Character Sketch of the Old Woman | Once Upon a Time

Character Sketch from Class 10 English BSEB Chapter 6 – Once Upon a Time of the Old Woman

A character sketch defines what the character is like and how he/she evolves or develops throughout the story. In this post you can find the Character Sketch of the Old Woman from BSEB Class 10 English Panorama-II Book Lesson 6 – Once Upon a Time

Related: 

• Once Upon a Time Summary and Explanation
• Once Upon a Time Question Answers

Character Sketch of the Old Woman

In Once Upon a Time, the “old woman” is not actually a character in the poem but is a metaphorical person with the true essence, warmth, honesty, and genuine innocence of the past. The old woman reflects the type of honest, emotionally open kind of people the speaker recalls from his youth. People like the old woman smiled with their hearts and were genuine in regards to feelings, there was no pretence or ulterior motives. The old woman provides a reminder of genuine human connection longer lost in a false sense of reality regarding appearances, which so many hold onto in today’s world. 

The speaker reflects upon the memories of how people of previous generations, like the old woman, exhibited themselves without reservation and in a warm fashion. The “old woman”, unlike the world we live in today with flashy fake smiles, hypocritical two-faced behaviours, is an uplifting reminder of genuine breaths of emotion and simplicity in relationships. The speaker sees this reference as a longing to go back to relearn how to be real, from a time when people did not fear showing what they really felt. She symbolises a pure, uncorrupted humanity that the speaker wants to return to for his child.

Questions related to the Character of the old Woman

1. How does the old woman in Once Upon a Time represent traditional human values?
2. Why does the speaker long to return to the emotional sincerity symbolised by the old woman?