UP Board Class 10 English Chapter 7 – The Necklace (Supplementary Reader)

This story revolves around Matilda Loisel, a beautiful young woman born into a family of clerks. Matilda desires a life of luxury and elegance. Despite her beauty and charm, Matilda marries a clerk who worked in the office of Education. Therefore, she leads a life of dissatisfaction and desires for wealth and social status.

One evening, M. Loisel returned from his office with a large envelope. The envelope consisted of an invitation to a ball (party) at the Minister’s residence. M. Loisel thought that his wife would be happy to read the invitation but she was not happy to see the invitation. She denied the invite as she does not have a suitable attire and accessories. Her husband, eager to please her, offered money for a new dress. After Matilda got her new dress, she wanted new jewellery to complete her look. So, her husband advised her that she should go to Mme. Forestier, her friend and borrow her jewellery. Next day, Matilda went to her friend’s house. She told Mme. Forestier her problem and borrowed a diamond necklace. The night of the ball arrived and Matilda was happy at the occasion. She looked very beautiful. She danced with great enthusiasm and happiness and went home at 4 am. When Matilda returned home and was changing her dress, she noticed that the necklace was not around her neck. She cried and informed her husband that she had lost the necklace. So, they searched everywhere but the necklace was not found.

Now, Matilda and Loisel urgently needed a replacement of the necklace. They found a similar one at a shop at Palais Royal, priced at forty thousand francs. They bought the necklace for thirty-six thousand, but that was still too much. Loisel had only eighteen thousand francs from his father, so he borrowed the rest from various lenders. This put them in a tough financial situation, and they spent years struggling to pay off their debts.

After replacing the necklace, Liosels changed their lifestyle. They moved to a smaller house and even dismissed their maid. Matilda did household chores. Matilda’s appearance also changed. They repaid the debts after 10 years.

One Sunday, while walking in the Champs-Elysees, Matilda encountered Mme. Forestier. Matilda approached her and revealed the truth about the necklace. Mme. Forestier was touched by Matilda’s honesty. However, she revealed that the original necklace had been fake and worth only five hundred francs.

यह कहानी मटिल्डा लोइसेल के इर्द-गिर्द घूमती है, जो लिपिकों के परिवार में पैदा हुई एक खूबसूरत युवा महिला है। मटिल्डा समृद्धि और उत्तम जीवन चाहती है। अपनी सुन्दरता और आकर्षण के बावजूद मटिल्डा ने एक लिपिक से शादी की, शिक्षा के कार्यालय में कार्य करता था। इसलिए वह असन्तोषपूर्ण जीवन गुजारती है एवं धन तथा सामाजिक प्रतिष्ठा की प्राप्ति की इच्छा रखती है।

एक शाम एम. लोइसेल एक बड़ा लिफाफा लेकर अपने कार्यालय से लौटे। लिफाफे मन्त्री के आवास पर एक नृत्य ( समारोह) का निमन्त्रण था। एम. लोइसेल ने सोचा कि उसकी पत्नी निमन्त्रण पढ़कर खुश होगी, लेकिन वह निमन्त्रण देखकर प्रसन्न नहीं हुई। उसने निमन्त्रण अस्वीकार कर दिया, क्योंकि उसके पास उपयुक्त पोशाक एवं जेवरात नहीं थे। उत्सुकतावश उसके पति ने उसे खुश करने के लिए नई पोशाक के लिए पैसे दे दिए। अपनी नई पोशाक प्राप्त करने के पश्चात् टिल्डा सम्पूर्ण वेशभूषा को पूर्ण करने के लिए नए आभूषण चाहती थी, तो उसके पति ने उसे सुझाव दिया कि उसे अपनी मित्र मैडम फॉरेस्टर के पास जाना चाहिए। अगले दिन मटिल्डा अपनी मित्र के घर गई। उसने मैडम फॉरेस्टर को अपनी समस्या बताई और एक हीरों का हार उधार ले लिया। बॉल पार्टी की रात आ गई और इस अवसर पर मटिल्डा प्रसन्न थी । वह बहुत सुन्दर लग रही थी। वह बहुत ही उत्साह और खुशी से नाच रही थी और सुबह चार बजे पार्टी से घर चली गई। जब मटिल्डा घर लौटी और अपनी पोशाक बदल रही थी, तब उसने देखा कि हार उसके गले में नहीं था । उसने रोते हुए अपने पति को बताया कि उसने हार खो दिया है, इसलिए उन्होंने प्रत्येक जगह हार को खोजा, लेकिन वह नहीं मिला।

