Class 10 English - GUJARAT
Supplementary: The Necklace
Supplementary: The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant is a powerful short story about Matilda Loisel, a middle-class woman whose vanity and desire for a luxurious life lead to her downfall. Invited to a grand ball, she borrows a diamond necklace from her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier, only to lose it during the night. To replace it, she and her husband spend ten grueling years paying off heavy debts, only to discover at the end that the original necklace was a cheap fake. This chapter teaches crucial moral lessons about greed, honesty, and contentment, frequently appearing in GSEB board exams through short-answer and long-answer questions.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
Matilda's Dissatisfaction
Matilda constantly suffers because she feels born for all the little niceties and luxuries of life, despising her modest middle-class home.
The Invitation and Pride
When her husband brings home an invitation to a ministerial ball, Matilda refuses to go until she gets a costly dress and borrows what she thinks is a real diamond necklace, driven by false pride.
The Sacrifice and Hardship
After losing the necklace, the Loisels spend ten years of backbreaking labor, poverty, and debt to buy a replacement, completely transforming Matilda's appearance and spirit.
The Irony of Fate
The climax reveals a bitter twist: the borrowed necklace was a mere imitation worth hardly five hundred francs, showing how misplaced vanity ruins lives.
Moral Lesson
The story emphasizes that one should be content with what they have and that deceit and material obsession only bring misery.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In the Gujarat (GSEB) Class 10 English board examination, supplementary reader chapters like 'The Necklace' typically carry 3 to 6 marks. Students can expect short answer questions focusing on plot events, character sketches of Matilda and Monsieur Loisel, and long answer questions based on the central theme or the moral lesson of the story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why didn't Matilda tell Madame Forestier the truth immediately?
Matilda was too proud, embarrassed, and afraid of being judged or accused of stealing, so she chose to replace the necklace secretly.
What was the actual cost of the original necklace?
The original necklace was worth only five hundred francs at most, as it was made of fake diamonds.
How did the ten years of hardship change Matilda?
The years of hard physical labor transformed her from a pretty, elegant young woman into a strong, hard, crude, and rough-looking poor woman.
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