Jharkhand Board Class 10 English Notes | The Necklace Solutions Chapter 7
7. The Necklace
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q. 1. Give the character-sketch of Matilda.
[JAC 2005 (S)]; 2011(A); 2014(A); 2018 (A)]
Ans. Matilda was a pretty and young lady. She was born in
the family of clerks and was married to a clerk. Having been born in
a poor family she had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming
known, loved or married by some rich man of dignity. She always
suffered from poverty both at the homes of her husband and
parents.
She was a short-tempered but tactful lady. She convinced her
poor husband to buy her a party dress simply by rejecting the
invitation to the ball. She was of a showy nature and loved only
delicacies and luxuries. She borrowed a necklace only to be noticed
by the spectators. She repented when the necklace was lost. She
suffered poverty for ten years after replacing the false necklace
with a genuine necklace. She ever remained in distress she was not
a considerate and contented character.
Q. 2. Give the Character-sketch of Mr. Loisel.
Ans. Mr. Loisel was a petty clerk in the office of the Board of
Education. He had no other source of income. Therefore, he lived
from hand to mouth. He was very economical. He ate humble food
in cheap dishes. He lived in a humble apartment. He was meek and
gentle. He was considerate to the wishes of his short tempered,
pretty and sophisticated wife.
Loisel forgoes buying a gun to purchase of pretty dress for
his wife. To keep her in good cheer he urged her to borrow a
necklace from her friend. He tried his level best to search the lost
necklace. He was adventurous. He did not hesitate in spending his
entire inherited money even borrowing from money lender to
replace the lost necklace. He was of flexible nature but a man of
good character. He was a loving husband and had poor tastes.
Q. 3. What preparations did Loisel make for the ball?
Ans. One evening Loisel brought his wife an invitation card. It
was from the Minister of Public Instruction. The Minister was
holding a ball at his residence. Loisel thought that his wife Matilda
would be happy to see it. But she refused to go to the ball. She told
that she had neither a good dress nor any jewels to wear. Loisel
asked her how much she needed to get a new dress. She told it
would cost four hundred francs. Loisel gave this money to her. He
had saved it to buy a gun for himself. Still Matilda was not happy as
he had no jewellery. Loisel asked her to wear fresh flowers for the
ball. But she looked sad. Then he asked her to borrow a necklace
from her friend Mrs. Forestier. Matilda got the necklace and attended
the ball.
Q.4. Describe the meeting between Mrs. Loisel and Mrs.
Forestier in the Champs Elysees.
Ans. Finally Matilda and her husband had paid all the borrowed
money for the necklace. They had to suffer a lot for it. Matilda
looked now very hard and crude. Her hair looked badly dressed
and her dress improper. One Sunday, she was walking in the Champs
Elysees. There she saw a woman with a child. It was Mrs. Forestier,
her old friend. She looked still young, pretty and attractive. Matilda
walked up to her and said "Good day, Jeanne". Mrs. Forestier was
surprised. She didn't recognise Matilda. When Matilda told that it
was all due to the necklace, Mrs. Forestier asked how it was. Matilda
told her the whole story. Mrs. Forestier was shocked to hear it. She
told Matilda that her diamonds on her necklace were false. They
were not worth over five hundred frances.
Q.5. What kind of life did Matilda and her husband live after
the loss of the diamond necklace?
Ans. Mr. Loisel borrowed money from usurers at high rates of
interest to replace the lost diamond necklace. Matilda now knew
the horrible life of want. They sent away the maid. They moved to
cheap rooms in an attic. She washed the dishes. She clothed like a
very ordinary woman. The husband worked evenings and nights.
It took them ten years to repay the borrowed money. Matilda looked
very old now. She had become a, strong, hard and crude woman.
Her hair was badly dressed. Her skirt was awry and hands red due
to labour.
Q. 6. Write a note on the appropriateness of the title "The
Necklace'.
Ans. The title of the story "The Necklace' is very appropriate.