अब, मटिल्डा और लोइसेल को तत्काल उस हार को बदलकर दूसरा हार लेने की आवश्यकता थी । उन्हें पैलेस रॉयल की दुकान में उस हार के जैसा समान हार मिला, जिसकी कीमत चालीस हजार फ्रेंक थी। उन्होंने हार छत्तीस हजार में खरीदा, लेकिन अभी भी बहुत महँगा था। लोइसेल के पास अपने पिता से प्राप्त हुए केवल अट्ठारह हजार फ्रेंक थे, इसलिए उसने बाकी राशि विभिन्न उधारदाताओं से उधार ली। इसके कारण वे कठिन वित्तीय स्थिति में आ गए थे और उन्होंने अपना कर्ज चुकाने के लिए संघर्ष करते हुए कई वर्ष बिताए ।

हार बदलने के बाद, लोइसेल ने अपनी जीवन-शैली बदल दी। वे एक छोटे से घर में रहने लगे और यहाँ तक की उन्होंने अपनी नौकरानी को भी हटा दिया। मटिल्डा घर का कार्य किया करती थी । मटिल्डा का रूप-रंग भी बदल गया था। उन्होंने दस वर्ष बाद धीरे-धीरे अपना कर्ज चुकाया ।

एक रविवार को चैप्स – एलिसीज में घूमते समय मटिल्डा का सामना मैडम फॉरेस्टयर से हुआ। मटिल्डा ने उससे सम्पर्क किया और हार के बारे में सच्चाई बताई। मैडम फॉरैस्टियर मटिल्डा की ईमानदारी देखकर प्रभावित हो गई। हालाँकि उसने खुलासा किया कि असली हार नकली था और उसकी कीमत केवल पाँच सो फ्रेंक थी।

(a) Madam Forestier

(b) Narrator

(c) Matilda Loisel

(d) None of these

Ans. (c) Matilda Loisel

(a) a minister

(b) a businessman

(c) an officer

(d) a petty clerk

Ans. (d) a petty clerk

(a) Good friend of Matilda

(b) Husband of Matilda

(c) Necklace

(d) Both (a) and (c)

Ans. (d) Both (a) and (c)

(a) Rich family

(b) Small family

(c) Family of clerks

(d) None of these

Ans. (c) Family of clerks

(a) Board of Education

(b) Board of Public Education

(c) Ministry of Education:

(d) Ministry of Public Instruction

Ans. (a) Board of Education

(a) To buy a bicycle

(b) To buy a music player

(c) To buy a shirt

(d) To buy a gun

Ans. (d) To buy a gun

(a) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

(b) Ministry of Public Instruction

(c) Ministry of External Affairs

(d) None of the above

Ans. (b) Ministry of Public Instruction

(a) Buy a new car

(b) Buy a new dress

(c) Buy a sandal

(d) None of the above

Ans. (b) Buy a new dress

(a) the poverty of her apartment

(b) the shabby walls

(c) the worm chairs

(d) All (a), (b) and (c) are correct

Ans. (d) All (a), (b) and (c) are correct

(a) unhappy

(b) happy

(c) delighted

(d) contended

Ans. (a) unhappy

(a) The Prime Minister

(b) The President

(c) The Minister of Public Instruction

(d) The Governor

Ans. (c) The Minister of Public Instruction

(a) Matilda borrowed a necklace of real diamonds and returned a necklace of real diamonds.

(b) Matilda borrowed a necklace of real diamonds but returned a necklace of artificial diamonds.

(c) Matilda borrowed a necklace of artificial diamonds but returned a necklace of real diamonds.

(d) Matilda borrowed a necklace of artificial diamonds and returned a necklace of artificial diamonds.

Ans. (c) Matilda borrowed a necklace of artificial diamonds but returned a necklace of real diamonds.

Ans. Mme. Loisel was the centre of attention at the ball. Her beauty, her joy and the gorgeous smile attracted all. She danced happily. Hence, she had a successful and enjoyable evening at the ball.

Ans. Matilda did not want to go for the ball party because when her husband showed her the invitation, she felt humiliated as she had nothing beautiful enough to wear at the ball.

