The Necklace - English Literature

Summary

Mathilde Loisel was pretty and charming, but she was born in family of clerks and married to a clerk. She was unhappy because she couldn’t afford the luxuries of life. One day her husband came home with an invitation to a ball from the office of the Minister of public Instruction. He had thought that Mathilda would be happy, but she wasn’t .So he bought her a beautiful gown with the money he had saved. But now she didn’t have matching jewelry. So she borrowed it from her friend.

She was very happy at the ball and was the center of attraction as she was looking beautiful and danced wonderfully. But the happiness was short lived. On returning home she couldn’t find the diamond necklace. So they decided to replace it and give it to her friend. They found a necklace exactly like the borrowed one. But it cost a fortune for them to repay it back, which they did but it took ten years. One day when she met her friend who had given her the necklace she told her what all had happened .To her surprise her friend said that it was a fake necklace and cost hardly five hundred franks. Matilde Loisel was shattered again.

Sample Q's And A's

Question 1

Question: Was Mathilde happy as the wife of a clerk?

Answer: She was unhappy. She dreamt of riches and a luxurious life.

Question 2

Question: Why did she not visit her friend any more?

Answer: Her friend was very rich. She felt depressed when she returned to her home. So she avoided visiting her.

Question 3

Question: What did the large envelope contain?

Answer: An invitation to the palace of the Ministry on Monday evening.

Question 4

Question: Why was Mathilde unhappy even after receiving the invitation?

Answer: She was unhappy as she did not have an evening gown to wear to the palace.

Question 5

Question: How much money did she ask for the new gown?

Answer: She asked 400 francs for the new gown.

Question 6

Question: Though she had a new gown she still felt that something was missing. What was missing?

Answer: Though she had a new gown she still felt that something was missing. She wanted some jewellery to wear.

Question 7

Question: What did Loisel suggest in place of jewellery?

Answer: Loisel suggested a bunch of flowers in place of jewellery.

Question 8

Question: Why did Mathilde visit her friend?

Answer: Mathilde wondered if she could borrow a piece of jewellery from her friend.

Question 9

Question: What did Mathilde finally choose from her friend's jewel box?

Answer: Mathilde finally chose a sparkling diamond necklace from her friend's jewel box.

Question 10

Question: How did they reach home after the ball?

Answer: They walked for a short distance and then caught a cab home.

Question 11

Question: What did Mathilde suddenly discover after she returned home?

Answer: She wanted to look at herself once more in the mirror before retiring for the night. Then she saw that the necklace was missing. It had fallen off.

Question 12

Question: What did Madame Forestier not discover?

Answer: Madame Forestier had loaned a diamond necklace to Mathilde. Mathilde had lost the necklace, but bought a similar necklace. Madam Forestier did not discover that the necklace returned was not the one that Mathilde had borrowed.

Question 13

Question: What course of life did the Loisel's have after this incident on the fateful evening?

Answer: They had a very difficult life. Mathilde had to do all the house work, her husband worked in the evenings and worked late into the night copying manuscripts at five sous per page.

Question 14

Question: Explain the ironic end of the story.

Answer: Mathilde and her husband pay off a debt of 32,000 francs. But they realize at the end that the necklace had actually been a fake one costing only 500 francs.

Question 15

Question: What were the various wrong steps taken by Mathilde?

Answer:

1) To crave for a gown and jewel beyond their capacity



2) To borrow an expensive jewel



3) Not to inform her friend about the loss

Question 16

Question: Read the given extracts and write what they reveal about the various characters of the story.



Mathilde

a) She was born as if by slip of fate into 'a family of clerks'

b) She felt so sad when she came home

c) She threw the invitation on the table crossly.

d) Haven't you any more?

e) She bore her part with sudden heroism.

Answer: a) She dreams of a rich life and dreams beyond her means



b) She was ashamed of her poverty



c) Ungrateful



d) Dissatisfied, wants to look extremely rich and beautiful



e) Is a strong woman deep down. Faces up to her wrong deed

Question 17

Question: Read the given extracts and write what they reveal about the various characters of the story.



