The Necklace Important Questions Class 10 Footprints without Feet English
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What kind of a person is her husband?
Answer
Her husband is a very simple and kind-hearted person. He is an ordinary man, who just like others, is caring and wants his wife to be happy.
Question 2. Why is Matilda unhappy with her life?
Answer
Matilda is unhappy with her life because she ceaselessly, felt herself born for all delicacies and luxuries. The shabby walls, the worn chairs in her house tortured and angered her.
Question 3. Why was Matilda sad after the ball?
Answer
Matilda was sad after the ball because she had lost the diamond necklace which she had borrowed from her friend Mme. Forester. She had to pay a very heavy price for it.
Question 4. What were the reasons for Matilda’s unhappiness?
Answer
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.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What did her husband bring home one evening? Why was he so elated?
Answer
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.
Question 2. How did the Loisels react when they realised that the necklace had been lost?
Answer
Matilda Loisel became very sad when they realised that the necklace had been lost. They were sure that the loss of necklace would make their life hell because Mr Loisel was only a petty clerk and it was very difficult for him to replace necklace of diamond.
Question 3. How did Matilda get the jewels to wear to the ball?
Answer
Matilda went to her friend Madame Forestier’ s house. She told her the story of her distress. She borrowed a necklace of diamonds from her. In this way, slit: got jewels for the ball.
Question 4. Madame Lisle was intoxicated with pleasure at the ball. Give three reasons to support your Answer.
Answer
Madame Lisle was intoxicated with pleasure at the ball. She danced with enthusiasm. She received everyone’s admiration and flattery. She looked the prettiest of all: elegant, gracious, smiling and full of joy.
Question 5. Why she was not delighted on receiving the ‘invitation to the party?
Answer
Mrs. Loisel wanted to lead a life of luxury. She wanted to attend parties. One day her husband got an invitation to attend a 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.
Question 6. What had Matilda’s husband saved the money for? Why did he then part with his savings?
Answer
Matilda’s husband had saved a good amount of money to buy a gun for him. But when his wife refused to attend the party without a new dress, he had to give up buying the gun. He used the saved four hundred francs to buy her costume.
Question 7. What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
Answer
Matilda’s aspiration and unrealistic dreams were the cause of her ruin. She paid due importance to materialistic things. She could have easily avoided if she had remained within her means. She was not a practical lady and had not understood her husband’s feelings.
Question 8. Describe Matilda’s experience at the dance party.
Answer
Matilda looked very charming at the dance party. All the men at the party looked at her. They asked her name. Everybody wanted to be introduced to her. The officers at the party wanted to dance with her. She danced with joy. She had a great sense of victory.
Question 9. What changes occurred in Madame Lisle after 10 years?
Answer
Madame Lisle now knows the horrible life of necessity. She sent away from her maid and learned the odious work of a kitchen. She washed the dishes and the clothes on her own. She took down wastes to the street and brought up the water stopping at each landing to breathe. They changed their lodging and rented some rooms in the attic.
She seemed old now and became strong and hard women. Her hair badly dressed her skirts awry, her hands red and spoke in a loud voice.
Question 10. What changes came into the life of Loisels after the necklace was lost?
Answer
They had to shift to a cheaper room and dismiss the servant. She did all the household works and shopping by herself. She fetched water, washed the floor, utensils and dirty clothes by herself. Matilda’s husband worked in the evening and late at night to pay back the debt.
Question 11. What was the greatest mistake of Mrs Loisel that became the cause of their miseries? Could she have averted it?
Answer
The greatest blunder that Matilda committed was that she didn’t take her friend into confidence. She should have told the whole story as it had happened. That would have pacified Madame klenn Forestier quite easily as the necklace she lent to her friend was not of real diamonds but false ones.
Question 12. Why was Madame Forestier shocked to hear Matilda’s story?
Answer
One Sunday, while walking, Matilda happened to see Madame Forestier. Matilda called her, but she could not recognise Matilda because she looked much older than her age. Madame Forestier was shocked to know that Matilda had suffered so much worrying about losing her necklace of real diamonds, whereas it was false.
Question 13. Why did Matilda think that she was born in a family of petty clerks by some error of destiny?
Answer
Matilda was a beautiful young lady with high dreams and aspirations. She had no dowry, no hopes, no fame and no wealth. She lost all hopes of marrying a man either rich or distinguished. She believed that she was born into a family of clerks only by some error of destiny. So, she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education.
Question 14. Why do you think that M. Lisle was a loving husband?
Answer
M. Lisle was a simple and poor clerk. He made every effort and sacrifice to make his wife happy. He sacrificed his 400 francs that he had saved to buy a gun for himself in order to buy a new party dress for his wife. It proves that he was a loving husband.
