What kind of a person is Mme Loisel-why is she always unhappy?
Madam Loisel is a beautiful woman born in a poor family of clerks. She is simple but always unhappy. Her unhappiness is because of her desire to afford the world’s riches and be adorned by the same. She is unhappy with her lifestyle and keeps day dreaming of the finest days of luxury.
What kind of a person is her husband?
Her husband is a petty contented clerk who works in the office of the Board of Education. He is a simple man who loves and cares about his wife. He tries to keep her as happy as possible. He is economical with not much desires in life but faces problems because of his wife’s unreal desires.
What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?
Mr Loisel got an invitation from the ministry to attend an evening at the Minister’s residence. Mme Loisel was perturbed by the fact that she didn’t have a new and proper dress to wear. She wanted to wear a pretty, luxurious dress so that she can impress everyone in the ball. She was also disturbed because she didn’t have any jewellery to adorn.
How is the problem solved?
Mme Loisel wanted four hundred Francs to buy a new dress. Mr. Loisel had saved the exact money to buy a gun to join hunting parties but he sacrificed his desire for the happiness of his wife. He gave her the money to buy a dress and further suggested her to borrow some jewellery from her friend, Mme Forestier.
What do Mr. and Mme Loisel do next?
Mme Loisel uttered a cry when she found that the necklace she had borrowed from her friend was no longer around her neck. Mr and Mme Loisel searched for it everywhere but in vain. They looked for it in the folds and the pockets but it was nowhere to be found. Mr Loisel event went back the way they had taken from the minister’s place to their house but there was no trace of the necklace. He went to the police the next day but his efforts yielded no fruit. They even gave an advertisement in the newspaper offering a reward to the one who finds it. Despite all their efforts, the necklace wasn’t found.
How do they replace the necklace?
Mr and Mme Loisel replaced the necklace by buying a new one with the same design. The new necklace costed them 36000 francs. They had only about half the money. Mr Loisel borrowed rest of the money from usurers. They purchased the new necklace and returned it to Mme Loisel’s friend. However, their life of extreme suffering started as it was not easy for them to repay the borrowed money.
The course of the Loisel's life changed due to the necklace. Comment.
The latter half of the story makes it evident that the course of the Loisel’s life changed due to the necklace. They were unable to find the lost necklace anywhere so decided to purchase a new one with the exact design for Mme Loisel. However, the necklace costed them 36000 francs and they had only 18000 francs. For the remaining amount, they took loans from various people. To pay the borrowed amount, they had to undergo extreme suffering. To cut down on their expenses, they sent away their maid and rented rooms in an attic. Mme Loisel washed the dishes, soiled linen and their clothes. Poverty and the changed lifestyle made Mme Loisel a crude woman. Her beauty faded away and age took over her looks.
'What was the cause of Matilda's ruin? How could she have avoided it?
The cause of Matilda's misery was her greed for a luxurious lifestyle. She was never contented with what she had. She was a day dreamer and never behaved like a mature woman. Despite her economic status, she dreamt of new dresses, jewellery, fine crockery and linens. She was unable to accept her husband’s economic condition and was always upset with her life.
The entire mess could have been avoided had she listened to her husband. He had advised her to adorn natural flowers as jewellery.
What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?
Had Matlida confessed to her friend about the lost necklace, the Loisel’s suffering would have been easily avoided. The truth would have made her friend upset. However, she would have told the Loisels that it was not a true diamond necklace and that its cost was not more than five hundred francs. Loisels could have easily paid this amount to Mme Loisel’s friend.
Since the Loisels took the necklace to be a real one, they purchased a real diamond necklace with the same design by borrowing money. Due to the debt, Mr. and Mrs Loisel had to lead a very difficult life for ten years.
If you were caught in a situation like this, how would 'you have dealt with it?
According to me, we should always accept our life as it is and not get upset over what we don’t have. We should never have materialistic aims in life. Had I been in such a situation, I would have given my decision a second and sound thought. I would have confessed it to my friend. I know it would have made my friend upset but it’s always better to speak the truth. To hide one lie we tend to speak multiple lies.
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?
Though the story is written in English I don’t think the characters in the story speak English. There are multiple clues in the story which indicate towards some other location. The story is probably based in France. The various clues which indicate a French touch are:
1. The currency – The story talks of money in the form of Francs.
2. The setting of the story – Description and a touch of the parties of Paris.
3. Name of characters – Mme Loisel, Mme Forestier. Such names are usually of French origin.
4. Shop’s location – Palais – Royal.
All the examples stated above help us infer that the main story setting is of France.
Honesty is the best policy.
‘Honesty is the best policy’ is a well- known saying and we are always taught to speak the truth. Honesty is the key to a happy life. We should always be content with whatever we have and not spend our time day dreaming. If we genuinely want to change our situation, we should strive hard to work for it.
The modern era is an age of materialism but we should know when to draw a line between our desires and our economic situation.
The saying means that we should be honest even in tough times. We should never resort to lying because to hide one lie we tend to speak multiple lies. An honest person is a happy person as he never has any guilt inside.
We should be content with what life gives us.
Contentment is the key to a happy life. If we are happy with what we have, we tend to have an optimistic approach towards life with less worries and less guilt. Anything that happens, happens for good. We might not understand the purpose of a situation at that moment but we always learn something from it for future and it proves out to be beneficial in the long run. We should never yearn for what others have but ponder upon what we have and others don’t. If we want something very badly, we should make efforts to achieve it and not just keep day dreaming about the happiness of owning it. Everything we get is a result of our efforts.
Had Matilda been satisfied with what she had, her life would have been way better.