The Necklace

Summary

The story centres on Matilda Loisel, who is a beautiful woman. She suffers greatly because of her desire to appear rich and fashionable. She is married to a clerk and leads an ordinary life. But she wants to be rich and famous. Her husband gets an invitation to attend a dance party given by the Minister of Public Instruction. Matilda borrows a diamond necklace from her rich friend Madame Forestier to wear it at the party. She looks charming and everybody praises her. But when she returns home, she finds that she has lost the necklace. She and her husband borrow a big amount of money to replace the necklace. They work hard for ten years to pay off their debt. Their life becomes miserable. One day, after the debt, is paid off. Matilda comes across Madame Forestier. Matilda is shocked to learn from her that the necklace was made of artificial diamonds and its price was not more than 500 francs.

Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. What do you think were the feelings of Mme Forester when she came to know that Matilda returned her a diamond necklace in place of the artificial one? 

Matilda borrowed a necklace from Mme Frostier to wear at a party. She lost it somewhere and in that place returned a diamond necklace to her. She was unaware of the fact that it was an artificial one. Mme Forester was shocked to know the whole story. Mme Frostier thought that situation could be avoided if Matilda would have spoken to Mme Forester.

2. What changes occurred in Mme Loisel after 10 years? 

After ten years, Mme Loisel seemed old. She had become a strong, hard woman, the crude woman of the poor household. Her hair was badly dressed, her skirts awry, her hands red and she spoke in a loud voice.

3. Why did Mme Loisel go to visit her friend Mme Forester? 

Mme Loisel visited her friend Mme Forester twice. First, she went to her house to borrow a diamond necklace for the ball which she lost the same day. Secondly, she visited her house to return the necklace that she had bought for 36,000 francs in compensation for the lost necklace.

4. Why do you think that M. Loisel was a loving husband? 

M. Loisel was a simple and poor clerk. He made every effort and sacrifice to make his wife happy. He sacrificed his 400 francs that he had saved to buy a gun for himself in order to buy a new party dress for his wife. It proves that he was a loving husband.

5. What tortured and angered Mme Loisel? 

Mme Loisel suffered incessantly, feeling herself born for all delicacies and luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her apartment, the shabby walls and the worn chairs. All these things tortured and angered her.

6. Why was Mme not delighted on receiving the invitation to the party organized by the Ministry of Public Instruction? 

Mme was not delighted on receiving the invitation to the party organized by the Ministry of Public Instruction because she did not have a good dress to wear for the party.

7. Why was Matilda married to a clerk? 

Matilda belonged to a family of clerks. Her parents were not rich. They did not have a big dowry for Matilda. She had no means to be married to a rich and famous man. So she was married to M. Loisel who was a clerk.

8. Describe Matilda’s experience at the dance party. 

Matilda looked very charming at the dance party. All the men at the party looked at her. They asked her name. Everybody wanted to be introduced to her. The officers at the party wanted to dance with her. She danced with joy. She had a great sense of victory.

9. Why did Matilda put up another demand after her husband gave her 400 francs for buying a pretty dress? 

Mme Loisel’s demand of having a suitable costume was fulfilled. But then, she put forward another demand. She was vexed not to have a jewel. She had nothing to adorn herself with. She didn’t want to present a poverty-stricken look of herself amidst rich ladies. She ridiculed the idea of wearing natural flowers. She needed some jewels to adorn herself.

10. How was Matilda’s demand of adorning herself with jewels fulfilled? 

Matilda was adamant on having some jewels to adorn her for the ball. Her poor husband felt helpless. However, an idea struck him. He told her that she could borrow jewels from her rich friend Mme Forestier. Mme Forestier easily agreed and placed her jewellery box before Matilda to make her choice. In the end, Matilda chose a superb diamond necklace and Mme Forestier happily gave the necklace to her friend.

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:

1. What lesson can we learn from the story ‘The Necklace’?

The story ‘The Necklace’ teaches us is to be content in life. Matilda suffered from the feeling that she is born for all delicacies and luxuries, but has to live miserably in ‘poverty’. So, when she has to attend the office party with her husband, she asks him for money to get a new dress. Her husband sacrifices the money he has saved to buy a gun. Yet she is discontent and has the greed for jewelry. She is ashamed of her modest wrap at the end of the party and rushes to hide her poverty. But this vanity is short-lived and is the beginning of all troubles in her life. She loses the necklace and buys a new diamond necklace as its replacement by borrowing heavily. Subsequently, she is pushed to live in even more poverty. She realizes how her false pride had taken away her otherwise happy contented life. Also, had she truthfully confessed to Mme Forestier, this situation would not have come. The story thus shows us the negative effects of jealousy, pride and vanity and stresses the importance of honesty, love, sacrifice and being content.

