The Necklace

By– Guy De Maupassant

About the Author
Guy De Maupassant was a great writer of France. He is considered to be one of the best short story
writers of the world. He was born on 5 August 1850 at the Chateau de Miromesnil, in France.
Maupassant was a representative of the naturalist school of writers. He depicts human lives often in
pessimistic terms. Many of his stories were written during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s. He
describes the futility of wars and violence that take thousands of innocent lives. He wrote more than
300 short stories, 6 novels, travel books and even poetry.
INTRODUCTION
The Necklace’ is one of the well-known stories of Maupassant. The story centres round Matilda Loisel,
who is a beautiful woman. She suffers greatly because of her desire to appear rich and fashionable.
She is married to a clerk and leads an ordinary life. But she wants to be rich and famous. Her husband
gets an invitation to attend a dance party given by the Minister of Public Instruction. Matilda borrows
a diamond necklace from her rich friend Madame Forestier to wear it at the party. She looks charming
and everybody praises her. But when she returns home, she finds that she has lost the necklace. She
and her husband borrow a big amount of money to replace the necklace. Both of the world hard for
ten years to pay off their debt. Their life becomes miserable. One day, after the debt, is paid off. Matilda
comes across Madame Forestier. Matilda is shocked to learn from her that the necklace was made of
artificial diamonds and its price was not more than 500 francs.
Theme of the Story
`The Necklace’ is a mild satire but with a strong message. It is ridiculous for people of ordinary means
to copy the rich. One should live within one’s means. Otherwise, he or she invites unnecessary
problems, anxieties and confusion in his or her life.
The main message of the story is that we should be what we are. False pride is the cause of our
sufferings.

SUMMARY
Mathilde is born to a low-class family; with no money for a dowry, she is married to Monsieur
Loisel, a clerk from the Board of Education. Mathilde–now Madame Loisel–had always felt like
she should have been upper class, and is unhappy in her married life: she hates their home, their
food, and her lack of fine clothing and jewelry. One evening, her husband excitedly presents her
with an invitation to attend an event at the Minister of Public Instruction’s home. To the surprise
of M. Loisel, Mme. Loisel throws the invitation down in dismay, weeping and complaining that
she has nothing to wear to such an event. Her husband offers to give her the money for
something suitable, but as the day of the ball approaches, she is still dismayed. When asked why,
she replies that she is embarrassed to attend the ball without any jewels. Her husband suggests
that she ask to borrow some jewels from her rich friend, Madame Forestier. She agrees and goes
to see her friend the next day, greedily choosing one of Madame Forestier’s finest necklaces.
At the ball, Madame Loisel is a hit: elegant, joyful, and desired for waltzes. She and M. Loisel
return home at nearly 4 o’clock in the morning, and only when they arrive home does Mme.
Loisel realize she lost the necklace. After a week with no news, M. Loisel proclaims that they
must replace it, and the couple finds a replacement for 36,000 francs. Loisel has 18,000 francs
from his father’s will and borrows the remaining sum, bit-by-bit and making “ruinous
promises”(p.36) along the way. After all this, Madame Loisel is able to return the newly bought
necklace in the original’s case, apparently rousing no suspicion.

To pay off the debt, both Monsieur and Madame Loisel must work tirelessly. After ten years,
they are finally able to pay off all of their debts. One day, while taking a walk, Madame Loisel

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runs into Madame Forestier. She approaches her old friend, but Mme. Forestier almost doesn’t
recognize her. In sudden emotion, Madame Loisel reveals her entire story of losing the necklace,
replacing it, and working off the cost of the replacement ever since. In response, Madame
Forestier replies that the original necklace contained not actual diamonds but rather fake
diamonds, meaning the original necklace cost no more than 500 francs.

Very Short Answer Questions

1. In which family was Matilda born into?
Ans. clerks
2. Why did Matilda suffer?
Ans. Because she had desire to look rich and fashionable.
3. Whom was Matilda married to?
Ans. a petty clerk., Mr Loisel
4. One day Mr Loisel received an invitation from :
Ans. The Minister of Public Instruction
5. How did Loisel feel on receiving the invitation?
Ans. (B) elated
6. Why did Mrs Loisel throw the invitation spitefully?
Ans. She had no jewellery and beautiful dress to wear
7. For what had Loisel saved four hundred francs?
Ans. to buy a gun
8. What did Mrs Loisel borrow from Mme Forestier?
Ans. A necklace
9. When did Mr and Mrs Loisel return home from the ball?
Ans. At 4 a.m.
10. What spoiled Mr and Mrs Loisel pleasure?
Ans. The loss of the necklace
11. Did they find the lost necklace?
Ans. No
12. How much Loisels had to spend to replace the necklace?
Ans. Thirty-six thousand francs
13. How much amount did he borrow?
Ans. Eithteen thousand francs

Extract Based Questions [4 Marks each]

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

1. And she responded, “I am vexed not to have a jewel, nothing to adorn myself with. I shall have
such a poverty-stricken look. I would prefer not to go to this party.” He replied, “You can wear
some natural flowers. In this season they look very chic.”
(a) Why was she vexed then?
(b) Which party is she referring to?
(c) Who is ‘she’ in the above lines?
(d) Why did she not want to go to the party?
Ans. (a) She was vexed because she did not have any jewel to adorn herself with.
(b) She is referring to the party hosted by The Minister of Public Instruction for which her husband
got an invitation.

