NECKLACE (1)

1.Pen down the character sketch of Matilda.
Matilda is the young and beautiful wife of Mr.Loisel, a clerk in

the board of Education. She is proud of her elegant beauty. She
is unhappy with her poor lot. She thinks she is a victim of social
injustice and irony of fate. She is unhappy with her husband’s
small house and old furniture. She feels she has been deprived
of the comforts and luxuries which she might have enjoyed by
marrying a rich man. In short, she is sick and ashamed of her
present miserable life. But all this does not mean that she does
not love her husband. Of course, she loves him deeply though
much of the credit for this love goes to the husband. He does
his best to make her as happy as he can afford. He puts up with
her foolish demands, and yields to all her stupid whims. Matilda
is a simple, childlike immature girl until she finds herself face to
face with the bitter consequences of her folly. The loss of the
necklace proves a turning point in the development of her
character. It makes her a careful and responsible woman. Her
grumbling over the poor lot of her husband gives way to
respect and gratitude for his tolerance and generosity. Matilda
thus plays two different roles in the story. Before the loss of the
necklace she was 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. This change in her character makes her a lovable
character in spite of all her faults and follies.
2.Mme Loisel’s disposition invites her doom. Comment

in the context of the text you’ve read.
Mme Loisel belongs to a family of clerks. Her existence is quite
average. They live on meagre income, enough for basic needs
but not to fulfil aspirations. She gets married to a clerk and is
so caught up with her dreams of wealth and pleasure that she
is out of touch with the truths of her real life. In order to keep
up appearances just to flatter her pride, she blows up four
hundred francs on a gorgeous dress. And, not contented, she
goes on borrowing a necklace from her friend. And, all of this is
just to impress the wealthy and the rich with her beauty and
glamour (even if on loan). No doubt, her pride is flattered and
her wish of fine dining, expensive dresses and jewels satisfied
but at a great price. Unfortunately, the necklace has lost and
the couple has to cough up their entire inheritance and borrow
as well to replace it. Repayment of the debt eats away the next
ten years of their youth. They live poor. All the house hold
chores and cares of alife of poverty visit them. Hence, her
disposition invites her doom.
3. Mme Forestier proved to be a true friend. Elucidate.
Mme Forestier turns out to be an interesting character. She
plays a very vital role in the story. As a friend to Matilda, we
find her to be really genuine as she helps Matilda in the hour of
her need. When Mme Loisel needs to borrow jewels, she turns
to Mme Forestier. Mme Forestier does not refuse. Displaying her
generosity, she opens up the entire array of her jewels for
Matilda to choose from. Also, she is considerate when Loisels
delay the return of the necklace. Surprisingly, at the end of the
story, she concludes the entire narrative.
Without even a moment’s hesitation, she 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. Rather, she, like a true friend, feels bad for
Matilda at her unnecessary suffering. We find her sympathising
with Mme Loisel. She is indeed a gem of a friend.
4.Do you think the story is aptly titled? Justify your
answer.
The whole narrative of the story ‘The Necklace’ revolves around
a young woman Matilda, who in her foolish pride borrows a
necklace inviting misery and sorrow for herself as well as for
her husband. The ‘necklace’ has lost and the Loisels fall into a
tremendous debt. They spend the next ten years of their life in
paying debt for the replacement of the lost necklace. Their
entire life moves around impoverished everyday saga of misery
and hunger and the necklace, in fact, changes the very course
of their life. Also, it is against the back drop of the necklace that
Matilda’s pride and dishonesty are highlighted. At the same
time, the necklace serves a twist at the end as it turns out to be
a fake one. The story is, hence, most aptly titled as the
necklace is, in fact, the leading character of this ironic tale of
desire, the doom and the tragedy.

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1.Pen down the character sketch of Matilda.

Matilda is the young and beautiful wife of Mr.Loisel, a clerk in

2.Mme Loisel’s disposition invites her doom. Comment

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