2. Write a character sketch of Mme Loisel.
Matilda was exceptionally pretty. By virtue of her good looks, she felt that she was born for all delicacies and luxuries. She wished to be admired, loved and married to some rich person. But she was born into a family of clerks. Since she had no dowry, she agreed to marry a petty clerk. She was always grumbling. The state of her house tortured her. She dreamt of lavish parties, beautiful dresses and jewels. Her dreamy, ambitious and vain nature pushed her into trouble. She paid a heavy price for her foolish desires. She borrowed a necklace to wear at a ball. She was intoxicated with joy and success. But the necklace was lost. From being a beautiful woman at one time, she became a crude, hard shabby woman of a poor family. But she was brave and honest. She worked hard ungrudgingly to pay off her loan.

3. What preparations did Mme Loisel make for the ball?
Mme Loisel did not have a good dress to wear for the party. She told her husband that a suitable dress would cost four hundred francs. Her husband had been saving money in order to buy a gun. He gave up the idea of purchasing the gun. Mme Loisel purchased a beautiful dress with that money. But Mme Loisel was still not happy. Now she told her husband that she did not have any jewellery to wear at the party. Her husband asked her to request Mme Forestier for help. Mme Forestier showed her several of her necklaces. She asked Mme Loisel to choose from any of those necklaces. Mme Loisel selected a beautiful necklace and borrowed it. In this way, Mme Loisel made preparations for the party.

4. What was the single mistake that ruined the Loisels’ lives and brought them so many sufferings? Could they have avoided such a situation?
It is true that a single mistake can change the course of one’s life. Wearing a suitable costume and adorning herself with borrowed jewels didn’t bring any reversal of fortunes for Loisels. But hiding the fact that she had lost Madam Forestier’s necklace and not taking her into confidence was indeed a big blunderThey had to pay 36000 francs to buy a replacement of Madam Forestier’s necklace. For ten long years, Matilda had to work like an ordinary maid doing all her household work herself Mr. Loisel had to do extra work in the evenings and nights to save money. Of course, the Loisels could have averted such an unfortunate situation. Madam Forestier was an obliging, helpful and forgiving lady. She was rich but not arrogant. She would have easily forgiven her or asked her to repay an equivalent amount. After all, the jewels were false.

Questions from the text book. Thinking about the Text

1. The course of the Loisels’ life changed due to the necklace.

The course of the Loisel’s life changed due to the necklace. After replacing the lost necklace with a new one, they had to replay all the money that they had borrowed to buy the new necklace. They sent away the maid and changed their lodgings. They rented some rooms in an attic. Matilda learnt the odious work of a kitchen. She washed the dishes, soiled linen, their clothes and dishcloths. She took went to the street each morning and brought up the water, stopping at each landing to catch her breath. She went to the grocer’s, the butcher’s, and the fruiter’s, with her basket on her arm, shopping, haggling to save her money. Loisel worked in the evenings, putting the books of some merchants in order. At night, he did copying for five sous a page. This lasted for ten years, and at the end of the said period, they were able to repay their lenders.

2. What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?

The cause of Matilda’s ruin was her dissatisfaction with whatever life offered her. She was always unhappy. She felt that she was born for all the delicacies and luxuries. She disliked her circumstances. She could have avoided the ruin by being content with what she had.

3. What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?

If Matilda would have confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace, she might have been in lesser trouble than what she faced after having replaced the necklace. Her friend would definitely have been angry with her. Most probably, she would have asked Matilda to replace it. She would have given her the details from where she had bought the necklace and how much it had cost her. Matilda would thus have known that the jewels in the necklace were not real diamonds. It would have cost her a far lesser amount to replace it. Matilda would thus have saved herself and her husband all the trouble they went through.

