The Necklace Class 10 with this complete study resource featuring detailed summaries, character analysis, and the shocking twist ending explained. Explore Matilda Loisel’s character sketch to understand how pride and vanity drive her choices, then discover the powerful irony of false necklace versus reality. This page provides NCERT-style solutions, important questions with model answers, grammar exercises, extract-based practice, and thematic analysis covering appearance, sacrifice, debt, and moral lessons. Perfect for exam preparation and deep comprehension of this classic tale about the cost of dishonesty and social ambition.

the necklace summary

English Summary

What if one glittering choice could change your whole life? Imagine feeling seen and loved for one night — and then watching it all slip away like a lost spark in the dark.​

This chapter’s main idea: Matilda longs for a rich, beautiful life and borrows a diamond necklace to shine at a grand party, but she loses it and spends ten hard years paying for a replacement. In the end, the twist reveals the necklace was fake, and her great sacrifice was for nothing — a quiet shock that hits like a bell.​

You meet Matilda Loisel, a pretty young woman who dreams of luxury, but she is married to a simple clerk and lives in a tiny flat with shabby walls and worn chairs, which makes her heart burn with envy and shame. One day, her husband brings an invitation from the Minister of Public Instruction for a grand ball on January 18, but she snaps, “What do you suppose I have to wear?” — a small question that opens a big problem. He gives her four hundred francs meant for a hunting gun so she can buy a dress — yes, but now she feels “poor” without jewels. “Go to your friend,” he says. She runs to Mme Forestier, who opens a jewel-case, and Matilda finds a superb diamond necklace in a black satin box; she whispers, “Only this?” and takes it with trembling hands. At the ball, she is the prettiest — elegant, smiling, dancing till four in the morning, drunk on admiration. No, and when she gets home and stands before the mirror for one last look, she cries out: the necklace is gone. Panic. They search the dress, the cloak, the cab — nothing. He retraces their steps, goes to the police, cab offices, and even puts an ad with a reward — still nothing. After a week, “We must replace it,” he says, older by five years. In the Palais-Royal, they find a look-alike priced at forty thousand francs, bargained to thirty-six thousand; he uses eighteen thousand he inherited and borrows the rest from usurers, signing ruinous promises. Matilda returns the new necklace, trembling; Mme Forestier, cool, only says, “You should have returned them sooner.” Then comes the cost: they dismiss the maid, move to an attic, and for ten years Matilda scrubs floors, hauls water, washes linen, haggles for every sou, while her husband works nights copying at five sous a page. She becomes hard and old, yet sometimes stares out the window, remembering the night she was so beautiful and so flattered. One Sunday on the Champs-Elysées, she meets Mme Forestier, still young and pretty. “No, I am Matilda Loisel,” she says. Proud now that the debt is paid, she tells the truth: “I lost your necklace… I returned another exactly like it.” The friend stops and gasps: “Oh! My poor Matilda! Mine were false. They were not worth over five hundred francs.” The last word lands like a stone in a quiet room.​

Characters:

Matilda Loisel: Dreamy, proud, beauty-loving; her desire for status leads to loss and harsh growth.​

M. Loisel: Kind, self-sacrificing, practical; gives savings and works nights to fix the disaster.​

Mme Forestier: Polite, reserved, unknowingly holds the twist; her necklace’s truth reveals the story’s irony.​

Theme / Moral:

Chasing appearances can cost real happiness; contentment and honesty protect you from hidden traps.​

Pride turns small problems into heavy chains; truth early on can save years of pain.​

the necklace Hindi Summary

क्या एक चमकदार फैसला आपकी पूरी ज़िंदगी बदल सकता है? सोचो, एक रात के लिएसबकी नज़रें तुम्हारे ऊपर हों — और फिर वही चमक अँधेरे में खोई चिंगारी की तरह गायबहो जाए।​

