The Necklace: A Tale of Vanity and Contentment
Q.9 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.
Q.10 Why could Mrs. Forestier not recognize her friend Matilda at the end of the story?
Ans: 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.
Q.11 Why did Matilda’s husband go out into the cold night, minutes after returning from the ball? Was he successful in his purpose?
Ans: 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.
Q.12 What did Loisel do to replace the necklace?
Ans: 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.
Q.5 How had Mme Loisel’s sacrifice all been in vain?
Ans: 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.
Q.6 What is your opinion about M. Loisel as a husband?
Ans: 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.
Q.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.
Ans:‘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.
Q.2 ‘Contentment is a great wealth.’ Explain with reference to Matilda—the main character of this story.
Ans: 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.
1. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Ans: When Kisa Gotami’s son died, she went from house to house, asking if she could get some medicine that would cure her child.
No, she did not get it because her child was dead and no medicine could have brought him back to life.