4. If you were caught in a situation like this, how would you have dealt with it?

If I caught in a situation like this, I would have gone to my friend from whom I had borrowed the necklace. Then I would have confessed before her that I had lost the necklace. I would have paid the cost of the necklace to her directly if she demanded.

Practice Question

Q1Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow. 

(a) Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she threw the invitation spitefully upon the table murmuring. ‚What do you suppose I want with that?‛
‚But, my dearie, I thought it would make you happy. You never go out, and this is an occasion, and a fine one!‛ 

I. From whom did M. Loisel receive an invitation for the party?
a. the Minister of Health Affairs
b. the Minister of Home Affairs
c. the Minister of Sea Affairs
d. the Minister of Public Instruction 

ii. Why did M. Loisel hope Mme Loisel would be happy to receive the invitation?
a. because she wanted to attend a fine occasion 

b. because M. Loisel was to receive an award 

c. because it was her birthday on that occasion 

d. because her friends were going to attend the occasion 

iii. Why was Mme Loisel unhappy to receive the invitation?
a. because she had many such parties before 

b. because she didn’t have good dresses 

c. because she was unwell 

d. because she didn’t like going for parties 

iv. Find a word from the extract which means the same as ‘in an unkind way.’
a. delighted
b. murmuring
c. spitefully
d. dearie

(b) He turned a little pale, for he had saved just this sum to buy a gun that he might be able to join some hunting parties the next summer with some friends who went to shoot larks on Sunday.

I. Why did M Loisel want to buy a gun?
a. to hang as an antique piece on the wall
b. to give it to the guards of his house
c. to go out to hunt with his friends
d. for self-protection 

ii. How much had M Loisel saved to buy a gun?
a. four hundred francs
b. thirty-six thousand francs
c. eighteen thousand francs
d. fourteen thousand francs

iii. Why did M Loisel turn pale?

a. because Mme Loisel wanted four hundred francs to buy jewelry
b. because Mme Loisel wanted to buy a luxurious house
c. because Mme Loisel wanted four hundred francs to buy a dress
d. because Mme Loisel had lost the necklace

iv. Find a word from the extract which means the same as ‘amount.’
a. larks
b. buy
c. pale
d. sum

Q2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each. 

(a) How was Mme Loisel ‘an error of destiny’? 

Mme Matilda Loisel was very charming and pretty. She appeared to be a lady of a high family. But she was born in a family of clerks. As her parents did not have much money, she was married to a clerk. But she wanted to enjoy the luxuries of life. So, the writer says that she was ‘a mistake of destiny.’ 

(b) Why did Mme Loisel leave the ball in a hurry? 

Mme Loisel left the ball in a hurry because her husband threw the modest wraps around her shoulders, whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball costume. She did not want to be noticed by the other women who were wrapping themselves in rich furs. 

(c) How was M. Loisel able to arrange thirty six thousand francs? 

Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs which his father had left for him. Rest of the money he borrowed from usurers and a whole race of lenders. He made ruinous promises for that. And to repay this debt they had to change their lodgings. 

(d) How had Mme Loisel’s sacrifices all been in vain? 

Mme. Loisel’s sacrifices had proved to be all in vain because when she met Mme Forester after ten years, Mme Forester told her that the necklace was of fake and worth 500 francs only. Poor Loisels had wasted their yen years to repay for the loss of a fake necklace.

Q3 Answer the following questions in in 100 -120 words. 

(a) Why did Mme Loisel remain dissatisfied from her life?
Mme Loisel was pretty but born into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, loved and married a man either rich or distinguished. She wanted to lead a life of luxury and comfort. She suffered from the poverty of her apartment, the shabby walls and the worn chairs. All these things tortured and angered her. When she sat opposite to her husband served in marvelous dishes. She felt sad as she did not have frocks and jewels. 

(b) What kind of life did Matilda and her husband live after the loss of the necklace?
M Loisel raised a loan for purchasing a diamond necklace to replace the lost necklace. Now Loisel and his wife worked hard in order to repay that debt. They changed their lodgings and shifted to a small room. They dismissed their maid. Mme Loisel did all her household work herself. She bargained for small amounts. M Loisel worked evenings, putting the books of some merchants in order, and nights he often did copying ay five sous a page. After ten years of hard work, they were able to pay off their debt. But because of hard work and misery, Mme Loisel looked old. Thus the couple’s life completely changed after they had raised the loan for the necklace.