Chapter Sketch
‘The Necklace’ is a story of a middle class lady named Matilda. She was born in a clerk family and was married to a clerk named M Loisel. Matilda was a very pretty young lady but she was dissatisfied with the poverty of her family. She wanted to have the luxuries in her life. She hated her own humble surroundings and spent her time dreaming about a fancy and luxurious life.
She borrowed a necklace from her friend, Mme Forestier and lost it in the ball (party). She decided to replace it by a necklace that looked similar to it. It is costed her a fortune and they had to live in a miserable condition to repay the loan they took to buy it. It is a tale of how her desire to have more, lead to her ruin.

About the Characters

• Matilda Loisel She is a pretty young woman who is married to a i clerk. She is dissatisfied with what she has. She is always lost in her dreams of wealth and pleasure.
• M Loisel He is the husband of Matilda and is an ordinary clerk. He lives within his means. He always tries to please his wife as he is a caring man.
• Madam Forestier She is a good friend of Matilda. She is helpful and considerate. She lends Matilda a necklace that leads to her ruin.

OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER :
Matilda Loisel and her Unhappiness
Matilda Loisel, a middle class lady, desperately wished she were wealthy. She was very pretty and charming but had the bad luck to be born into a family of clerks and married to another clerk, M Loisel. Her husband worked as a clerk in the office of the Board of Education. Matilda was simple but she was unhappy. She was so convinced that she’s meant to be rich that she detested her real life and spent all day dreaming and despairing about the fabulous life that she was not having.

M Loisel Brought an Invitation :
One day, M Loisel brought an invitation to a fancy ball organised by his boss, the Minister of Education. M Loisel thought that her wife would be delighted to read the invitation but she was not delighted to see the invitation. She told her husband that she does not have a good dress to wear to that occasion and ask him to give the invitation to his friend. Her husband M Loisel, told her that she could buy a new dress. He had saved four hundred francs to buy a gun to join some hunting parties. He said that he would give that money to her for buying a new dress.

Matilda Gets Necklace From Mme Forestier :
Matilda buys a new dress but she was not happy. Her husband asked the reason of her sadness. She says that she would not go for the ball as she does not have jewellery to wear with the dress. He replied that she should wear some natural flowers, but she was not convinced. Then he advised her to borrow it from her friend, Mme Forestier. Next day she went to her friend’s house and borrowed a necklace for the ball.

Matilda at the Day of Ball :
The night of the ball arrived and Matilda was happy at the occasion. She looked very beautiful in the dress. Everyone liked her and she was absolutely thrilled. She and her husband did not leave until 4 am. Then they caught a cab and returned home.

The Necklace was Lost :
When she returned home and was changing her dress, Matilda wanted to see her beauty in final view before the mirror. Suddenly she noticed that the necklace was not around her neck. She was shocked to see that her necklace had got lost. She cried out and informed her husband that she had lost the necklace. Her husband searched for the necklace on every place, where they went last night. He went to the police and the cab offices. He also put an advertisement in the newspapers, but the necklace was not found. So he advised her wife to write a letter to her friend telling her that she needs some time to get the necklace repaired.

Lolsels Replace the Necklace :
At last, Matilda decides to replace the necklace with a necklace that looks similar to it. Her husband gives her 18,000 francs which his father had left for him. He takes a loan of the remaining amount and purchase a diamond necklace for 36,000 francs. She returns the necklace to her friend. Buying the necklace bought the Loisels in poverty. They lost their house, their maid, their comfortable lifestyle and on top of it ail, Matilda loses her good-looking face.

The Truth Revealed Out :
After ten years, all the debts were finally paid. One day Matilda was walking in the Champs-Elysees and saw Mme Forestier. She was looking charming and beautiful as she had looked ten years before. Now that all the debts are paid off, Matilda decided to tell the story to Mme Forestier about her necklace. At this, Mme Forestier informed her that it was a fake necklace and the cost of it was only five hundred francs.

Chapter Highlights

1. Matilda, an ordinary woman, unhappy with her monotonous simple life, dreams of grandeur all the time.
2. M. Loisel, Matilda’s husband, is satisfied with what he has. He is also happy being a clerk.
3. Loisels get invited to a ball at the Minister of Public Instruction’s place.
4. Loisel thinks that his wife would be happy to know about the invitation to the ball.
5. Matilda is displeased and refused to go as she does not have a dress to wear to the ball.
6. Her husband offers to buy her a dress for four hundred francs.
7. Matilda buy a good dress but is still unhappy as she has no jewell to complement the beautiful dress.
8. Her husband suggests to borrow jewels from her friend, Mme Forestier.
9. Mme Forestier lends Matilda a diamond necklace.
10. Matilda becomes a celebrity at the ball party as everyone admires her beauty.
11. Unfortunately, the couple discovers the necklace is lost as they reach home.
12. M Loisel contacts the police, cab offices, advertises to award the finder of the necklace but to no avail. They decide to buy a new necklace to replace it.
13. M Loisel collects 18000 francs and they borrow eighteen thousand more to pay for the necklace.
14. The couple spend ten years to pay back the debt, working day and night and suffering from dire poverty.
15. Ten years of poverty and misery render them old and weary.
16. M Loisel meets Mme Forestier one day and narrates the story of the necklace.
17. Mme Forestier informs her the necklace was worth just five hundred Francs

Feet Finder is safe for both the buyers and the sellers.

WORD MEANINGS
The given page nos. correspond to the pages in the prescribed textbook.

Of lesser rank or importance