The Necklace
Ques: What kind of a person is Mme Loisel and why is she always unhappy?
Answer: Mme Loisel is a young, pretty, ordinary but discontented woman. She is of humble background but dreams of riches and comforts. She is proud of her beauty and wants to be admired. Her meager resources are not enough to satisfy her expensive cravings making her angry all the time.
The Necklace Extra Questions and Answers Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 7
The Necklace Extra Questions and Answers Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 7
CBSE Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 7 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 daydreaming of luxurious houses, dainty dinners, elegant dresses and beautiful jewellery.
One day, her husband came home very happy. He had an invitation to dinner 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 a proper gown or jewellery, fit 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 flower. 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. in the morning and then went home, tired but happy.
On reaching home, she decided to take a final look at herself. She was 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 wnote 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 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, the diamond necklace that she had lent to Matilda had been made of artificial diamonds and was worth only five hundred francs.
Extract Based Questions (4 marks each)
Question 1.
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 ?”
(a) Why did her husband hope that she would become happy ?
(b) What was her reaction ?
(c) What does murmuring means ?
(d) Why did Matilda throw the invitation ? (1×4=4)
Answer:
(a) He hoped that his wife would be happy on seeing the invitation to party from Minister of Public Instructions.
(b) She got angry and threw the invitation card on table.
(c) ‘speaking in a low and unclear manner’.
(d) Because she wanted an attire according to the occassion.
Question 2.
The day of the ball approached and Matilda Loisel seemed sad, disturbed, anxious. Nevertheless, her dress was nearly ready.
(a) Why was Matilda Loisel sad and disturbed ?
(b) Why did she get a dress ready ?
(c) What is a ‘ball’ ?
(d) Which word means the same as ‘coming’ ? (1×4=4)
Answer:
(a) She was sad and disturbed because she had no jewels.
(b) She got a dress ready to put on the occasion of a ‘ball’ party, orginised by Minister of Public Instruction.
(c) A dance party.
(d) Approached.
Question 3.
Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow:
“I returned another to you exactly like it. And it has taken us ten years to pay for it. You can understand that it was not easy for us who have nothing.”
(a) Who is’I’?
(b) Why did it take the ten years to pay for ‘it’ ?
(c) Write the antonym of ‘nothing’.
(d) Which word in the passage means the same as ‘similiar’ ? (1×4=4)
Answer:
Value Points:
(a) Matilda Loisel.
(b) Had no moneym had to work hard to collect money to pay for the necklace.
(c) Everything.
(d) Exactly.
Detailed Answer:
(a) T is Matilda Loisel.
(b) It look then then years to return the money, collected to pay (as debt) for the lost necklace.
(c) Antonym of ‘nothing’ is ‘everything.’
(d) Exactly means the same as ‘similar’.
Short Answer Type Questions (30-40 words & 2 marks each)
Question 1.
Why was Matilda always unhappy ?
Answer:
Matilda was always unhappy because she had been born into a simple family of clerks and married also to a clerk. Thus, her desires to be rich or distinguished or of becoming known were never fulfilled which caused her to be unhappy.
Question 2.
Why was Matilda Loisel always unhappy ?
Answer:
Value Points:
Matilda Loisel was very pretty considered herself born for a luxurious life.
But in reality she was married petty clerk.
The poverty of her apartment and the lack of fashionable clothes and jewellery too added to her unhappiness. (Any two)
Detailed Answer:
Matilda Loisel was very pretty. She considered herself being born for a luxurious life but the reality differed from her dreams. In reality she was married to a petty clerk and led a very simple life. Her fantasy over ambitiousness made her unhappy.
Question 3.
Why did Mathilda not want to see her rich friends ?
Answer:
Value Points:
Her friends were rich and full of money power but she was married to a simle clerk, had inferiority complex.
Detailed Answer:
Mathilda did not want to see her rich friends because she suffered from inferiority complex. She was married to a simple clerk; whereas her friends were rich and full of money power.
Question 4.
What was Loisel’s reaction to his wife’s desire for a new dress ?
Answer:
The Loisel’s 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.
Question 5.
Do you think M. Loisel had an enjoyable evening at the ball ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
I think M. Loisel didn’t enjoy much at the ball. In fact, he was not much interested in such parties. He had come there for the sake of his wife’s happiness. So when his wife was dancing with enthusiasm, intoxicated with pleasure, he waited for her (but without disturbing her) half asleep in one of the little salons since midnight.
Question 6.
How did the Loisel react when they realised that the necklace had been lost ?
Answer:
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 necklace.
Question 7.
Why was Matilda sad after the ball?
Answer:
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.
Question 8.
What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin ?
Answer:
Her own discontentment was the cause of her ruin. She always felt that she had been born for better things. So her desires to be rich or distinguished or of becoming known were never fulfilled which caused her to be unhappy and ruined.
Question 9.
What changes came into the life of the Loisel after borrowing money ?
Answer:
After borrowing money, a lot of changes came in the life of the Loisel. 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.
Question 10.
Why could Mrs. Forestier not recognize her friend Matilda at the end of the story ?
Answer:
Matilda had to work very hard to lead her life. She had become a strong, hard woman, the crude woman of the household. In fact she had started looking old. One Sunday evening, when she was taking a walk in the Champs Elysees, she met Mrs. Forestier who still looked young and pretty. As Matilda had started looking old and haggard, she could’t be recognized by her.
Long Answer Type Questions (100-120 words & 8 marks each)
Question 1.
Why did Matilda’s husband go out into the cold night, minutes after returning from the ball ? Was he successful in his purpose ?