इस अध्याय का मुख्य विचार: मटिल्डा एक अमीर, खूबसूरत ज़िंदगी चाहती है और एक बड़ेबॉल में चमकने के लिए हीरों का हार उधार लेती है, पर वह उसे खो देती है और उसकीजगह नया हार लाने के लिए दस मुश्किल साल चुकाती है। अंत में पता चलता है कि हारनकली था, और उसकी बड़ी कुर्बानी बेकार चली गई — यह मोड़ घंटी की तरह चुपचापदिल पर लगता है।​

तुम मिलते हो मटिल्डा लोइज़ेल से — एक खूबसूरत लड़की जो ऐश-ओ-आराम का सपनादेखती है, पर उसकी शादी एक साधारण क्लर्क से हुई है और वह एक छोटे फ्लैट में रहती हैजहाँ उजड़े से दीवारें और घिसी कुर्सियाँ हैं, जो उसे शर्म और जलन से भर देती हैं। एक दिन, उसके पति के पास मंत्री (Public Instruction) के घर 18 जनवरी के बड़े बॉल का न्योताआता है, पर वह झुंझला कर कहती है, “मैं क्या पहनूँ?” — छोटा सवाल, पर बड़ीमुश्किल। वह उसे चार सौ फ़्राँक देता है जो वह बंदूक के लिए बचा रहा था, ताकि वह ड्रेसले सके — हाँ, पर अब उसे गहनों के बिना “गरीब” लगने का डर सताता है। “दोस्त से माँगलो,” वह कहता है। वह मेम फ़ॉरेस्तिये के घर दौड़ती है; दोस्त गहनों का केस खोलती है, और काले साटन के डिब्बे में मटिल्डा को एक शानदार हीरों का हार मिलता है; वहफुसफुसाती है, “बस यही?” और काँपते हाथों से पहन लेती है। बॉल में वह सबसे खूबसूरतदिखती है — नाज़ुक, मुस्कुराती, सुबह चार बजे तक नाचती, और उस पर बरसती वाह-वाहमें खो जाती है। नहीं, और जब घर लौटकर आईने के सामने आख़िरी बार देखती है, तोचीख उठती है: हार गायब है। घबराहट। वे ड्रेस, कोट, यहाँ तक कि काब में भी ढूँढ़ते हैं — कुछ नहीं मिलता। वह रात भर रास्ते नापता है, पुलिस और काब दफ़्तरों तक जाता है, यहाँतक कि इनाम का इश्तहार भी देता है — फिर भी कुछ नहीं। एक हफ्ते बाद, “हमें इसकीभरपाई करनी होगी,” वह कहता है, जैसे पाँच साल एक पल में बढ़ गए हों। पलै-रॉयल मेंउन्हें वैसा ही हार मिलता है — दाम चालीस हज़ार फ़्राँक, पर मोल-भाव करके छत्तीस हज़ारमें। उसके पास अठारह हज़ार विरासत के थे; बाकी वह महाजनों से उधार लेता है, तबाहकरने वाले कागज़ों पर दस्तख़त करके। मटिल्डा नया हार लौटाती है; मेम फ़ॉरेस्तिये ठंडेलहजे में बस कहती है, “पहले लौटा देतीं तो अच्छा होता।” और अब शुरू होती है असलीकीमत: वे नौकरानी को विदा करते हैं, अटारी में शिफ्ट होते हैं, और दस साल तक मटिल्डाफ़र्श रगड़ती है, पानी ढोती है, कपड़े धोती है, हर सू पर मोल-भाव करती है; उसका पतिरातों को पाँच सू प्रति पन्ना नकल करता है। मटिल्डा कड़ी और बूढ़ी लगने लगती है, मगरकभी-कभी खिड़की पर बैठकर उस रात को याद करती है जब वह इतनी ख़ूबसूरत और इतनीसराही गई थी। एक इतवार शॉंज़-एलीज़े पर उसकी मुलाक़ात मेम फ़ॉरेस्तिये से होती है — वह अब भी जवान और सुन्दर दिखती है। “नहीं, मैं मटिल्डा लोइज़ेल हूँ,” वह कहती है।कर्ज़ उतर चुका है, तो वह सच बताती है: “तुम्हारा हार खो गया था… मैंने वैसा ही दूसरालौटा दिया।” दोस्त ठिठक जाती है और हड़बड़ा कर कहती है: “ओह! मेरी बेचारी मटिल्डा! मेरा हार नकली था। उसकी कीमत सिर्फ़ पाँच सौ फ़्राँक थी।” आख़िरी बात जैसे शांतकमरे में भारी पत्थर की तरह गिरती है।​

