The Necklace NCERT Class 10th Ch-7 || NCERT || Foot prints without feet NCERT Intext solutions

The Necklace NCERT Class 10th Ch-7 || NCERT || Foot prints without feet 

NCERT Intext solutions

Read and Find Out (Page 39)

Question 1.

What kind of a person is Mme Loisel and why is she always unhappy?

Answer:

Mme Loisel is young, pretty, ordinary but discontented woman. She is of a humble 

background but dreams of riches and comforts. She is proud of her beauty and wants to 

be admired. Her meagre resources are not enough to satisfy her expensive cravings 

making her angry all the time.

Question 2.

What kind of a person is her husband?

Answer:

Her husband M Loisel, is an ordinary and average young man. A mere clerk by 

profession, he is still contented with his job. Also, he is a caring man as he is excited to 

show the dinner invitation to his wife.

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Question 3.

What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?

Answer:

After spending a fortune on a beautiful dress, Mme Loisel is

faced with yet another disaster. She frets over the fact that she does not have a 

beautiful jewel to go with her dress. So, she asks her husband to pass on the invitation 

to someone else.

Question 4.

How is the problem solved?

Answer:

Matilda Loisel’s husband, M. Loisel, comes to her rescue. First, he suggests her to wear 

fresh flowers. Matilda just mocked at the idea. Then, he advises her to borrow some 

jewels from her rich friend, Mme Forestier. Thus, the problem is solved as Mme 

Forestier lends her a beautiful diamond necklace.

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Question 5.

What do Mr and Mme Loisel do next?

Answer:

The Loisels leave no stone unturned. M. Loisel goes back

and searches to the lost necklace. Then, he goes to the police and to the cab offices. 

Also, they put out an advertisement n the newspapers and offer a reward to anyone 

who finds :he necklace. But, all their efforts go in vain.

Question 6.

How do they replace the necklace?

Answer:

After all other efforts fail, Loisel’s decide to buy a new dentical necklace to replace the 

lost one. M. Loisel pooled n eighteen thousand francs of his inheritance and borrowed 

:he rest. Then the couple managed to buy the new necklace :or thirty six thousand 

francs and returned it to the rightful 0wner.

Think About It (Page 46)

Question 1.

The course of the Loisel’s life changed due to the necklace. Comment.

Answer:

It takes Loisels a decade to pay back the money they borrowed to buy the necklace. 

And, 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, bargain with 

the grocer and butcher to save every sou just for mere survival. The husband had to 

work in the evening and night to pay their debt. In this way, the course of the Losiel’s life 

changed due to the necklace.

Question 2.

What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?

Answer:

Matilda’s pride and her materialistic aspirations coupled with her dishonesty pave the 

way for her ruin. She could have avoided it by learning to accept her current situation 

and being content with what she had.

Question 3.

What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had 

lost her necklace?

Answer:

Truth and honesty would have saved Matilda from her doom. If only she has been 

courageous enough to confess to her friend the truth of the necklace, she would have 

come to know that it was a fake one that cost a mere five hundred francs. She would 

not have Spent her husband’s entire inheritance and borrowed eighteen thousand 

francs to pay for its replacement. In fact, she would have saved herself and her 

husband from ten long years of crushing poverty, misery and back breaking labour.

Question 4.

If you were caught in a situation like this, how would you have dealt with it?

Answer:

Foremost of all, I would have done my best not to become a victim of my own pride and 

aspirations. If, I was caught in such a situation, I would have let the truth out and then 

face the consequences. Honesty would have been the way out for me.

Talk About It (page 46)

Question 1.

The characters in this story speak in English. Do you think this is their language? What 

clues are there in the story about the language its characters must be speaking in?

Answer:

Though the characters speak in English, it is not their language. Maupassant wrote the 

story in French and it was translated into English. Again the very text throws up enough 

words in French to prove it otherwise. First, the very names of characters like ‘Mme 

Loisel, Mme Forestier and the minister’s name George Ramponneau indicate their 

French origin. Then, the words for currency like ‘Franc’ and ‘Sou’ show the same. Also, 

the shop’s location at ‘Palais Royal’ and ‘Champs Elysees’ point out the French history 

of the characters and the story.

Question 2.

Honesty is the best Policy.

Answer:

Honesty is definitely the best policy. Falsehood and hypocrisy seem very attractive and 

rewarding at first. But, the path they tread on leads to nothing but misery, evil and utter 

gloom. Honesty, on the contrary, seems to be a difficult choice in pursuit of material 

happiness. However, it is the only choice for a life of contentment, peace and 

everlasting happiness.

Question 3.

We should be content with what life gives us.

Answer:

Life is a great mystery. For every individual this mystery of life comes wrapped in a 

unique package. For some, it is all riches, comfort, name and fame. For some, it is 

nothing but sheer hunger, poverty, anguish and an everyday quest for bare survival. 

One, however, must learn to live within one’s means and be content with what one has. 

One may try to improve his lot by honest means but eventually must be at peace with 

what one manages to have.