The necklace is at its centre. The whole story revolves round it. If
the necklace' is taken out, the story falls to pieces. It is connected
with the dreams of Matilda, a woman who wants to be known and
admired by the people. But she has no means to be so. She borrows
the necklace for the Minister's party. This diamond necklace is
artificial. But she doesn't know this fact. The is lost. She
replaces it by a new genuine necklace. it costs her 36,000 frances.
They borrow the money at high rates of interest. It takes them ten
years to repay the money. But during this period, Matilda becomes
a crude, old and hard woman. Thus, she pays the price of dreaming.
So the title is appropriate.
Q. 7. What was the cause of Matilda's ruin? How could she
have avoided it? (Answer in about 80 words)
Ans. Matilda was a very pretty young woman. But she was
dreamy. She was bom in a poor family. But she dreamed to be loved
and known by the rich. One day her husband got an invitation card.
Her husband was a clerk. He was invited by a minister. Matilda
borrowed a diamond necklace from her friend. But the diamond was
lost in the party. Matilda was a poor lady. It took ten years to repay
the borrowed money to replace the diamond necklace. This was
the cause of Matilda ruin.
Matilda could have avoided her trouble if she had led a simple
life.
Q. 8. The course of the Loisels' life changed due to the
necklace. Comment.
Ans. It is true that the course of the Loisel's life changed due to
the necklace. After the loss of the borrowed diamond necklace, the
Loisels shifted to a cheap house. Mme. Loisel started doing all
work herself. She went to buy things. She haggle for the last sou.
She wore ordinary clothes. Her husband worked evenings. He copied
at five sous a page. They somehow saved every sou. This life of
hardships went on for ten years.
Q.9. What would have happened to Matilda ifshe had confessed
to her friend that she had lost her necklace?
Ans. It could have changed her life. She could not have been
the days of want and misery. She was the woman of the people. She
grew old in her youth. She suffered a lot due to the harsh life of
want. If she had confessed before Mme. Forestier, she could have
been excused because the lost necklace was a fake one.
Q. 10. If you were caught in a situation like this, how would
you have dealt with it?
Ans. First of all, I would not have given much importance to
dreams. I would have cared much for the realities of life.
If I were caught in such a situation, I could have confessed
before Mme. Forestier at once. I could have done whatever she had
asked me to do.
Q. 11. Honesty is the best policy.
Ans. Honesty is really the best policy. If a man is honest, he
will not do anything wrong. Any wrong things has a harmful effect.
Honesty always pays in the end. We should recognise that
dishonesty and deception are never rewarding.They cause troubles
to others. To give troubles to others due to our selfishness is very
bad. We should learn to be content within our means. Aspiring for
what is not possible leads one to be dishonest. We should see the
harsh realities of life. We must think of other also. We should know
how the god of water rewarded the honest woodcutter.
Q. 12. We should be content with what life gives us.
Ans. It is really a great virtue that we should be content with
what life gives us. Life doesn't give equal to all people. Some are
born great some are born in poverty.We should not overlook the
fact that life is different for different people. We must look at the
harsh realities of life. We must change ourselves according to them.
We should not be like Mme. Loisel at all. However, we should not
neglect dreaming also. It is a way to our progress. But dreaming
and not recognishing realities means inviting more troubles. This is
clear in the life story of Mme. Loisel.
Q. 13. What were the reasons which caused a great suffering
to Matilda? [JAC 2015 (A); 2018 (A)]
Ans. Matilda was a very pretty young woman. But she was
dreamy. She was born in a poor family. But she dreamed to be loved
and known by the rich. One day, her husband brought home an
invitation card. He was a clerk in the Board of Education office.
They had been invited to a Minister's party at the Minister's
residence.Matilda borrowed a diamond necklace from her friend
Mme. Forestier for the party. Matilda was the centre of attraction
for the people at the party. She felt overjoyed. But she lost the
borrowed diamond necklace. They decided to replace it. But they
were poor. However, they replaced it. But they had to spend a lot on
it. It took ten years to repay the borrowed money. These ten yeras
were very painful for Matilda and her husband. They saw a life of
want. They had to save sous after sous. But the borrowed diamond
necklace turned out to be artificial. However, they had replaced it
with a real one.
