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‘The Diamond Necklace’, By Guy de Maupassant (1850 – 1893), Paraphrase, , in Question and Answer Forms
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1. Why was Matilde Loisel unhappy with her life?, She was a young woman with good looks and charm, but was unfortunately born in a modest family of, clerks. She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of, being known, noticed, loved and married by any rich, and distinguished man. So, she ended up marrying a, minor clerk in the Ministry of Public Instruction.
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2. Why did Matilde marry the ‘little clerk’, Loisel?, She had no choice. She indeed had beauty as her asset,, but she had no wealth and status. In other words, she, had no dowry or position to select a husband of her, choice. Moreover, she had no expectations, no means, of being known, noticed, loved and married by any, rich and distinguished man.
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3. Why was Matilde not delighted even after her, marriage?, Her marriage did not change her lot. She was still poor, – no expensive dresses and no jewels. This situation, saddened her as if she had fallen from a higher, position. In fact, her misery was because of her false, attitude – that she was pretty and she was entitled to, have a better life.
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4. Why did Madame Loisel suffer ceaselessly?, She suffered as a result of her false attitude. She had no, doubt one asset with her – her beauty. It was because of, her beauty she was convinced that she deserved to be, rich with all luxuries. But she was not rich. Therefore,, she detested her life of penury and spent all day, dreaming and despairing about the fabulous life she, was deprived of.
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5. Why was Madame Loisel not happy with her, dwelling?, Her dwelling was not of her imaginary taste. She lived, in a modest house. It was furnished with shabby, chairs, and there was no tapestry on the walls. The, curtains used in the house too were worn-out and ugly., However, had she been another woman of her class,, she would not have noticed this modesty of the house.
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6. Compare and contrast Madame Loisel with her, husband, Mister Loisel., They both were from the modest background, having, no wealth, status and connections. While Mister Loisel, was honest with his reality in life and lived, accordingly in contentment, his wife, Madame Loisel, was deceiving herself with her false notion that she, was pretty and she deserved to be rich. Consequently,, she lived in misery.
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7. How is Madame Loisel’s dreams contrasted with her, reality?, In reality, she was the wife of a minor clerk, living in a, modest dwelling. But in her dreams she was the wife of, an aristocrat, living in luxury. She dreamed of dainty, dinners, shining silverware, expensive tapestry and so, on. Also, she dreamed of being clad in expensive, gowns and jewels and pleasing her admirers, being, envied and being sought after.
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8. Who was Madame Forestier?, She was Madame Loisel’s former classmate at the, convent. Unlike her, she was rich and lived in style. She, lent Madame Loisel her fake necklace for the party,, who took it for diamond, and unfortunately, she lost it, after the party. Then her ordeal began. The necklace, was the cause which brought her downfall.
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9. Why did Madame Loisel not want to visit her friend,, Madame Forestier?, Madame Forestier was her former classmate at the, convent. She was rich and lived in style. Status wise,, they were poles apart. Her friend belonged to the, higher class, and she to the middle class. Therefore,, she knew that her visit would only add more heartache, to her already discontented life.
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10. Why did Mr. Loisel seek for the invitation to the, Minister’s party?, He knew that his wife seldom went out and she was, unhappy as well. Therefore, to make her happy he, sought for the invitation. It was not easy for him to, obtain it because he was a mere clerk, and the party, was meant for well-to-do people. However, after going, through some trouble, he got it.
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11. How did Madame Loisel react when her husband, came home with an invitation?, She became furious and threw the invitation back at, him, telling him to give it to someone else. Then she, shed tears asking him what she was supposed to wear, to such an event. She did not want to wear the dress she, wore to the theatre because she would look poor at the, party.
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12. How did Mr. Loisel react when his wife threw the, invitation back at him?, He was utterly surprised. He wanted to go to the party, to make her happy as she was unhappy living a sad, confined life. Therefore, imagining that she would be, delighted, he came home triumphantly with the, invitation in his hand. Instead, she began to throw, tantrum at him all because of the invitation.
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13.Why was Madame Loisel not happy on receiving the, invitation?, It was a great opportunity for her to showcase her, beauty to the rich gentlemen at the party. So she had to, grab it with both her hands. But she was not happy, mainly for one reason – that she did not have any, special dress for such an occasion. She knew that if she, had to go to the party she had to dress to kill.