Answer:
On returning from the ball, Matilda noticed that the necklace, which she had borrowed from Madame Forestier, was missing. They searched for the necklace everywhere. Matilda’s husband went out into the cold night searching for the lost necklace. He went on foot over the route, filed police complaint, enquired cab offices and even put an advertisement in newspapers, offering a reward. But then, all his efforts went in vain. He was not able to find the lost necklace.
Question 2.
What did Loisel do to replace the necklace ?
Answer:
Loisel had to pay thirty six thousand Francs for the new necklace. To replace the lost necklace, Loisel used eighteen thousand francs which were set aside by Mr. Loisel’s father. The remaining1-amount was borrowed from moneylenders. In order to repay the borrowed money they went without maid and Matilda did all the household chores whereas Mr. Loisel even worked overtime. In this way, they led a miserable life just to collect enough amount to replace the lost necklace.
Question 3.
What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin ? How could she have avoided it ?
OR
What could have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace ?
Answer:
Value Points:
Matilda was a pretty, young lady who was always unhappy with her life. For the party she had borrowed a necklace. She lost the necklace of Mrs. Forestier. Losing of the necklace was the cause of her ruin. It forced them to spend thtir saved amount as well as to borrow eighteen thousand francs. She could have easily avoided her ruin if she had confessed the truth to Mrs. Forestier.
Detailed Answer:
Matilda had borrowed a necklace from her friend Madame Forestier to wear in the party. It was a beautiful one and Matilda, a pretty woman, became the centre of attraction at the party. All this happiness was short-lived because on reaching home, she discovered that she had lost it. All her efforts to find it were in vain. She and her husband borrowed huge sums of money to replace the necklace and henceforth faced a miserable life. On the other hand, if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost the necklace and had apologized she might have saved her family from a lot of miseries as the necklace was not even worth 500 francs in reality.
Question 4.
Why did Matilda change her lifestyle after the ball ?
OR
What changes came into the life of the Loisel after the incident of borrowing the necklace ?
Answer:
Value Points :
The Loisels had sent away their maid. They changed their lodgings and rented some rooms in an attic. Mme. Loisel did all the cooking, rubbing and cleaning work herself. She brought water and haggled at shops. Mr. Loisel worked evenings and nights. They suffered for ten years.
Detailed Answer:
Matilda had been enjoying thoroughly at the ball and in the pleasure of the moment, she got careless and lost the necklace. All search was in vain and the expensive jewel (or so they thought) had to be replaced. The debt incurred was much beyond their capacity to pay and thus they had to make severe compromises in their lifestyle, foregoing every luxury. Matilda worked laboriously at the household chores while M. Loisel overworked at the office. Thus, they slogged for ten long years to pay up the loan.
Question 5.
How had Mme Loisel’s sacrifice all been in vain ?
Answer:
The pleasure of looking pretty at the ball proved an expensive bargain for Matilda, as she lost the necklace borrowed from Mme Forestier. It took Loisel’s ten long years to pay back the huge sum they borrowed to replace the lost necklace.
Years later, when Matilda saw Mme Forestier, she disclosed the truth of the lost necklace. She was dumb-founded to discover that it was not a genuine piece of jewellery and had been worth just five hundred francs. All her sacrifices and comprises had been meaningless.
Question 6.
What is your opinion about M. Loisel as a husband ?
Answer:
M. Loisel was a loving husband beyond any doubt. He was aware of his wife’s aspirations and so he thought that the invitation to the ball would please her and expressed no offence when she reacted negatively. Instead, he offered his savings to buy her an outfit, suited for the occasion.
Even when Matilda lost the necklace, he cooperated at every step to make up for the loss and made the neccessary compromises in his life without complaining.
Question 7.
How can you say that Mr. Loisel was a simple man and loved his wife very much ?
Answer:
Value Points:
Petty clerk, no showy nature, simple living
loved his wife’s simple dress
satisfied, praised her beauty
fulfilled her desire, purchased new dress
not aggressive at the loss of necklace
worked evening and night-paid the amount
Detailed Answer:
He was a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. He was neither rich nor distinguished. He didn’t have showy nature. He loved simple living, i.e,, he loved simple home food, served in ordinary utensils; lived in a simple house with shabby walls and worn chairs. But he didn’t have any complaint.
He loved his wife very much and praised her beauty. She was fond of grandeur in life. So he managed to bring her an invitation to attend the minister’s party. For that party, he offered her 400 Francs to buy a new dress which he had saved to buy a new gun for himself. When she had lost the necklace at the party, without being aggressive he arranged 36000 Franks for replacing the same. Moreover, he worked evening and night, after his regular job to repay the amount.
Question 1.
‘The Necklace’ reveals that vanity is an evil. It may bring joy for a short period but ultimately it leads to ruin. If you were placed in a situation similar to that of Matilda, what would have you done ? Write your views. [Value Based Question]
Answer:
‘The necklace’, through the example of Matilda conveys a chore truth that one must value what he has and cherish. His blessings rather than chase illussions in the form of material possessions, because if one lacks contentment then there is no end to the chase.
Matilda should have valued the love of her husband rather than grumble about her unfulfilled aspirations. And to look beautiful, one does not need to borrow expensive jewels; it is the goodness of a person and the way one conducts, makes one beautiful.
Question 2.
‘Contentment is a great wealth.’ Explain with reference to Matilda—the main character of this story.
Answer:
There is no doubt in saying that man’s final goal should be contentment. Human beings can never be happy if they have unlimited desires and wants. This is shown by the character Matilda who was never happy with what she had but always desired for more and more which led her to ruin. Man should find happiness in what he has, rather than running after what he does not have. It could be the cause of his unhappiness and sorrow.