चरित्र

मटिल्डा लोइज़ेल: सपने देखने वाली, अभिमानी, रूप-प्रेमी; ऊँचा दिखने की चाह उसेनुकसान और सख़्त सबक तक ले जाती है।​

माँस्यो लोइज़ेल: दयालु, त्यागी, व्यावहारिक; बचत दे देता है और रातों को काम करकेमुसीबत सँभालता है।​

मेम फ़ॉरेस्तिये: शालीन, संयमी; उसके हार की सच्चाई कहानी की विडंबना खोल देती है।​

थीम / सीख:

दिखावा असली खुशी छीन सकता है; संतोष और ईमानदारी छुपे जालों से बचाती हैं।​

घमंड छोटी मुश्किलों को भारी बेड़ियाँ बना देता है; सच समय पर बोलो, तो सालों का दर्दबच सकता है।​

the necklace Keywords with meanings:

• Matilda Loisel – the main character who dreams of luxury and status​
• M. Loisel – her caring, modest husband who sacrifices for her​
• Mme Forestier – Matilda’s wealthy friend who lends the necklace​
• Necklace – the central object that triggers the story’s events​
• Diamonds – symbol of wealth and appearance (later revealed as fake)​
• Invitation – the party card that starts Matilda’s desire to look rich​
• Ball – the grand party where Matilda shines and loses the necklace​
• Dress – the new gown bought with saved money for the ball​
• Vanity – excessive pride in looks and status​
• Pride – self-importance that stops confession and causes suffering​
• Appearance – how things look on the outside, not what they truly are​
• Reality – the truth hidden behind appearances (fake jewels)​
• Debt – heavy loans taken to replace the lost necklace​
• Sacrifice – hard work and giving up comforts to repay money​
• Poverty – the harsh life Matilda faces after the loss​
• Contentment – being satisfied with what one has (lesson of the story)​
• Honesty – telling the truth, which could have avoided ruin​
• Fate – life’s unexpected turns from small events​
• Usurers – moneylenders charging high interest​
• Palais-Royal – the place where the replacement necklace is bought​
• False jewels – the twist: the original necklace was imitation​
• Clerks – Matilda’s social class by birth and marriage​
• Tureen – the soup dish highlighting simple home life​
• Larks – the hunting plan M. Loisel gives up for her dress​
• Attic – the cheap lodging they move to during hardship​

the necklace Important Phrases :

• “born as if through an error of destiny”​
• “She suffered incessantly”​
• “Oh! the good potpie! I know nothing better than that…”​
• “Ask the honour of M. and Mme Loisel’s company”​
• “What do you suppose I want with that?”​
• “I have no dress”​
• “four hundred francs”​
• “I am vexed not to have a jewel”​
• “How stupid we are!”​
• “a superb necklace of… diamonds”​
• “She was the prettiest of all”​
• “intoxicated with pleasure”​
• “Her necklace was not around her neck.”​
• “We must replace this jewel.”​
• “It was valued at forty thousand francs.”​
• “He borrowed the rest.”​
• “ruinous promises”​
• “the horrible life of necessity”​
• “with her basket on her arm, shopping, haggling to the last sou”​
• “And this life lasted for ten years.”​
• “How small a thing will ruin or save one!”​
• “Oh! my poor Matilda!”​
• “Mine were false.”​
• “They were not worth over five hundred francs!”​

the necklace Text based questions and answers

Q1. What kind of a person is Mme Loisel? Why is she always unhappy?

