‘The Neclace’ Q&A Class 10 NCERT English Footprints Without Feet

“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant: Get here question and answers to textbook exercises and itext-questions. Click here for more resources for the Class 10 English Book ‘Footprints without Feet’.

Also Read: Notes on ‘The Necklace’

Intext-Question and Answers

The lesson contans intext-questions that are given along with in betwene the text of the story: They help in comprehending the story while it is read.

Read and Find Out (Page 39)

1. What kind of a person is Mme Loisel, and why is she always unhappy?
   • Answer: Mme Loisel is a pretty, young woman who feels that she deserves a life of luxury and wealth. She is unhappy because she is married to a simple clerk and lives in modest conditions, which makes her constantly dissatisfied. She dreams of a life filled with elegant clothes, rich jewelry, and grand events, but she has none of these things.
2. What kind of a person is her husband?
   • Answer: Her husband is a simple, content man who enjoys the small pleasures in life, like a good meal. He is practical and tries his best to make his wife happy, even if it means sacrificing something important to him, like the money he had saved for a hunting gun. He cares deeply for her, but he does not understand her longing for a more glamorous life.

Read and Find Out (Page 41)

1. What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?
   • Answer: The new problem is that Mme Loisel discovers she has lost the diamond necklace she borrowed from her friend, Mme Forestier. This realization fills her with horror because she does not know how or where she lost it.
2. How is the problem solved?
   • Answer: This part of the story does not show the solution yet, but it sets the stage for what happens next, as Mme Loisel and her husband must decide what to do about the missing necklace. They will likely have to find a way to replace or recover it.

Read and Find Out (Page 42)

1. What do M. and Mme Loisel do next?
   • Answer: After losing the necklace and failing to find it, M. and Mme Loisel decide to replace it. They go to a jewelry shop, find a similar diamond necklace, and buy it for 36,000 francs. To afford it, M. Loisel uses 18,000 francs from his inheritance and borrows the rest from moneylenders, putting them in debt.
2. How do they replace the necklace?
   • Answer: They replace the necklace by buying a similar one from a jewelry shop. M. Loisel uses his savings and borrows a large amount of money to buy the new necklace. They give the replacement necklace to Mme Forestier, who accepts it without realizing that it is not the original.

Solutions to the Textbook Exercise:

Think about It

1. The course of the Loisels’ life changed due to the necklace. Comment.

• Answer: The necklace completely altered the lives of M. and Mme Loisel. After Mme Loisel lost the necklace, they went into severe debt to replace it. This forced them into a life of extreme hardship and poverty for ten years, as they struggled to repay the borrowed money. They gave up their comfortable lifestyle, with Mme Loisel doing hard manual labor and M. Loisel working extra jobs. Before the loss, they lived a modest but relatively easy life. The loss of the necklace and the burden of debt changed their lives forever, aging them prematurely and making them experience poverty and hardship that they might have never faced otherwise.

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

• Answer: Matilda’s ruin was caused by her desire to appear wealthy and glamorous. She wanted to live a life of luxury, but she could not afford it. Her vanity and pride led her to borrow an expensive-looking necklace, and when she lost it, she was too embarrassed to confess the truth to her friend. Instead, she and her husband went into heavy debt to replace the necklace. She could have avoided this ruin by being honest with her friend, Mme Forestier, from the start. If she had confessed about losing the necklace, she would have discovered that it was fake and only worth a fraction of what they spent replacing it. A simple act of honesty would have saved her from years of unnecessary suffering.

3. What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?

• Answer: If Matilda had confessed to her friend Mme Forestier that she had lost the necklace, her life would have been much different. Mme Forestier would have revealed that the necklace was not real and worth only about 500 francs. Instead of borrowing 36,000 francs and spending ten years in poverty to replace it, Matilda could have easily paid a small sum or replaced the necklace with a similar, inexpensive one. Confessing the truth would have prevented all the hardship and suffering that followed.

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

• Answer: If I were caught in a situation like this, I would choose to be honest right away. Losing something valuable is a mistake, but hiding it or lying about it only makes the situation worse. I would have told my friend about the loss and explained the situation. Most likely, the problem could have been solved with far less trouble. In any difficult situation, honesty is the best policy because it prevents further complications and helps to resolve problems quickly and peacefully.

Talk about It

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: Although the characters in the story are presented speaking in English, it is clear that they are originally speaking in French. This can be inferred from several clues in the story:
• The setting of the story is Paris, a French city.
• French names like Matilda Loisel, Mme Forestier, and Mme Ramponneau are used.
• The reference to the Minister of Public Instruction and the lifestyle described aligns with the social structure of 19th-century France.
• The currency mentioned is in francs, a French currency. All these clues suggest that the original language of the characters would have been French, but the story is translated into English for the readers.

2. Honesty is the best policy.

• Answer: This story emphasizes the proverb “Honesty is the best policy.” If Matilda had been honest with her friend Mme Forestier about losing the necklace, she would have learned the truth that the necklace was a cheap imitation and saved herself and her husband from ten years of unnecessary hardship. By trying to hide her mistake out of embarrassment and pride, Matilda’s life became far more difficult than it needed to be. Honesty could have saved her from the long years of suffering she endured to repay a debt that wasn’t necessary in the first place. Thus, the story teaches us that telling the truth, even in difficult situations, leads to better outcomes in the long run.

3. We should be content with what life gives us.

• Answer: The story shows that Matilda was unhappy with her modest but comfortable life. She constantly dreamed of wealth, luxury, and fine things that were beyond her reach. Her dissatisfaction with what life had given her caused her to borrow the necklace in an attempt to appear wealthier than she was. This decision led to years of poverty and hardship. Had Matilda been content with her life and not been driven by her desire for material things, she would have avoided the tragedy that followed. The story highlights the importance of appreciating what we have instead of always longing for more, as greed and vanity can lead to ruin.