Question 15. Why didn’t Madame Forestier recognise Matilda? How did both the ladies look?
Answer
One day, Matilda was taking a walk in the Champs-Elysees. She suddenly saw a woman walking with a child. It was Madame Forestier. She was still young, pretty and still attractive. But Mrs Loisel looked just the difference. Her face was telling her story. She had so much changed that Madame Forestier couldn’t recognise her. She could only say, “Oh! my poor Matilda! How you have changed!”
Question 16. What fresh problem now disturbs Madame Loisel?
Answer
After buying a pretty dress, Madame Loisel was bothered by yet another problem. She had no jewels to adorn herself with. She said she would feel inferior and have a poverty-stricken look. Her husband -” suggested that she should wear some natural flowers. However, she refused and said that there was nothing more humiliating than to have a shabby air in the midst of rich women.
Question 17. Why didn’t Matilda like to visit her rich friend?
Answer
Matilda or Mrs Loisel always dreamt of things that were beyond her means. She dreamt of a grand house, costly dishes, good dresses and jewels. She was disillusioned that she couldn’t get them. When she visited her rich friend, she really suffered because she became intensely conscious of her poverty in the presence of her fortunate and rich friend. She suffered so much when she returned to her modest and miserable surroundings.
Question 18. How was Mr Lisle able to arrange 36,000 francs?
Answer
Losels possessed eighteen thousand francs, which his father had left for him. Rest of the money he borrowed from usurers and a whole race of lenders. He made ruinous promises for that. To repay this debt they had to change their lodgings. Madame Lisle had to do all the tedious jobs like washing, grocery shopping, and carrying water upstairs herself.
Question 19. What, was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
Answer
The cause of Matilda’s ruin was her dissatisfaction with whatever life offered her. She was always unhappy. She felt that she was born for all the delicacies and luxuries of life. She disliked being in her current circumstances. She could have avoided this ruin by bringing content with whatever she had.
Question 20. Why did Madame Lisle leave the ball in a hurry? What does it show about her character?
Answer
Madame Lisle left the ball in a hurry because her husband threw the modest wraps around her shoulders, whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball costume. She did not want to be noticed by the other woman who was wrapping themselves in rich furs. It shows the hypocrisy and showoff life of Madame Lisle. It shows her dissatisfaction, anger and frustration with life.
Question 21. How did Mr. and Mrs. Loisel replace the lost necklace and gave that to Madame Forestier?
Answer
When they had lost all hopes of getting the lost necklace, Mrs. and Mr. Loisel decided that they must replace the jewel. In a shop, they found a necklace which seemed to them exactly like the one they had lost. They could get it for 36000 francs. Mr. Loisel had 18000 francs which his father had left. They borrowed the rest of the money. The bought the new necklace and returned it to Madame Forestier.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What do Mr. and Mrs. Loisel do next?
Answer
When Mr. and Mrs. Loisel realized that the necklace was missing, they tried finding out where she could have possibly lost it. They concluded that it might have been dropped in the cab they were travelling in. But they did not remember its number. So, in an attempt to find the necklace, Loisel went over the track where they had walked.
When he found nothing, he went to the police and to the cab officers. He even put an advertisement in the newspapers, offering a reward. Meanwhile, he asked Matilda to write a letter to Mrs. Forestier, explaining that she had broken the clasp of the necklace and would get it repaired and return it soon. This gave them time to find the necklace. However, they eventually decided to replace the necklace with a new one.
Question 2. Draw a character sketch of Madame Forestier in your own words.
Answer
Madame Forestier plays quite an important role in the plot of the story ‘The Necklace’. She was a rich friend of Matilda. She was a schoolmate at the convent. Though quite rich, Madame Forestier never gave an image of an arrogant and snobbish lady. When Matilda told her that she needed jewels to adorn herself for the ball, she at once obliged her. She opened her jewel box and asked her to make her choice.
She happily lent her a superb diamond necklace of her choice. If Matilda didn’t want to visit Madame Forestier, it was not her fault. Matilda’s inflated ego prevented her from going there. She suffered so much when she returned the necklace. Matilda suffered because she couldn’t enjoy all the delicacies and luxuries like her rich friend.
Madame Forestier could snub Matilda for returning the necklace rather late. She told her, “You should have returned them to me sooner ” But she was a sympathetic lady. She showed her sympathy when she came to know of all miseries that Matilda suffered because of the necklace. Alas! Matilda didn’t take Madame Forestier into her confidence about the lost necklace. Madame Forestier was gracious enough to forgive her. After all, the jewels she lent to Matilda were false.
Question 3. On inability to accept our circumstances may lead to an unhappy life. Explain with reference to the story “The Necklace”.