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(c) Matilda
(d) She was grieved for her poverty-stricken look. She felt that she did not have a proper Party
dress and a jewel for the party.
2. She suffered incessantly, feeling born for all delicacies and luxuries. She Suffered from the
poverty of her apartment, the shabby walls and the worn chairs. All these things tortured and
angered her.
(a) Who is she?
(b) Why did she suffer?
(c) Why does she feel tortured?
(d) What character traits of Matilda do the above lines reveal?
Ans. (a) She stands for Matilda.
(b) She was very beautiful and felt born for all delicacies and luxuries which she was not having.
This made her suffer.
(c) She was unhappy with the poverty of her house. The shabby walls and the worn chairs tortured
and angered her.
(d) Matilda was an unhappy and discontented person.
3. “She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, loved and married by a man either
rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of
Education.”
(a) Who is the description about?
(b) What sort of person is she?
(c) What is the outcome of her marriage?
(d) What did her husband do?
Ans. (a) Mme Lisle.
(b) -She is a pretty lady who is ambitious and discontented with her life.
(c) She remained unhappy.
(d) Her husband was a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education.

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

1. How had Mme Lionel’s sacrifices all been in vain?

Ans. Mme. Lionel’s sacrifices proved to be all in vain as Mrs Forester, when she met her after ten
years, told her that the necklace was of fake diamonds worth only 500 francs. Poor Losels had
wasted their 10 years to repay the loss of a fake necklace.
2. What did the Losels do to replace the necklace?
Ans. They had to save every single penny in order to repay the huge loan they had taken for the
diamond necklace. Mrs Lisle sent away all the maids and did all the household work herself. They
changed their lodging and shifted to a cheap rented room.
3. What were the reasons for Matilda’s unhappiness?
Ans. Matilda was a pretty young lady but belonged to a poor family. She was married to a petty
clerk. Her poverty and lack of recognition made her angry and unhappy.
4. What did her husband bring home one evening? Why was he so elated?
Ans. One evening, her husband brought home an invitation card. They were invited to a party at
the residence of the Minister of Public Instruction. He was so elated because he thought that it
would make his wife happy.
5. Why was she not delighted on receiving the ‘invitation to the party?

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Ans. Mrs Loisel wanted to lead a life of luxury. She wanted to attend parties. One day her husband
got an invitation to attend the party given by the Minister of Public Instruction. But she did not
have a good dress to wear at the party. So she was not happy to get the invitation.
6. Why was her husband saving money?
Ans. Her husband was fond of shooting birds. He wanted to take part in shooting larks next
summer. Some of his friends were also going for shooting. So he was saving money. He wanted
to purchase a gun with that money.

Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]

1. The story The Necklace’ teaches us many lessons which form the crux of human
values. Discuss.
Ans. The story ‘The Necklace’ teaches us many lessons which form the crux of human values. The
very first thing it teaches us is the need to be content in life. Matilda, though born into a family of clerks
and married to a petty clerk with the Board of Education, remains unhappy. She suffers from the feeling
that she is born for all delicacies and luxuries, but has to live miserably in ‘poverty’. So, when she has
to attend the office party with her husband, she asks him for money to get a new dress. Her husband
sacrifices the money he has saved to buy a gun to get her the dress. Then also she is not content.
She feels that she could look still more beautiful with a jewel. She thus borrows a necklace from her
friend, thinking that it is made of diamonds. At the party, she remains elegant, gracious, smiling and
absolutely happy. She was thus the prettiest of all. But this vanity is short-lived and is the beginning
of all troubles in her life. She loses the necklace and she gets a new diamond necklace as its
replacement by borrowing heavily. Subsequently, she is pushed to live in poverty as she slogs for ten
years to save money to pay back the huge debt. Then the horrible reality frightens her. She realizes
how her false pride has taken away her otherwise happy contented life. The story thus discusses the
negative effects of pride and vanity and stresses the importance of being satisfied with what one has
honesty, love and sacrifice.

2.’Matilda’s craving for a bubble reputation was the cause of her ruin.’ Draw a conclusion as to
how she could have avoided the misfortune that dawned upon her.

Ans. Matilda grows restless and unhappy when her husband shows her the invitation to the official
party. What fills her mind is how she can present herself, be the prettiest and most attractive, at the
party. Already she is frivolous, feeling herself to be born for all delicacies and luxuries of life. Now, this
party gives her the opportunity to realize her dreams — at any cost — to show off her. Her vanity and
false pride blind her, as she decides to flaunt her husband’s money to get a new dress for the party.
Then she also decides to borrow a necklace to add to her beauty. She is unaware that whatever
reputation she would gain from these would be short-lived. If only her husband had stopped her from
buying the new dress or borrowing the necklace, they both would have led a smooth life. The efforts
they both take to buy that small time happiness had really cost them a considerable time of their life.
Matilda should not have yielded to temptations. She should have weighed the pros and cons of
borrowing a jewel from a friend. The jewel may or may not be ‘diamond’ — the need to keep it safe
and returning it in good condition is a greater responsibility which a person of Matilda’s mindset could
hardly handle. Antic such untoward happenings of losing the jewel, and the croon pulsing to return it
safely, had perhaps slipped from Matilda’s mind. Also, a sense of false Pride and vanity were
uppermost in Matilda’s mind. She was dissatisfied with her way of life, and even one night of splendour
was welcome. If she had been content with her life and lived Within her means without falling for false
and temporary ‘riches’ could have avoided the misfortune that dawned upon her and her husband on
losing the jewel.

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