The Little Match Girl

Extract 1
It was bitterly cold………..but what good were they?
(i) What was special about the particular evening in the story? What kind of weather was
there in the evening?
Ans. The special thing about the particular evening is it was New Year’s Eve and weather was
bitterly cold, snow was falling and darkness was gathering.

(ii) The girl had slippers on, but they were of no use. Why? What happened to the slippers?
Ans. The slippers that the girl was wearing belonged to her dead mother. They were too big for
her and hence were of no use. The little girl had lost them as she ran across the street. One
slipper could not be found, and a boy had run off with the other.

(iii) How can you conclude from the extract that the girl was poor and dejected?

Ans. The girl was dejected and poor in very sense because she was bare feet and was sent out on
a cold night to sell matches, which was another form of begging at that time. No one
bought matches from her so she was unable to earn a single penny. She was shivering and
hungry.

(iv) Why was the girl out in the cold? What prevented her from going back home?
Ans. The girl was out in the cold to earn some money. The girl did not dare to go home as she
was unable to earn a single penny. Her father would surely beat her if she returned empty
hand; moreover it was so cold at home because there was nothing but a roof above them.

(v) How appropriate is the title of the story? Give reasons to support your answer?

Ans. The appropriation of the title of the story is judged by how well it reflects the content of
the story. The title ‘Little Match Girl’ is quite apt as it revolves around a little girl who
sells matches. She had not given a name as she represents one of the many poor children
belonging to lower class in Victorian Era, who had to face hardship because of poverty.

Extract 2

So the little girl walked…………..the picture of misery, poor little thing!

(i) Who is referred to as little girl in the extract above? How did she lose her shoes?
Ans. ‘The Little Match Girl’ is referred to ‘little maiden’ in the extract. She lost her slippers
when she was escaping from two carriages that were running very fast. One could not be
found and other was taken by a boy

(ii) Why was the girl carrying matches with her?

Ans. The little girl is trying to sell matches to earn money as she belonged to a poor family and
her daily earnings were the source to provide the family food every day.
(iii) Why does the author describe the girl as a 'picture of misery'?
Ans. The author describes the girl as a 'picture of misery' because she was cold and hungry and
was creeping along. She neither had anything to eat, nor did she have any warm clothing to
keep her from 'shivering'. She was a motherless child and also very unhappy that her
grandma had passed away, who loved her. She was a victim of child abuse by her father.

(iv) What has not anybody bought from her and why? What was this act of selling used as
a front of?
Ans. She was trying to sell match boxes on the streets, but nobody bought the match boxes as
they were busy with their New year`s preparation. Since begging was illegal during the
Victorian Era, the poor used to sell matches on the street as a front for begging.

(v) Explain how is the story interspersed with didactic elements. Give two examples of
imagery used in this extract.

Ans. A didactic story is the one that is intended to teach people a moral lesson. This story is
meant to teach, especially the wealthy, to show empathy for those, who do not have the
basic necessities of life. It reminds them not to overlook the needs of their less fortunate
brethren, especially innocent children. The author has used tactile imagery in the given
extract. For example:
1. Her naked feet are becoming red and blue with cold.
2. Her hand became numb with cold.

Extract 3

She tucked her legs up……………were stuffed with straw and rags.

(i) Where was the girl sitting? How did she try to warm her fingers?

Ans. The girl huddled down in a heap in a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected
further out into the street than the other. Her thin hands were almost numb with cold which she
tried to warm up by lighting match sticks.

(ii) Why did the girl do not dare to go home? Give reasons to support your answer.

Ans. The girl did not dare to go home because nobody had purchased matches from her. She did
not earn even a penny. She knew if she would go home without money then her father will
surely beat her.

(iii) Explain what kind of relationship the girl shared with her father.

Ans. The girl had an affectionless relation with her father. Her father was ruthless who sent her
out to earn money in such a cold. She was a victim of child abuse and was not fed and
clothed properly. She was scared to go home for the fear of being beaten by her father.