Answer: Mme Loisel is a beautiful, young woman born into a poor family, who desires luxuries and high social status. She is unhappy because she feels her life is full of poverty and lacks the finer things she believes she deserves. This makes her dissatisfied with her simple life and marriage. Her unhappiness comes from wanting more than what she has, showing how desires can lead to suffering.

Q2. What kind of a person is her husband?

Answer: Mme Loisel’s husband is simple, humble, and content with their modest life. He works as a clerk and tries to please his wife by giving her what he can afford. He is patient and loving, but unlike Mme Loisel, he doesn’t crave luxury or wealth. His practical nature contrasts with her dreams, highlighting their different views on happiness.

Q3. What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?

Answer: Mme Loisel loses the necklace she borrowed for the party, which causes great distress. Since the necklace was a valuable piece, losing it means she has to replace it with a real one, a costly burden they cannot easily afford. This problem adds to her worries and tests their financial limits.

Q4. How is the problem solved?

Answer: To solve the problem of the lost necklace, M. and Mme Loisel decide to buy a replacement that looks exactly like the original. They borrow money and work hard for many years to repay the debt they took on for the necklace. Their sacrifice shows their strong determination and responsibility despite their hardship.

Q5. What do M. and Mme Loisel do next?

Answer: After buying the replacement necklace, they hide the loss from their friends and take on heavy debts to pay for it. They live frugally and work hard to clear the loans over ten years, which changes their lives completely. This hard work teaches them the cost of dishonesty and pride.

Q6. How do they replace the necklace?

Answer: They replace the necklace by buying an identical one from a jeweler, spending a large sum of money. The effort to repay this debt means they have to sacrifice their comfort and live very simply for many years. This act of replacement leads to years of hidden suffering and toil, showing that mistakes can have long consequences.

the necklace Text based questions and answers

Q1. The course of the Loisels’ life changed due to the necklace. Comment.

Answer: The Loisels’ life changed drastically because they borrowed a necklace that was lost, leading to years of hard work and poverty to repay the debt. This shows how a single mistake can affect life deeply. It teaches the danger of pride and the importance of honesty in facing problems.

Q2. What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?

Answer: Matilda’s ruin was caused by losing the borrowed necklace and replacing it with a costly duplicate without telling the truth. She could have avoided the ruin by being honest with her friend about the loss, which might have saved them from unnecessary suffering.

Q3. What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?

Answer: If Matilda confessed, her friend might have forgiven her or revealed that the necklace was fake. This honesty would have prevented the Loisels from falling into debt and spending years in hardship, showing that truthfulness can save people from serious consequences.

Q4. If you were caught in a situation like this, how would you have dealt with it?

Answer: I would face the problem honestly by admitting the loss and seeking a solution openly. Being truthful helps build trust and avoids long-term problems. It also teaches responsibility and helps learn from mistakes without fear.

Q5. 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: The story is set in France, where characters like Mme Loisel have French-sounding names and cultural backgrounds. Though the text is in English, it likely represents a translation from French. Clues like names and settings suggest their original language is French.

Q6. Honesty is the best policy.

Answer: This story shows the value of honesty clearly. Mme Loisel’s trouble started because she hid the truth about the necklace. If she had been honest, she could have avoided years of hardship, teaching that honesty reduces problems and makes life easier.

Q7. We should be content with what life gives us.