Answer
We fail to recognise the situation in which we are placed but rather keep on grumbling. We become frustrated and want our life to be different. We should accept the life as it comes to us and should not keep on cribbing about unhappy circumstances. As we read the story The Necklace’ we find that Matilda is not at all happy with her husband. She had wished her life to be luxurious. It is this frustration of hers which puts her in a fix and spoils rest of her life. She does not work for solution but rather complicates the situation for her.
Question 4. “At the end of the ten years, they had restored all”. What had Matilda and her husband restored and at what cost?
Answer
Matilda lost the necklace borrowed from her wealthy friend Madame Forestier. They desperately tried to find out the necklace but in vain. Finally they decided to replace the necklace with a new one. M. Loisel spent his entire savings and even borrowed a loan to buy the necklace.
To repay the debt, they cut down their expenses. They sent away the maid and reported some rooms in an attic. They cut down their expenses. M. Loisel worked evenings, putting the books of some merchants in order, and nights he often did copying at five sous a page. This life lasted for ten years. At the end of ten years, they had restored all.
Question 5. “Oh! My poor Matilda! Mine was false.” Confession saves you from a lot of trouble and a sense of guilt. Justify the statement.
Answer
Matilda’s friend Mme Forester meets her after a long time, nearly a gap of ten years. Perhaps it was destined to. She does not recognize Matilda — old, hard and crude with disheveled hair and skirts awry. She is astonished to see Matilda in this pathetic condition. Matilda tells her the reason for this — the loss of the original necklace and the misery that followed after replacing the necklace. Mme Forester could only sympathies with Matilda, for the necklace she had lent to Matilda was not of original diamonds. She could have told this clearly to Matilda while giving it to her. Perhaps Mme forester thought she should not dampen Matilda’s spirits by revealing the truth.
But what the loss of it. Brought to Matilda was irreversible. Matilda on her part should have revealed the loss of the necklace to her friend. If it had been of real diamonds, then she could have asked for some time to replace it. Matilda could have thus taken her friend into confidence, but the silent suffering had really taken its toll on her life. If Matilda had only taken courage and been honest to her friend, she would still have been living comfortably, thus justifying the statement given above. Her own senseless attitude led to her ruin.
Question 6. How did Matilda manage a new dress and jewelry for the ball?
Answer
Mrs. Loisel did not have a good dress to wear at the party. She told her husband that a suitable dress would cost four hundred francs. Her husband had been saving money in order to buy a gun. He gave up the idea of purchasing the gun. Mrs. Loisel purchased a beautiful dress with that money.
But Mrs. Loisel was still not happy. Now she told her husband that she did not have any jewelry to wear at the party. Her husband asked her to request Mrs. Forestier for help. Mrs. Loisel and Mrs. Forestier were very good friends. Mrs. Forestier was very rich. She had a number of necklaces. Her husband suggested that she should borrow a necklace from her. Mrs. Loisel liked the idea. She went to her friend. Mrs. Forestier agreed to lend her a necklace. She showed her several of her necklaces. She asked Mrs. Loisel to choose any of those necklaces. All these necklaces looked attractive and costly. At last Mrs. Loisel selected a beautiful necklace and borrowed it. In this way, Mrs. Loisel made preparations for the party.
Question 7. What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?
Answer
If Matilda would have confessed to her friend she had lost her necklace, she might have been in lesser trouble than what she had to face after having replaced the necklace. Her friend would have definitely been angry with her. Most likely, she would also have asked Matilda to replace it and given her the details from where she had bought the necklace and how much it had cost her. Matilda would have thus known that the jewels in the necklace were actually not real diamonds. It would have cost her a far lesser amount to replace it. Matilda would thus have saved herself and her husband of all the trouble they went through and life would have been much better and easier for them.
Question 8. 'The Necklace' reveals that vanity is evil. It may bring joy for a short period but ultimately it leads to ruin. If you were placed in a situation similar to that of Matilda, what would you have done? Write your views.
Answer
It is true that vanity is evil. It may bring joy for a short period but ultimately it leads to ruin. Matilda, to get a little pleasure and to show her vanity, borrowed a diamond necklace to wear at the minister’s party. She lost it. Mr. Lisle her husband took a big loan to replace it. For ten years both of them worked hard to repay the loan. Poor Matilda had to sacrifice her comfort, youth, softness and beauty. She became a crude, hard, poor lady with rough hair and hands. Later, the irony was Mrs. Forester told her that it was a false diamond necklace only for 500 francs. If I were placed in such a situation, I would have told my friend the truth. I would have told her that I felt extremely sorry for losing it and would have assured her that I would replace it, only she should tell me where to get it from and how much it would cost.