Q. 14. Describe the kind of life that Mrs. Loisel dreamt of.
Ans. Matilda Loisel was a very pretty woman. She was charming
also. But by mistake she was born in a poor family. She had a very
dreamy nature. So she always kept dreaming of good things in life.
She used to feel that she was born for all the luxuries of life. When
she sat for dinner she would dream of dainty dinners, in shining
silverware. She would dream of beautiful palaces, of rich ladies, of
gaudy dresses and jewels. She felt that she was made for all the
richest things of life. She had a great love in her heart for such
things. But she was married to a clerk. So, she suffered endlessly
from poverty. However, she dreamt of rich life.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q. 1. How did Mr. Loisel manage to repay the debt and when?
Ans. Mr. Loisel had borrowed eighteen thousand francs from
money lenders. His clerical job fetched him a meagre income. He
worked in the evenings and put the books of some merchants in
order, he also did copying works at night. In this way he managed
to repay his debt after ten years.
Q. 2. What did Matilda's husband bring home one evening?
Why was he so elated?
Ans. Her (Matilda's) husband brought home a large envelope,
one evening for her. He was so elated because it was a select
invitation card for dinner from the Minister of Public Instruction and
Madam George Ramponnean at their residence.
Q.3. Was Loisel's action appreciated? What was Matilda's
response?
Ans. No. Loisel's action was not appreciated. She did not get
the least delighted. Her response was contrary to his wishes. She
threw the invitation card aside, upon the table. She murmured,
"What do you suppose I want with that.
Q. 4. What was Loisel's reaction to her desire for a new dress?
Ans. Matilda desired a new dress. It would cost her round
about four hundred francs. On hearing this, his face turned pale. He
had saved only four hundred francs to buy a gun. The new dress
would consume his entire savings and aspirations.
Q.5. What happened at the ball? Was her Matilda's dream
fulfilled?
Ans. Motilda danced with enthusiasm at the ball. She was the
prettiest of all the dancers. She got intoxicated with pleasure when
the people surrounded and admired her. They asked her name and
desired to admire her and offer her presents. She had a great success
at the ball.
Q. 6. What spoiled the pleasure?
Ans. Matilda and her husband returned home. She removed the
wraps from her shoulders. Suddenly, she noticed that her
(borrowed) necklace was not around her neck. It spoiled her
pleasure instantly.
Q. 7. What did Mrs. Loisel do to replace the necklace?
[JAC 2006 (A), 2009(A)]
Ans. Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs. He borrowed
another eighteen thousand from all sorts of lenders. He bought a
chaplet of diamonds exactly like Mrs. Forestier's necklace. Mrs Loisel
replaced Mrs. Forestier's necklace without telling her anything.
Q. 8. What changes came into the life of the Loisels after this?
Ans. Loisels sent away the maid, they changed their lodgings
and rented some rooms in the an attic Mrs. Loisel did all the cooking,
rubbing and cleaning work. She brought water and haggled at
shops. Mr. Loisel worked evenings and nights. They suffered for
ten years.
Q.9. Why did Jeanne not recognize her friend?
Ans. Mrs Loisel seemed old now. She had become a crude
woman of the poor household. Her hair were badly dressed, Her
clothes had creases and her hands had become red. Her tone had
also become loud. Therefore, Jeanne did not recognise her friend.
Q. 10. Mention the instances from the text that show Loisel
was a simple man and loved his wife.
Ans. Loisel was a petty clerk. He liked even his wife's simple
dress. He praised the humble food cooked by her. He was elated on
getting an invitation from the Minister.
Loisel got ready to forgo the gun to buy his wife a party dress.
He wishes his wife to be seen and admired by the whole official
world. He worked evenings and nights for his wife who had lost the
borrowed necklace. It shows his love for his wife.
Q. 11. Describe how the Necklace has a twist in the end.
Ans. The Loisels bought a necklace for thirty six thousand
francs and gave it in place of Mrs. Forestier's false and cheap
necklace. Both of them did menial jobs for ten years to repay their
heavy loan.
It gives Mrs Loisel a sense of repentance however, she could
not recover her loss of about thirty six thousand francs.