(iv) With reference to the story, bring out the theme of class differentiation.
Ans. During the Victorian Era, the middle class emerged and took over an important percentage
of work places. It is at this time, there appeared an underclass, which remained unemployed
and lived in abject poverty. This class resented both the aristocracy and the middle class.
There existed a huge gap between the financial condition of this class and the wealthy.
(v) The children in Victorian society were not only orphaned but also deserted, neglected
and abused. Give evidence from the story to prove this statement. Compare the life of
children in rural India with the children in Victorian society.
Ans. The children were regarded as miniature adults who were used for cheap labour. In this
story, the child is poor and motherless. She does not get any affection or love from her
father but is sent out in the biting cold to sell matches. She became a victim of child labour
and of physical abuse at the hands of her father. In India also we find the conditions similar
to the Victorian era subject to poverty, child abuse, etc.

Extract 4

She struck another………….She could see right into the room.

(i) Who was 'she' referred to in the extract? Where was she? What happened when she lit
the match stick?
Ans. The little match girl is referred to as ‘she’. She was sitting in a corner in the street. As soon
as she lit the second match stick its light fell on the wall. She felt as if the wall had become
transparent and she would see a sumptuous feast inside the room.

(ii) What did the girl see in the room when she lit in the second match? What happened to
these things after a moment?
Ans. When the girl lit the second matchstick she saw a roast goose stuffed with apple and dried
plums, which hopped down from the dish and came up to her, seeing the goose come to her
symbolises her hunger pangs. After the match blew out all those things vanished and only
thick cold wall could be seen.

(iii) Explain how the girl's visions are symbolic of her undying hope.
Ans. The little and poor girl, who is suffering from cold and hunger and apathy of the people
around her imagined about certain things which she desperately longed for and which made
her feet better, including an iron stove, a table laden with delicious food and a huge
Christmas tree. The girl imagines her deceased grandmother's face just because, she had
faith and undying hope.

(iv) What does the light from the matches symbolise in the story?

Ans. The light from the matches in the story are symbolic of warmth from cold, desire for food
and celebration and warmth of love which the little girl was longing for. The light from the
matches also symbolise the light of God and hope.

(v) Explain why the girl lit the whole bundle of matches at the end of the story. How does
this reflect on her mental state?

Ans. When the little girl lit the match stick for the fourth time she saw her old grandmother. She
was delighted to see her and said her to take her along. She did not want her to vanish. As
the rest of her visions had vanished so she lit up the entire bundle of matches to keep her
grandmother in visibility. This shows that emotionally and mentally the child was
visualising things that she longed or desired for through her hallucinations.
Extract 5

But in cold dawn…………..and gladness of a new year.

(i) Which girl is referred to in the extract above? What does her "rosy cheeks" and
"smiling lips" tell us about her?

Ans. The little girl who was selling the matches is referred to here. Her "rosy cheeks" and
"smiling lips" signify that she had wonderful visions before her death. Now she was free
from the anxieties of cold, hunger and fear as she had entered into the spare glory and joy.

(ii) What is referred to as "beautiful visions" in the extract above? How does the girl
encounter these "beautiful visions"?

Ans. The little girl’s vision of an iron stove, a sumptuous feast, a twinkling Christmas tree and
her late grandmother are referred to as beautiful things. It is by lighting the matches that
she gets to encounter these beautiful things.

(iii) What kind of relationship existed between the girl and her grandmother?

Ans. The little girl's grandmother was dead but was the only person, whom she remembered
fondly. She has been described as the only one who loved the little girl. It seems that the
little girl used to hear stories from her grandmother as she remembered her grandmother's
view about the stars falling from the sky. The memory of her grandmother's helped her
keep warm while others ignored her.

(iv) How does the extract bring out the hope for a better life after death?

Ans. Even though the girl was suffering from cold, hunger and feared being beaten up by her
father, she found hope in the image of her loving grandmother. She was a neglected child
in this life here and was fed up with the cruelty of people. So she pleaded her grandmother
to take her along to heaven. So the little girl hoped that she would get relieved from this
struggle and painful life through divine redemption after death.

(v) Give the brief character sketch of the little match girl. How is she a representative of
children in Victorian society?

Ans. The little nameless girl is the main character of the story. Though her age is not mentioned
in the story, but from the size of the slippers, which belonged to her mother and which are
too big for her, it appears that she might have been between seven to ten years old.
She had rosy cheeks and long curly hair. She belonged to a poor household, as is
reflected through the description of her house.
The children in Victorian society were also not having proper food, shelter or clothing.
They were either orphaned or unparented, lacked education facilities, were abused and
had to under go child labour. All these conditions are befitting our little girl in the story
and justifies that she is a representative of the Victorian society.