known In
The Neighborhood For Her Delicious Homemade Cookies. Bernard, A Young Boy,
Visited Her House Every Day After School Because She Invited Him In And Offered
Him These Cookies. For Bernard, Mrs. Drew’s House Was A Place Of Comfort And
Treats. The Allure Of The Cookies And The Kind Hospitality From Mrs. Drew Made
Her Home An Attractive Place For Bernard To Spend His Time After School. Initially,
It Seemed Like An Innocent And Generous Gesture From An Elderly Lady, But It
Eventually Became Clear That Mrs. Drew Had A More Sinister Motive Behind Her
Kindness.

2.How Did Mrs. Drew Lure Bernard Into Her Trap? Why Did She Do So?

Answer : Mrs. Drew Lured Bernard Into Her Trap By Appealing To His Love For Cookies
And By Offering Him A Warm And Inviting Place To Visit Every Day After School. She
Used Her Baking Skills And The Comforting Atmosphere Of Her Home To Gain His
Trust And Make Him Feel Welcome. As A Lonely And Unsuspecting Child, Bernard
Was Easily Enticed By The Promise Of Cookies And The Seemingly Friendly Attention
From Mrs. Drew. Her Motive Was Far From Benign; She Was Using The Cookies As
Bait To Exploit Bernard. Mrs. Drew’s Sinister Intent Was To Absorb His Youthful
Vitality And Life Force. By Enticing Bernard To Come To Her House Regularly, She
Created Opportunities To Drain His Energy, Ultimately Rejuvenating Herself At His
Expense:

3. What Changes Did Mrs. Drew Notice In Herself For The First Time When Bernard Sat
Near Her And Read From His Geography Book?

Answer: In the Telephone Conversation, As Bernard was reading from his geography
book, Mrs Drew keenly watched him and reflected on the fact that he had been
 coming to her for over a month and how while sitting on her porch, she had lured
him by pointing to the cookies by her rocker.

As she was reflecting on Bernard’s visits, she closed her eyes, dozing and listening, she
felt something “began to happen”. “The old lady was beginning to change”, her “gray
wrinkles and lines” were dimming away. As she sat on the chair she was growing
younger, her thin fragile body was filling out youth again. Her gray hair “thickened
and darkened”. Her arms filled, and the flesh gave her a rich hue as it has been
once, many years before.

Mrs Drew breathed deeply, not opening her eyes. She could feel something happening
but she did not know just what. Something was going on, she could feel it and it was
good. She felt the warm fullness, a breath of warmth inside her cold body for the
first time in year. She changed into a dark- haired matron of perhaps thirty, a woman
with full cheeks and plump arms and legs. Her lips were red again, her neck even a
little too fleshy. However this transformation ended when Bernard stopped reading
and declared that he had to go.

4. How did Bernard’s parents react when he came back home totally exhausted?

Answer: After having cookies from the Old lady when Bernard reached home, he looked
totally exhausted , as if somebody had stolen his energy. His mother May Surle and
father Ralf Surle, realised that he had been always washed out after he had visited
‘that crazy old lady’. They condemn him for his greed for cookies. His father forbade
him from visiting the old lady’s house. But when Bernard said that he had promised
her that he would come back, his mother allowed him to visit her one last time.
Bubber’s father feels, ‘There’s something strange about the old lady’.

5. How can you conclude that the story Cookie Lady is a horror story?

Answer: Philip K Dick’s, The Cookie Lady is a horror story.

To instill fear in the readers the writer uses suspense, thrilling plot, twist and introduces
the aspect of the unkown. Instead of showing the monster right away, its presence is
 hinted at. Here, Mrs. Drew’s character arouses curiosity. Apparently she is a lonely, kind
old women who bakes Bubber cookie’s. She tells Bubber, ‘they’re just now ready’, urges
him to stay and talk to her for a while, ‘read’ to her, revealing her longingness for
companionship. She laughs witg excitement after seeing her full rounded body by
executing her sinister (evil) plan of draining away the youthfullness or life force from
Bubber completely by touching his hand for the last time. The story starts innocently
enough, with a young boy visiting a kind old lady who gives him cookies. But there’s a
slow, unsettling buildup that makes the reader feel something is wrong.

