The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant
INTRODUCTION
‘The Necklace’ is a story of a
middle class lady named Matilda. She was born in a clerk family and was married to a clerk named M Loisel. She was
very pretty but was disatisfied in life because of her ‘poverty’. Once she borrowed a necklace from her friend
Madame Forestier and lost it in the party. To replace the necklace, she had to live a very miserable
life. The tale is about how her desire to have more, lead to her ruin.
SUMMARY—
Matilda was a pretty lady, born in a poor
family. She was married to a clerk. She suffered a lot of misery as she felt that she had been born for better
things. All day, she would be daydreaming of luxurious houses, dainty dinners, elegant dresses and
beautiful jewellery.
One day, her husband came home very happy. He had an invitation to a
Ball for both of them from the Minister
of Public Instruction. He thought his wife would be happy, but she only got
angry and threw the invitation card on the
table. On being asked why she reacted in such a manner, she replied that she
did not have proper dress for the party.
Her loving husband gave her all the money he had set aside to buy a gun.
When the dress was ready, Matilda’s
husband saw that still she was not happy. On being asked the reason, she said that she had no jewels. Exasperated,
her husband asked her to wear fresh flowers. When she refused to do so, in desperation he told her
to borrow jewellery from her dear friend — Mrs. Forestier. Matilda borrowed a diamond necklace from her.
She was a great hit at the party. Everyone admired her. She danced till 4 a.m. and then went home
tired, but happy.
On reaching home, she decided to take a final look at herself. She was
terribly shocked when she found the
necklace was missing. They looked everywhere for it, but it was nowhere to be
found. They went to the police and also
put an advertisement in the papers. In the meantime, they wrote to Madame
Forestier that the clasp was broken and
also that they would get the necklace repaired and return it.
When the necklace was not found,
they decided to replace it with a similar necklace. They bought it for forty thousand Francs, and had to take a loan
for it.
In order to repay the loan, they took a rented room and turned away the
maid. All the household work was done by
Matilda. Mr. Loisel took up overtime work to save money. This life continued for
almost ten long years, by the end of
which Mrs. Loisel looked old and scruffy.
One day she happened to meet Mrs. Forestier
who still looked young. Matilda told her the whole story. Shocked at the story, Mrs. Forestier told her
a shocking truth i.e. the diamond necklace that she had lent to Matilda had been made of artificial
diamonds and was worth only five hundred francs.
Q1. Why was Matilda always unhappy after her marriage?
Ans. Matilda’s desire to belong to
the rich and affluent section of society was responsible for her downfall. If
she had accepted her condition with a
smile and without any complains, she would not have to live ten long years of
her life in such object poverty.
Q2. What was Loisel’s reaction to his wife’s desire for a new dress?
Ans. The Loisels had been invited
to a party at the Minister’s residence. When Matilda told her husband that
she wanted a new dress to wear, first of
all he asked her to wear whatever she possessed. When she got angry and refused to go to the party at all, he finally
agreed to let her buy a new one.
Q3. How did the Loisels
react when they realised that the necklace had been lost?
Ans. As soon as they realised that the necklace had been lost, their
short-lived happiness degenerated into shock of the worst nightmare. Matilda uttered a cry.
Loisel, already half undressed, arose in dismay and went immediately on foot in search of the necklace.
Q4. Why was Matilda sad after the ball?
Ans. The night of the ball had been
the realisation of a long cherished dream for Matilda, when she was the focus
of all the attention and every eye
admired her. But the happiness was short-lived and degenerated into shock
of the worst nightmare when she
discovered that the necklace was missing from her attire. Her mind was
ridden with forebodings of how she would
face Madame Forestier and pay up for the loss.
Q5. What changes came into the life of the Loisels after borrowing money?
Ans. After borrowing money, a lot
of changes came in the life of the Loisels. They had to do away with the
maid and Matilda had to do all the
household chores. She had to carry down the refuse to the street and carry
water upstairs. She had to do all the
shopping from the market after a lot of haggling. Her husband also had to
work hard. He worked in the evenings and
sometimes even at night. Thus, their life changed drastically.
Q6. People should always try to live within their means. Aspirations have
no limits but one should never forget
the ground realities. Elaborate on the basis of the chapter, “The Necklace”. (
8 Marks)
It is very essential for a person
to live a contented life. He should believe in simple living and high thinking. Not everyone is born with a golden
spoon in his mouth. With honesty and hardwork we can always achieve our best. A person will never
be happy if he keeps craving for what he doesn’t have. In this way, he may ruin even his present. This world is in deed made of materialistic
things. But we should never run after that. In this story, Matilda always ran behind her unlimited desires and
wants. As a result, she had completely ruined her life. She didn’t care for her loving middle-class
husband. But she was running after her fantasies. She always thought beyond her limits. For the minister’s
party she could have gone in her simple clothes, but she insisted on buying new dress for four hundred
francs which her husband gave her. Then she longed for jewellery, which she borrowed from her friend
for the party. She borrowed a diamond necklace and lost it. For repaying the diamond necklace to the
friend, she had to sacrifice many years of her life, as well as her husband’s whole income. She should have
known that a person’s goodness and character makes one beautiful and not the beautiful dresses and
attire.
Q7. What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it? ( 8 Marks)
OR
What could have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend
that she had lost her necklace?
Ans. Matilda made a great mistake by borrowing
a diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier to wear in the party. It was a beautiful one. No doubt
Matilda looked pretty and became a centre of attraction in the party. Everybody admired her and her necklace. But
all the happiness was very short-lived. Because on reaching home after the party, she realized that her
diamond necklace was lost. Mr. Loisel became nervous, he went back on his foot to search for it on the track they
had come from. He made a report to the police, he investigated from all cab offices and even put an advertisment
in newspapers, offering a reward. But all was in Vain. She and her husband borrowed huge sum of money to replace
the necklace which cost them thirty-six francs. In order to repay the huge loan, they had to live a
miserable life for ten long years.
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