The Necklace by Guy DE Maupassant

The Necklace Summary

Matilda Loisel lives in an apartment with her husband M. Loisel. She is unhappy with her life because of shabby walls and old furniture of her apartment. She dreams of royal dinners but was given only homemade food. She is neither rich nor poor. She had to marry a clerk of the board of education. She also hates visiting her old friend Mme. Jeanne Forestier as she is a rich lady. One day when her husband returns home with an invitation to a party at the house of minister of public instruction. Matilda became angry and threw the card away. Her husband gave her 400 francs to buy a new dress that he had saved to buy a gun. After buying the dress she was sad because she did not have jewelry to make herself look more attractive. Her husband suggests that she can borrow jewelry from her friend. She selects a precious diamond necklace.  In the party all the men admired her as she was looking gorgeous in her new dress and jewelry. When they return home Matilda realized that she did not have the necklace. M. Loisel tries to search the necklace and reports to the police station but The Necklace got lost. M. Loisel borrows 18000 francs to replace the necklace with similar one. It took ten years to repay the loan. Their lives changed drastically. They moved to a smaller apartment. Matilda cooked the food and washed the clothes herself. M. Loisel worked multiple jobs to repay the borrowed money. Mme. Loisel started looking much older, her hair badly dressed, her voice became loud and she became an ordinary woman. One day she met her friend and explained how she is responsible for her aged looks and her living conditions. She explains how she lost the borrowed necklace and had to take a loan for replacement. On hearing this, Jeanne told Matilda that the necklace that she had borrowed was not worth more than 500 francs.

 Extra Questions 

Short Answer Type Question
1.      Mrs. Loisel enjoyed the party. Give evidence from the text.
Ans. She had danced with enthusiasm. She was the prettiest, elegant, and gracious. All men noticed her, asked her name and wanted to be presented.
2.      What was the appearance of Mrs Loisel after ten years?
Ans. Mrs. Loisel looked old now. She had become a strong, hard and crude woman. Her hair was badly combed and cloths were in poor condition. Her tone had become loud due to odious works of house.
3.      Why was Mrs. Loisel in hurry after the ball party?
Ans. Loisel was in hurry after the party because her husband had wrapped her in a shawl that did not match her nice party gown.  Other ladies were wearing expensive shawl of fur. She had inferiority complex on comparing her shawl with others. So she was in hurry after the party.
4.      Why was Mrs Loisel not happy at receiving the invitation for the party?
Ans. Mrs Loisel was not happy at receiving the invitation for the party because she wanted to wear good dresses and look gracious. She did not have good dress to wear among rich ladies at the party.
5.      How much money Mr. Loisel had saved? Why was he saving money?
Ans. Mr. Loisel had saved 400 francs. He was saving money to buy a gun. He wanted to go for hunting with his friends.
6.      Why does author say that Matilda was an error of destiny?
Ans. Matilda was a very beautiful lady. She wanted to lead a pleasant and comfortable life. She was born in a poor family and married to a poor clerk.
7.      Why did Matilda did not like to visit her rich friends?
Ans. Matilda hated her rich friends because she did not have a luxurious life, good dress and jewelry. These things were beyond her reach but her friends had all them. This made her unhappy. So she dislikes visiting her friends.
8.      How did Mr. Loisel handle the demand of his wife for a new dress?
Ans. Initially Mr Loisel requested his wife to wear the same dress she had worn to the theatre. But she refused. Then Mr. Loisel gave her demanded amount.
Long Answer type questions.
1.      One little negligence can become a cause of disaster for entire life. Elaborate with reference to the story ‘The Necklace’.  OR
The attitude of Matilda was the reason for her misery. How
Ans. Matilda belongs to a modest family. But she always dreams of living a life of luxury and comfort. She received an invitation for a party. She did not have a good dress to wear at the party. Her husband gave his savings for new dress and she borrowed jewelry from her friend. She enjoyed the party bust lost jewelry. They try to search but could not find. They decide to replace and borrow a huge amount at high interest rate. In order to repay the amount, they had to change their life style. They had to live in an attic. Mr. Loisel starts working part time job. Matilda changes herself and starts saving money.  Finally after 10 years they come out of debt.
2.      Mr. Loisel loved his wife. Quote incidents from the text to support the statement.
Ans. Mr. Loisel knows that his wife liked to go to parties. So he very happily shares the invitation for the party. But his wife refused to go to party. He lovingly asks the reason. He gave her 400 francs to buy a new dress. He had saved the money to fulfill his hobbies. He also suggested that she can borrow jewelry from her friend. He patiently waited at the party for his wife to enjoy fully. After party he also wrapped her to save from cold. He did not get angry at the loss of necklace.

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