Q. 12. What was the cause of Matilda's ruin? How could she
have avoided it? [JAC 2010(A)]
Ans. Matilda had lost the borrowed necklace of Mrs. Forestier
it was the cause of Metilda's ruin. She replaced it. It forced them to
borrow eighteen thousand francs. They lived like paupers in order
to pay the loan.
She could avoid it by telling the truth to Mrs. Forestier and
paying her only about five hundred francs.
Q. 13. Why was Matilda unhappy?
[JAC 2005 (S), 2007(A), 2012(A), 2016(A)]
Ans. Matilda was unhappy because she had no dowry, no
hope, no means of becoming known. She was pretty. She wanted
to be loved by rich men. But she was born in a poor family. She had
neither frocks, nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things.
Q. 14. Why was madame Loisel sad as the day of the ball
approached? What did her husband do to make her happy?
Ans. As the day of the ball approached, Matilda got sad and
anxious. Her husband asked her what the matter was. She told him
that she had no jewel to wear. He asked her to wear flowers. Then
he suggested (to) her to borrow some jewels from her friend
Madame Forestier.
Q. 15. What did Mr. Loisel do to find the lost diamod necklace?
Ans. Loisel went to look for the lost diamond necklace at the
places they had walked on foot. But he found nothing. Then he went
to the police to file a complaint. He also went to the cab officers to
find if the necklace had dropped in the cab. He also put an
advertisement in the newspapers, offering a reward.
Q. 16. What did Matilda do to gain time for returning the lost
diamond necklace to madame Forestier?
Ans. Mr. Loisel failed to find the lost diamond necklace. Mr.
Loisel suggested (to) his wife to tell Madame Forestier that she had
broken the clamp of the necklace. It had been sent for the repairs.
This way they gained some more time to arrange money for buying
the necklace.
Q. 17. How did Matilda get the jewels to wear to the ball?
Ans. Mr. Loisel told Matilda to Borrow some Jewellery from her
friend mme. Forester. She went to her. Matilda borrowed a diamond
necklace from her. Forester was a rich lady. She had lots of costly
jewellery. She didn't mind giving this to her.
Q. 18. How did Matilda come to knew about the reality of the
diamond necklace?
Ans. At last Madame Loisel paid the borrowed money for the
lost diamond necklace. It took them ten long years. One day she met
Madame Forestier. madame Forestier was amazed to see a change
in Madame Loisel. Madame Loisel told her that it was all due to her
necklace. Madame Forestier came to know about the whole case.
Then she told Madame Loisel that her necklace was paste. It cost
not more than five hundred francs.
Q.19. What is the twist at the end of the tale?
Ans. The twist at the end of the tale is a kind of sting. Most of
Maupassant's stories have this. Matilda and Mr. Loisel spend their
life's fortunes and life to repay the money. They had taken for the
replacement of the diamond necklace. But the diamond necklace
comes out to be artificial.
Q. 20. What kind of a person is Mme. Loisel―why is she
always unhappy?
Ans. Mme. Loisel is a dreamy woman. She gives much value to
her dreams. She overlooks the realities of life. That is why, she is
always unhappy because dreams can't be true. She wants them to
be true.
Q.21. What kind of a person is Mme Loisel husband ?
[JAC 2010(C)]
Ans. Her husband is a very simple-hearted person. He is an
ordinary person. He is a caring husband. He wants to see Mme.
Loisel happy.
Q. 22. What fresh problem now disturbs Mme. Loisel?
Ans. The fresh problem is that Mme. Loisel doesn't have a pretty
and proper dress.
Q.23. How is the problem solved?
Ans. The problems i solved when her husband gives her four
hundred francs. It is to buy a pretty dress.
Q.24. What do Mr. and Mme Loisel do next?
Ans. Mr. and Mme. Loisel decide to borrow a diamond necklace.
It is from her friend Mme. Forestier.
Q. 25. How do they replace the necklace?
Ans. They borrow money. They shift to a cheap house. They
save every sou possible. Mme. Loisel does all her work herself. They
buy a new diamond necklace to replace the lost one.
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