Answer: Mme Loisel was unhappy because she wanted a luxurious life beyond her means. The story teaches that being content with what we have brings peace, while greed and pride cause suffering. True happiness comes from appreciation, not possessions.

the necklace Grammar

• Do as directed
• Tenses – Fill in the blanks (Do as directed):

a) Matilda often ______ (dream) of rich dinners and bright halls.

b) When the invitation arrived, her husband ______ (hope) she would be happy.

c) By the time they reached home, the ball ______ (end).

d) For ten years, the Loisels ______ (work) to repay the debt.

e) She suddenly realised that the necklace ______ (be) missing.

• Correct the verb form (Do as directed):

a) She (feel) that she is born for delicacies and luxuries.

b) He (save) four hundred francs to buy a gun.

Voice Change – Active to Passive / Passive to Active (Do as directed):

a) They placed an advertisement offering a reward. (Change to passive)

b) The necklace was returned to Mme Forestier. (Change to active)

• Reported Speech / Narration (Do as directed):

a) “What do you suppose I have to wear to such a thing as that?” she said. (Change to indirect)

b) “Choose, my dear,” said Mme Forestier. (Change to indirect)

c) “Mine were false,” Mme Forestier said. (Change to indirect)

• Articles & Prepositions – Fill in the blanks (Do as directed):

a) She lived in ___ small apartment with shabby walls and worn chairs.

b) They walked ______ the river, shivering in the night air.

c) He returned ______ the evening, pale and worried.

d) She looked ______ herself in the glass for a final view.

• Modals (Do as directed):

a) You ______ (must/should) tell your friend the truth at once. (Choose the suitable modal)

b) She asked if she ______ (can/may) borrow the diamond necklace. (Choose the suitable modal)

c) They ______ (could/must) have heard it fall if it dropped in the street. (Choose the suitable modal)

• Sentence Transformation – Combine / Comparative-Superlative / Negative-Affirmative (Do as directed):

a) She was elegant. She was gracious. She was smiling. (Combine into a single sentence)

b) Few women at the ball were as pretty as Matilda. (Change to superlative degree)

c) She was not satisfied with natural flowers. (Change to an affirmative sentence without changing meaning)

• Question Formation (Do as directed):

a) She felt the necklace around her neck as they left the Minister’s house. (Form a Yes/No question)

b) They found the replacement necklace at the Palais-Royal. (Frame a Wh-question)

• Editing – Error spotting (Do as directed):
• In each line, find the error and write the correction.

a) She have a rich friend from the convent. ______ → ______

b) He was saved just this sum to buy a gun. ______ → ______

c) They was walking towards the river, shivering. ______ → ______

d) She speak in a loud tone and wash the floors. ______ → ______

• Omission – Missing words (Do as directed):

One word is missing in each line. Write the missing word with the word before/after.

a) She ashamed her shabby apartment. ______ ______ ______

b) He went the police and the cab offices. ______ ______ ______

c) They looked the folds of the cloak. ______ ______ ______

d) Life lasted ten years them. ______ ______ ______

• Cloze Test – Gap Filling (Do as directed):

Matilda ______ (i) ______ (receive/receives/received) an invitation to the Minister’s ball, but she ______ (ii) ______ (feel/felt/feels) unhappy because she had no jewels. Her husband ______ (iii) ______ (give/gave/gives) her four hundred francs for a dress. She ______ (iv) ______ (borrow/borrows/borrowed) a diamond necklace from Mme Forestier and became the prettiest at the ball. Later, she ______ (v) ______ (discover/discovered/discovers) the necklace was missing.

• Tense/Aspect Contrast (Do as directed):

a) For years, they ______ (repay) the debt, and by the tenth year they ______ (clear) it. (Use correct continuous/perfect)

b) When he returned at seven o’clock, he ______ (find) nothing. (Use correct past form)

• Voice Change – Imperatives (Do as directed):

a) “Write to your friend that you broke the clasp.” (Change to passive)

b) “Open the jewel-case.” (Change to passive)

• Reported Commands/Requests (Do as directed):

a) “Go and find your friend and ask for jewels,” he said. (Change to indirect)

b) “Wait; I am going to call a cab,” he said. (Change to indirect)