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14. What impression do you get about Madame Loisel, when she said that her dress would cost about four, hundred francs?, She was a selfish woman because she had no feelings, for her poor husband. It was too big a sum for her, husband to cough up, and she knew it. Moreover, she, probably knew that her husband had been saving some, money to buy a gun for him so that he could go on birdshooting with his friends.
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15. But he said:“Very well. I will give you four hundred, francs.”, What do you learn about Mr. Loisel from this remark?, He was a very considerate, loving and caring husband., When he consented to give four hundred francs to his, wife for the dress, he was actually giving up the, pleasure of going on bird-shooting with his friends. He, had saved some money to buy a gun for this little, adventure, but he was willing to let it go for the, happiness of his wife.
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16.What other problem cropped up after the problem of, Madame Loisel’s dress was solved?, After the dress, she needed one more thing – jewelry., Without it, she would look too ordinary to impress any, gentleman at the party. Her main objective in going to, the party was not to enjoy it for herself but to showcase, her beauty and charm the wealthy gentlemen.
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17. How was Madame Loisel’s problem of not having a, piece of jewellery solved?, She wanted to dress to kill at the party, but without, adorning herself with a piece of jewelry, she would, look too ordinary to impress any gentleman. Finally,, she was suggested by her husband to go to Madame, Forestier and request her to lend her some ornament., She visited her old friend who lent her a knecklace.
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18. How did Madame Loisel enthrall the gentlemen at, the party?, She was a great success at the party. She stood out with, her beauty, elegance, grace and charm. The gentlemen, were floored, including the Minister himself, and they, sought for introduction. Also, they wanted to waltz with, her. While she danced wildly with great joy, her, husband was snoring in some other room.
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19.Why did Madame Loisel wish to escape after the, party when her husband covered her with some, cheap wraps?, Her husband did it so that she would not catch cold, outside. But she wished to escape as she did not want, being seen with cheap wraps and betray her poverty., But she would not have minded if the wraps were made, of costly furs. Therefore, she dashed down the stairs, before being seen.
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20. “But suddenly she uttered a cry”.Why did Madame, Loisel utter a cry?, She uttered a cry because she discovered that her, necklace was not around her neck. It was lost. This, shocked her husband as well. They searched for it in, all her belongings, but they failed to find it. Finally,, they decided that it was lost in the cab that drove them, home.
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21. How did Mr. Loisel try to retrieve the lost necklace?, He went back to the route on foot and searched the, whole route. Then he went to the police headquarters,, to the newspaper offices to offer a reward and to the, cab companies. After one of waiting, he decided to, replace the old necklace with a new one.
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22. Why did the Loisels not tell Madame Forestier, about the loss of the necklace?, They should have told her about it but they thought that, it was a prestige issue and kept silent about it. But by, doing so they learned a hard lesson in life. They, replaced it with a new one but had to work hard for ten, years to repay the loan. But they realized at the end that, the necklace had actually been a fake one costing only, 500 francs.
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23. How did Mr. Loisel replace the old necklace with a, new one?, He had to raise thirty-six thousand francs to buy the, new necklace. He had just eighteen thousand francs, with him, and he had to borrow the rest. He did borrow, from wherever he could. At last, he went to the shop,, placed the thirty-six thousand francs in the counter, and bought the necklace.
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24. How were the Loisels affected by the replacement of the, necklace? Or, How did the Loisels pay off the loans they took to replace the, necklace?, Madame Loisel came to know what it meant to be poor. However,, she was determined to pay off the loans. So they dismissed the, servant, vacated their house and rented a garret. Then she, dressed herself like an ordinary woman and did the chores, herself – carrying water, shopped, cooked, cleaned and saved, every sou. Every month they received some notes, renew other, notes and obtained more time. Every evening Mr. Loisel worked, on a tradesman’s account, and late at night he often copied, manuscripts for five sou a page. At the end of ten years, they had, paid off everything – including the compound interests.