Bubber is ‘All worn out’ after his regular visits to his ‘lady friend’. The ending is bleak, the
‘plump’ Bubber is reduced to ‘something grey and dry’ blowing up against the porch,
‘carried by the wind’ while Mrs. Drew is ‘blooming’ again sucking out the life force of
Bubber.

The open ending adds to psychological horror.

The setting of the house like a ‘gray little box’, its interior, the ‘awful wind’ are eerie. The
image of Bubber with his ‘head down’ the wind ‘hammering’ at him, the symbol of
cookies as a bait are terrifying.

6. Describe in detail how the lady felt the change in her when Bubber visited her for the
last time?

Answer:In Philip K. Dick story “The Cookie Lady” we get acquainted with Bernard Suie
popularly known as Bubber. Bubber is a chubby, obese teenage lad who had
Irresistable cravings for cookies. He could do anything for a plate of cookies. He often
visited Mrs.Drew, an old strange lady who resided in his locality.

Mrs. Drew used to bake cookies for him which the boy relished with cold milk. Mrs.
Drew was quite aware of the lad’s taste and preference. When Bubber returned home
from Mrs. Drews residence he always felt tired and exhausted. Seeing the boy’s health
detoriation, his parents forbade the boy from visiting Mrs. Drew. But who can prevent
his extreme craving for cookies? Bubber again visited Mrs. Drews residence and
informed her about his last visit.

On hearing Bernard last visit, the lady gazed at him very closely. She told him to choose a
book from her bookcase something by Trollope and read about. When Bernard was reading
loudly she sat beside him and touched his arm. The lady could feeling the youngness of
him, flowing between her fingers, through her arms. A pulsation vibrating youngness was so
close to her. The feel of life made her dizzy. She closed her eyes, letting it move over her,
filling her up. The change, the flow was coming over her, the warm rising feeling.
She was blooming again, filling with life, swelling into richness as she had in her thirties.
Her arms were rounded and her nails were clear. Her hair transform, black heavy growth
against her neck. All the wrinkles in her cheek has vanished and her skin was plain and
soft. She smiled feeling her strong teeth, gum and red lips. Her voice was sensual and
throaty.

Then she rose up and gave the last cookies to Bernard and hurrriedly went into her
bedroom to relish her youth with bosom swelling and her flesh firm. Being elated she
decided to take a fresh bath. Meanwhile, Bubber turned pale, exhausted and his skin was
dull and dead white. He slowly transformed into strand of dry weeds blown by the wind.

7. Discuss the personality and role of Mrs Drew in the story The Cookie Lady.

Ans. Mrs. Drew is an old woman with an intense desire to feel the vitality and youthfulness
of life. Though She has become old the mind has not accepted this fact in C normal and
natural way. She feels disappointed on having grown old. Her loneliness has further added
to her agony. Consequently she seeks the company of a young boy Bubber to feel
passionate and young.

She is possessed by her desire to become and feel young that she unscrupulously exploits
an innocent young boy named Bubber. She tempts him with delicious cookies to visit her
and read to her while she enjoys the transformation experienced in his company. She
relishes a touch of the arm of the boy that sends waves of pleasure in her.

She plays the role of a highly selfish woman who gives importance to her happiness only.
Mrs Drew does not bother about the destructive impact her behaviour has on the boy. She
keeps on inviting him even when the negative impact of his visits on him is evident to her.
This old woman hardly bothers about what people say about her or. What the parents of the
boy think about her behaviour. She plays the role of a very clever, shrewd and selfish
woman possessed by the desire to feel young.

HOMEWORK

8. Explain briefly how did the Cookie lady accomplish her sinister motive? (5)
9. “Bernard became a victim of his temptation”. Explain the above statement in a
paragraph of about 200-250 words with reference to the story, “The Cookie Lady”.
(10)