The Necklace | Question and Answer |
NCERT | Class 10 | English | Footprints without Feet
Read and Find Out
Question 1 What kind of a person is Mme Loisel — why is she always unhappy?
Answer Mme Loisel is a young pretty lady who was born an error of destiny into a family of clerks.She is of a humble background but dreams of riches and comforts. She is proud of her beauty and wants to be admired.Not accepting the realities of life she thinks that she was born for all the luxuries.Her meagre resources are not enough to satisfy her expensive cravings making her angry all the time.
Question 2 What kind of a person is her husband?
Answer Her husband is an ordinary , simple hearted person.He is a caring husband and always want to see Mme Loisel happy.A mere clerk by profession, he is still contented with his job.
Question 3 What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?
Answer After buying a pretty new dress, Mme Loisel was bothered by yet another problem. She does not have a beautiful jewels to go with her dress. She said she would have a poverty stricken look. Her husband suggested that she should wear some natural flowers. However she refused and said that there was nothing more humiliating than that to have a shabby air in the midst of rich women. So, she asks her husband to pass on the invitation to someone else.
Question 4 How is the problem solved?
Answer Her suggested her to wear fresh flowers but she denied. Mme Loisel husband solved this problem. He told his wife to request her friend , Mme Forestier to lend her some jewels. When she went to Mrs Forestier , she brought her jewellery case and asked her to select whatever she wants.
Question 5 What do M. and Mme Loisel do next?
Answer When M. and Mme Loisel came home they realised that necklace was missing.They tried finding out where she could have lost it.They concluded that it could have been dropped in the cab because if they dropped it on the streets they must have heard its fall.They did not know the cab number so Loisel went over the track where they had walked but did not found anything.Then, he goes to the police and to the cab offices. They put out an advertisement in the newspapers and offer a reward to anyone who finds it.He asked Matilda to write a letter to Mme Forestier explaining that she had broken the clasp of the necklace and would get it repaired.This gave them time to find the necklace.However they decided to replace the necklace with a new one.
Question 6 How do they replace the necklace?
Answer After all other efforts fail, Loisel’s decide to buy a new identical necklace to replace the lost one. They borrowed money and even used the money left by Mr Loisel’s father. The necklace was bought for 36000 francs and was returned back to Mrs Frostier.
Think About it
Question 1 The course of the Loisels’ life changed due to the necklace. Comment.
Answer The course of the Loisel’s life changed due to the necklace.After replacing the lost necklace with a new one they had to repay all the money that they had borrowed from lenders.They had sent away the maid and rented some rooms in an attic.Matilda learnt the odious work of a kitchen.She washed the dishes, soiled linen, their clothes and dish clothes.She took down the refuse to the street each morning and brought up the water , stopping at each landing to catch her breath.Dressed like women of people she went to the grocer’s , butcher’s and fruiter’s with her basket on her arm , shopping haggling to save her money.Loisel worked in the evening , putting the books of some in order.At night , he did copying at five sous a page.This lasted for ten years and at the end of the said period , they were able to repay their lenders.
Question 2 What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
Answer The cause of Matilda ruin was her dissatisfaction with whatever she had in life.She was a dreamy woman and believed that she deserved all the luxuries in life.She was always unhappy and disliked her circumstances. She could have avoided it by learning to accept her current situation and being content with what she had.
Question 3 What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?
Answer If Matilda would have confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace, she might have been in the 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 her to replace it.She would have given her all the details from where she had purchased the necklace and how much it was of.Matilda would thus have known that the jewels in the necklace were not real diamonds. In fact, she would have saved herself and her husband from ten long years of poverty and misery.
Question 4 If you were caught in a situation like this, how would you have dealt with it?
Answer If, I was caught in such a situation we would not act blindly. I would have let the truth out and then face the consequences. I would rather try to find the ifs and buts of the situation.Honesty would have been the way out for me.
Talk About it
Question 1 The characters in this story speak in English. Do you think this is their language? What clues are there in the story about the language its characters must be speaking in?
Answer Though the characters speak in English, it is not their language. Maupassant wrote the story in French and it was translated into English. Again the very text throws up enough words in French to prove it otherwise. First, the very names of characters like ‘Mme Loisel, Mme Forestier and the minister’s name George Ramponneau indicate their French origin. Then, the words for currency like ‘Franc’ and ‘Sou’ show the same. Also, the shop’s location at ‘Palais Royal’ and ‘Champs Elysees’ point out the French history of the characters and the story.
Question 2 Honesty is the best policy.
Answer Honesty is definitely the best policy. Falsehood and hypocrisy seem very attractive and rewarding at first. But, the path they tread on leads to nothing but misery, evil and utter gloom. Honesty, on the contrary, seems to be a difficult choice in pursuit of material happiness. However, it is the only choice for a life of contentment, peace and everlasting happiness.
Question 3 We should be content with what life gives us.
Answer We should always be content with what life gives us.Never try to exceed your limit.Life is a great mystery. For every individual this mystery of life comes wrapped in a unique package. For some, it is all riches, comfort, name and fame. For some, it is nothing but sheer hunger, poverty, anguish and an everyday quest for bare survival. One, however, must learn to live within one’s means and be content with what one has. One may try to improve his lot by honest means but eventually must be at peace with what one manages to have.
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