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25. How did Madame Loisel look ten years after the, loans had been paid off?, The hardship that she had gone through took toll on, her. Now she looked like an old woman of some, impoverished household – strong, hard and rough. Her, hair was frowsy, skirts askew and hands rough and red., She also had turned into a rude woman, shouting while, working. (But sometimes she would reminisce that, evening at the party where she had been so beautiful, and so admired.)
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26. Describe the meeting between Madame Loisel and Madame, Forestier after ten years., One Sunday, while taking a stroll in the Champs Elysees,, Madame Loisel happened to see a woman with a child. She, recognized her to be Madame Forestier, who was still young,, beautiful and charming. She was touched by her sight and was, confused whether to speak to her. Then she decided to speak to, her and tell her about the necklace. Calling her Jeanne, she, wished her good-day. At first, Madame Forestier could not, recognize her old friend, and it was only when Madame Loisel, introduced herself, she remembered her. But she was shocked on, seeing the changes in her old friend. Then Mathilde told her that it, was all because of her necklace that she had a hard time and it, took toll on her appearance.
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27. ‘But Madame…! I do not know… You must have, mistaken’. Why could Madame Forestier not recognize, Madame Loisel?, Madame Loisel had become an ordinary woman after, the replacement of the lost necklace. It had drawn life, out of her. When she met Madame Forestier by chance, after a long period, the later did not recognize her, because of the physical changes that she had, undergone. She now looked hard, rough and very, ordinary.
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28. What did Madame Loisel and Madame Forestier, come to know about the necklace?, Madame Loisel told her friend that she had lost her, necklace and replaced it with a diamond necklace., Hearing it, Madame Forestier was shocked and also, touched. As a gesture of expressing her sympathy, she, took her hand and revealed that her necklace was a, fake one and it cost about only five hundred francs.
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29. Explain the ironic end of the story., Matilde and her husband paid off a debt of 32,000, francs. But they realized at the end that the necklace, had actually been a fake one costing only 500 francs., Had she told her friend about the loss of the necklace,, they would not have worked hard to replace the lost, necklace.
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30. The invitation to the ball at the palace by the, Ministry was the beginning of the Loisels problem., Discuss., The Loisels were not rich but they were a happily, married couple and were leading a normal life. The, husband was a clerk with a steady income and his, wife, Matilde had a maid to help her with the shopping, and the housework. But Matilde dreamed of a rich, social life. One day they received an invitation to a ball, at the palace by the Ministry. This was the beginning of, their problems. Mathilde refused to attend the party
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without an elegant gown and jewel. She bought the, gown with for 400 francs but she borrowed the jewel., She could have accepted her husband’s and worn, flowers instead. She chose to borrow the jewel and, unfortunately lost it. Having lost it she was not brave, enough to reveal it to her friend. She replaced the, necklace with a similar one from the jewelers. Had she, owned up to her friend, she would have known that it, only cost 500 francs.
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31. How did the gentlemen react to Madame Loisel at the ball?, She was a great success at the ball. She was prettier than any other, woman present there. All the men were greatly impressed by her, beauty, grace and personality. She stood taller than all the other, women at the party by her sheer elegance. All those present there, kept looking at her and they asked her name. They wanted to be, introduced to her as they thought that she belonged to the upper, class of the society. Also, all the attaches of the cabinet wanted to, dance with her. She got a lot of attention from everyone. All this, time when she was the talk of the party, her husband was snoring, in some other room.
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32. Write how Matilde was responsible for her, downfall., The Loisels were not rich but they were a happily, married couple and were leading a normal life. The, husband was a clerk with a steady income and his, wife, Matilde had a maid to help her with the shopping, and the housework. But Matilde dreamed of a rich, social life. One day she got an opportunity to attend a, party. But she did not have an elegant dress to wear and, also a jewel to go with it. She rejected her husband’s
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suggestion to wear flowers and borrowed a diamond, necklace from her friend. After the party, she, discovered that the necklace was gone, but the Loisels, did not reveal it to Madame Forestier. Instead, they, decided to replace it with a new one. It took them ten, years of struggle to repay the loan, and at the end of ten, years, she had aged, looking hard, rough and very, ordinary., ❑ (Prepared by ©: Jeffrey Rae, English Teacher, Green, Tree Academy, Makhan, Manipur)