Ans. Matilda left the ball in a hurry because she did not want to be seen with the ordinary wrap that she carried. She believed that the poor looks of her wrap contrasted with the elegance of the other ladies, who were wrapping themselves in rich furs. This shows that she only wanted to keep up the appearance just to flatter her pride without being in touch with the real truth of her life.

Ans. Loisels had lost the necklace and needed time to find an identical one. Thus, Mme. Loisel wrote a letter to Mme. Forestier with an excuse that the clasp of the necklace had got broken and she needed time to get it repaired.

Ans. To pay for the necklace, M. Loisel had to give away eighteen thousand Francs that his father had left for him and the rest, he had to borrow. Due to this, they had to spend 10 years of their lives in misery and poverty.

Ans. Matilda was a pretty married lady who was always unhappy in her life because she always wished to be marry with a wealthy person. She always dreamt of living a marvellous life full of luxury. But in reality, she belonged to a family of clerks wherein she did not live a luxurious life.

Ans. Matilda was a pretty young lady but she belonged to a poor family. She was married to a clerk. She had great aspirations in life. Her poverty and lack of recognition made her angry and unhappy.

Ans. Her husband, M. Loisel, is an ordinary clerk in the office of the Board of Education. He is a loving and caring husband who wanted to make his wife happy.

Ans. After all other efforts fail, Loisel decided to buy a new identical necklace to replace the lost one. M. Loisel gave eighteen thousand Francs that his father had left for him and took a loan for the rest. Then the couple managed to buy the new necklace for thirty six thousand francs and returned it to Mme. Forestier.

Ans. A Beautiful Proud Lady Matilda is the young and beautiful wife of Mr. Loisel, a clerk in the board of education. She is proud of her elegant beauty and thinks she is a victim of social injustice and irony of fate.

An Ambitious Lady So, she is always unhappy with her husband’s poverty. She feels she has been deprived of the comforts and luxuries which she might have enjoyed by marrying a rich man.

Transition in Her Character The loss of the necklace proves a turning point in the development of her character. Before the loss of the necklace, she is a thoughtless, ungrateful, proud beauty, unhappy with the poverty of her husband. After the loss, she becomes a mature, humble and grateful wife who can gladly sacrifice every pleasure to get her husband out of his financial misery.

Ans. If Matilda had not lost the diamond necklace in the Minister’s ball, she might have been in lesser trouble than what she faced after having replaced the necklace. Her friend would have been angry with her and most probably would have asked Matilda to replace it. She would have given her the details from where she bought the necklace and how much it had cost her. Matilda would thus have known that the jewels in the necklace were not real diamonds. It would have cost her a far lesser amount to replace it. Matilda would thus, have saved herself and her husband from all the trouble they went through.

The only positive outcome of the case is that Matilda became a mature, humble, hard-working and grateful wife who had excepted her shortcomings and saw the real truth of her life.

Ans. Mme Forestier is a true friend of Mme Loisel. She plays a very vital role in the story. As a friend to Matilda, we find her to be really genuine. She helps Matilda in the hour of her need. When Mme Loisel needed to borrow jewels, she went to Mme Forestier. Mme Forestier does not refuse. Displaying her generosity, she opens up the entire case of her jewels for Matilda to choose from. Also, she was considerate when the Loisels delayed the return of the necklace. At the end of the story, she concludes the entire narrative.

Mme. Forestier reveals to Matilda that her necklace was just a fake. She is not at all worried in the light of the fact that she may have to return the necklace. It shows her honesty. She was a true friend who, feels bad for Matilda at her unnecessary suffering.

Ans. It is true that the necklace changed the course of the Loisel’s life. It took the Loisel’s ten years to pay back the money they had borrowed to buy the necklace. It changed everything for them. They had to move to the poorest quarters of the city. With no maids or assistance, Matilda had to cook, clean, mend, sew and bargain with the grocer and butcher to save every sou (a french coin of low value) just for their mere survival. The husband had to work in the evening and night to pay their debt.

Ans. The cause of Matilda’s ruin was her over ambitiousness and dissatisfaction from life. She was an extremely beautiful girl who expected too much from life.

But unfortunately, she was married to an ordinary man who could not provide her with all the materialistic luxuries. She could have avoided it if she had told the fact to her friend that she had lost the necklace. By hiding the reality, she ruined her life. Moreover, she should have been satisfied with what she had instead of imitating rich people.