• Transformation – Cause and Effect / Conditional (Do as directed):

a) She lost the necklace. They had to borrow money. (Combine using because/so)

b) If she ______ (tell) the truth early, she ______ (avoid) ten years of hardship. (Type II conditional)

• Here are the answers to the grammar questions  

a) dreamed b) had hoped c) had ended d) worked e) was

a) felt b) had saved

a) An advertisement offering a reward was placed (by them). b) They returned the necklace to Mme Forestier.

a) She asked what she was supposed to wear to such a thing. b) Mme Forestier told her to choose. c) Mme Forestier said that hers were false.

a) a b) toward/towards c) in d) at

a) should/must (both acceptable; prefer should) b) may c) would/could (prefer could)

a) She was elegant, gracious, and smiling. b) Matilda was the prettiest woman at the ball. c) She was dissatisfied with natural flowers.

a) Did she feel the necklace around her neck as they left the Minister’s house? b) Where did they find the replacement necklace?

a) have → had b) was saved → had saved c) was walking → were walking d) speak → speaks; wash → washes

a) ashamed of her b) went to the c) looked in the d) lasted for ten; for them

(i) received (ii) felt (iii) gave (iv) borrowed (v) discovered

a) had been repaying; had cleared b) had found

a) She was told to write that the clasp had been broken. b) Let the jewel-case be opened.

a) He told her to go and find her friend and ask for jewels. b) He asked her to wait as he was going to call a cab.

a) She lost the necklace, so they had to borrow money. b) told; would have avoided

the necklace Short Answer Questions (30–40 words)

Q1. Why was Mme Loisel unhappy despite being pretty and simple?

Ans: She felt “born for all delicacies and luxuries,” but lived in a clerk’s home with “shabby walls and worn chairs,” which tortured and angered her. She had “neither frocks nor jewels,” so she felt poor and unnoticed.

Q2. How did M. Loisel try to solve the dress problem?

Ans: He offered “four hundred francs” he had saved to buy a gun, asking her to get a simple dress that could serve for other occasions. He sacrificed his wish to join summer hunting parties.

Q3. What fresh problem upset Mme Loisel after getting the dress? How was it solved?

Ans. She had “no jewel” and feared a “poverty-stricken look.” Her husband suggested, “Go and find your friend Mme Forestier and ask her to lend you her jewels,” which led to borrowing the diamond necklace.

Q4. Describe Mme Loisel at the ball in one or two lines.

Ans: She was “the prettiest of all — elegant, gracious, smiling and full of joy,” dancing with enthusiasm, “intoxicated with pleasure,” and admired by many.

Q5. When did Mme Loisel discover the loss of the necklace?

Ans: After reaching home around “four o’clock in the morning,” she removed her wraps before the glass “for a final view” and cried out: “Her necklace was not around her neck.”

Q6.What immediate steps did the Loisels take to find the necklace?

Ans: M. Loisel retraced their route on foot, went to the police and cab offices, and put an advertisement in the newspapers “offering a reward.” They searched dress, cloak, and pockets.

Q7.How did they replace the necklace? Mention cost and source of money.

Ans; In the Palais-Royal they found a similar chaplet “valued at forty thousand francs,” bought for “thirty-six thousand.” He had “eighteen thousand” from his father and borrowed the rest with “ruinous promises” from usurers and lenders.

Q8.How did their life change after replacing the necklace?

Ans:They dismissed the maid, moved to attic rooms; she did hard housework and haggled “to the last sou,” while he worked evenings and copied “at five sous a page” for “ten years” to repay the debt.

Q9.What was the final twist at the end?

Ans; Mme Forestier revealed, “Mine were false. They were not worth over five hundred francs!” showing the great sacrifice was unnecessary and creating strong irony.

Q10.What does the story suggest about appearance and reality?

