7. The Necklace - Class 10 - Footprints

BhashaLab
23 hours ago
5 min read

Author: Guy de Maupassant

Genre: Realistic Fiction / Irony / Social Commentary

📝 Summary

Mathilde Loisel, a beautiful young woman born into a modest family, always dreams of luxury and wealth. She is dissatisfied with her simple life and constantly imagines a grand lifestyle. Her husband, a clerk, is content and supportive but cannot afford to provide her the life she desires.

One day, her husband brings home an invitation to a prestigious ball. Mathilde becomes upset because she does not have an elegant dress or jewelry. Her husband uses his savings to buy her a new gown, and she borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier.

At the ball, Mathilde shines with grace and charm. But after returning home, she realizes she has lost the necklace. Too ashamed to confess the truth, the couple decides to replace it with a similar one. They borrow a large sum of money and spend ten years in poverty repaying the debt.

When Mathilde finally meets Madame Forestier and tells her the truth, she is shocked to hear that the necklace was a fake, worth only a few hundred francs.

👤 Character Sketches

Mathilde Loisel

Pretty, charming, but materialistic
Dissatisfied with her modest lifestyle
Longs for wealth and admiration
Too proud to admit the truth
Learns a harsh lesson through suffering
Symbol of false pride and the burden of appearances

Monsieur Loisel (Her Husband)

Clerk in the Board of Education
Simple, caring, and content with life
Sacrifices his comfort for his wife
Works hard and remains loyal
Represents honesty and selflessness

Madame Forestier

Wealthy and generous
Lends the necklace without hesitation
Symbol of irony—her fake necklace caused real hardship
Shocked by the truth but not arrogant

✨ Literary Devices

Device	Example / Function
Irony	The entire plot hinges on the necklace being fake.
Foreshadowing	Mathilde’s obsession with appearance hints at the outcome.
Symbolism	The necklace represents illusion and social pressure.
Imagery	The ball, dress, and necklace are vividly described to reflect Mathilde’s dreams.
Realism	The story realistically portrays middle-class struggles and desires.

📖 Title Justification

The title The Necklace is symbolic and ironic. The entire story revolves around this one object—a necklace that seems valuable but is actually fake. It represents how appearances can be deceptive and how pride can blind people to the truth. It becomes the cause of the protagonist’s downfall, making the title highly apt.

✅ One-Mark Questions (Q&A Format – Full Sentences)

Q1. Why was Mathilde unhappy with her life?

👉 Mathilde was unhappy because she believed she deserved a life of luxury and wealth, but was married to a modest clerk.

Q2. What did Mathilde borrow from Madame Forestier?

👉 Mathilde borrowed a diamond necklace to wear to the ball.

Q3. How did Mathilde lose the necklace?

👉 She lost the necklace while returning home from the ball.

Q4. How long did it take the Loisels to repay their debt?

👉 It took them ten years of hard labor and poverty to repay the debt.

Q5. What shocking truth did Madame Forestier reveal at the end?

👉 She revealed that the original necklace was fake and not worth much.

✅ Three-Mark Questions

Q1. How did Mathilde’s life change after losing the necklace?

👉 Mathilde and her husband had to borrow a large sum of money to replace the necklace. They dismissed their maid, shifted to a poorer area, and worked tirelessly for ten years to repay the debt. Mathilde lost her beauty and charm due to a hard life.

Q2. Why is the ending of the story considered ironic?

👉 The ending is ironic because Mathilde endured ten years of poverty for a necklace that turned out to be fake. The truth, if revealed early, could have saved her a decade of suffering.

Q3. How does Maupassant portray the social divide in the story?

👉 Maupassant highlights the gap between the rich and the poor through Mathilde’s longing to be part of the elite and her shame about her real status. Her desire to appear wealthy drives the entire conflict.

🧠 Value-Based Question

Q. What life lessons can we learn from Mathilde’s experience in The Necklace?

👉 The story teaches us that honesty is better than pride, and pretending to be what we are not can have serious consequences. It also reminds us to value what we have, rather than chasing false appearances. Contentment, truth, and humility are important in life.

END

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