The Husband

a) 'There' is something for you.

b) Very well I will give you 400 francs

c) Go and look up our friend Madame 'Forestier'

d) Wait a bit, you will catch cold outside

e) 'I shall go back on foot'

f) Late at night he often copied manuscripts

Answer: a) Loving husband hoping to please his wife



b) Sacrifices his needs for those of his wife



c) Resourceful - thinks of a way out of the situation



d) Concerned about his wife



e) Action oriented person. Instead of merely shouting at Mathilde or scolding her, he goes in search of the necklace



f) Patiently pays off the most alarming debt

Question 18

Question: Discuss the various causes for the problems faced by the Liosels.

Answer: The Liosels were a happy couple. The husband was a clerk with a steady income and his wife Mathilde had a maid to help her with the shopping and the housework. But Mathilde dreamt of a rich social life.



One day they received an invitation to a ball at the palace by the Ministry. This was the beginning of their problems. Mathilde refused to attend the party without an elegant gown and jewel. The gown she bought for 400 francs but the jewel she borrowed. She could have accepted her husband's suggestion and worn flowers instead. She chose to borrow the jewel and unfortunately lost it.



Having lost it she was not brave enough to reveal it to her friend. She replaced the necklace with a similar one from the jewellers. Had she owned up to her friend she would have known that it only cost 500 francs.



But the contribution of all these factors led to their having to lead 10 years of miserable existence.

Question 19

Question: What do you think happened after Mathilde and her friend met?

Answer: There are many possible conclusions. Given below are three. You may choose one of these or any other logical conclusion that you can think of.



a) Madam Forestier sympathizes with Mathilde. Consoles her for some time. Then goes away not realizing the vast difference the incidents made to their life.



b) Madam Forestier is overcome with sorrow. She takes Mathilde home. Treats her well. Forces her to take back the diamond necklace. Mathilde and her husband begin life afresh with the money got by selling the necklace.



c) Madam Forestier consoles and sympathizes with Mathilde. Then she rushes home to see the diamond necklace again. Soon she remembers that two years ago she had gifted it away to one of her faithful maids who had to leave work for she got married'.

Question 20

Question: "But Madam'. I do not know -you must be mistaken" who says this and why? Do not exceed 75 words.

Answer: These words are spoken by Madame Forestier, when Madame Loisel meets her after a long period. Madame Loisel has become an ordinary woman after the replacement of the lost necklace. It has drawn life out of her. When she meets Madame Forestier, the latter doesn't recognize Madame Loisel because of the physical changes that she has undergone. She now looks hard, rough and very ordinary.

Question 21

Question: How did people react to Madame Loisel at the ball?

Answer: Madame Loisel was a great success at the ball. She was prettier than any other woman present there. All the men were greatly impressed by her beauty, grace and personality. She stood taller than all the other women at the party by her sheer elegance. All those present there, kept looking at her and they asked her, her name. They wanted to be introduced to her as they thought that she belonged to the upper class of society. All the attaches of the cabinet wanted to dance with her. She got a lot of attention from everyone.

Question 22

Question: Imagine you are Madame Loisel. Make a diary entry about your sorrow and grief after you discovered that the diamond necklace which cost your life was fake.

Answer: Saturday (Day)

January (Date)



Dear Diary,



What a sheer waste of ten long years! My beauty, my youth, my everything gone! And it could have been avoided had luck let us know that the necklace was fake. My love for glamour and a craving for being admired cost us very dearly. We were happily married and were leading a normal life, but due to my romantic disposition and greed, we had to suffer a lot. Our luck did not help us either. Alas! We could have guessed that the lost necklace was "paste!" How hard I had to work- like an ordinary woman! I carried water, cooked, cleaned, saved every sou for the sake of that fake necklace. We should have told Madame Forestier about the loss. But we made it a prestige issue and have learnt a lesson in life, the very hard way-we cant live for ever in our dreams. And we must never aspire for more than we have, for it can ruin us! I hope we see better day, sweet dreams.

Mathilde