Ans: It shows “appearance vs reality”: the shining “diamond” necklace was fake; chasing appearances led to real suffering, while the truth—if told early—could have saved them.

the necklace Long Answer Questions (100–120 words)

Q1.Character sketch of Mme Loisel with events that reveal her nature.

Ans:Mme Loisel is pretty, sensitive to beauty, and deeply dissatisfied with her clerk’s life. She feels “born for all delicacies and luxuries” and hates her “shabby walls and worn chairs.” The invitation excites her only when she can look rich: first a costly dress (four hundred francs), then borrowed jewels. At the ball she becomes “the prettiest of all,” “intoxicated with pleasure.” After losing the necklace, she does not confess but replaces it, leading to “the horrible life of necessity.” For ten years she works hard, becoming “a strong, hard woman.” The twist—“Mine were false”—exposes her pride and the danger of chasing appearances. Her journey shows desire, pride, endurance, and painful transformation.

Q2.Explain how cause–effect drives the plot from invitation to the final revelation.

Ans:Invitation arrives → she lacks dress → husband gives four hundred francs. Dress ready → she lacks jewels → borrows a “superb necklace of diamonds.” Ball success → rush to leave unnoticed in “modest wraps”→ later discovers the loss. Search fails → letter about “broken clasp”buys time → decision to replace. Palais-Royal purchase for “thirty-six thousand francs” → debt and “ruinous promises.” Ten years of drudgery and copying at “five sous a page” → loan repaid, life changed. Chance meeting on the Champs-Elysees → confession → revelation: “Mine were false.” Each desire and decision causes the next hardship, ending in powerful irony about appearance versus reality and the cost of pride.

the necklace Extract-Based Questions (Answer briefly in 2–3 points)

• Extract 1: “She suffered incessantly, feeling herself born for all delicacies and luxuries.”​

Q1.What makes Mme Loisel suffer?

Ans: She suffers because her real life—a clerk’s home with shabby walls and worn chairs—does not match her dreams of wealth, fine dinners, and jewels.​

Q2.How does this feeling affect her behavior?

Ans:It makes her resent her surroundings, avoid visiting her rich friend, and weep from despair after such visits.​

Q2.Which words show her desires?

Ans; “Delicacies and luxuries,” “elegant dinners,” “shining silver,” and “exquisite food” show her longing for a rich lifestyle.​

Extract 2: “Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb necklace of diamonds.”​

Q1. Why does she choose this necklace?

Ans:She wants something grand to avoid a “poverty-stricken look” among rich women and feels ecstatic seeing the diamonds against her dress.​

Q2.What does “her hands trembled” suggest?

Ans:It shows intense excitement, desire, and anxiety about possessing such a luxurious jewel.​

Q3.What does this moment foreshadow?

Ans:It foreshadows the loss, secret replacement, and the heavy debt that follows her choice of a superb necklace.​

Extract 3: “Suddenly she uttered a cry. Her necklace was not around her neck.”​

Q1.What immediate steps do they take?

Ans: They search the dress and cloak, retrace their route, visit the police and cab offices, and put an advertisement offering a reward.​

Q2.Why do they not tell Mme Forestier the truth at once?

Ans: They decide to write that the clasp is broken to gain time, fearing her reaction and hoping to replace the necklace quietly.​

Q3.What decision changes their fate?

Ans:Replacing the necklace with a similar one for thirty-six thousand francs forces them into ten years of hard repayment.​

Extract 4: “Oh! My poor Matilda! Mine were false. They were not worth over five hundred francs!”​

Q1. What literary device is used here?

Ans: Situational irony: a decade of sacrifice was for an imitation necklace of little value.​

Q2.How does this line change our view of Matilda’s struggle?

Ans: It shows her suffering was unnecessary and caused by pride and secrecy rather than true necessity.​

Q3.What message does this ending convey?

Ans: It warns that chasing appearances and hiding the truth can lead to great, avoidable loss.

FAQs