The Necklace Summary & Notes - CBSE Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet

Summary of The Necklace

Chapter 7 of the Class 10 English Supplementary Reader ‘Footprints Without Feet’ consists of a prose piece titled The Necklace. It is a fictional story of Matilda Loisel and her husband that teaches us that we should be satisfied and content with whatever we have. This story stresses the fact that we should not crave extravagant luxuries that are beyond our affordability. Here, we present you the prose summary of CBSE English Notes Class 10 in a simple format. CBSE Class 10 students can check the prose summary of The Necklace here.

Students can also practice CBSE Essays on various topics to improve their writing section for the English exam.

CBSE Class 10 English The Necklace Summary

The Necklace was written by Guy de Maupassant. He was a famous 19th-century author popularly remembered for his short stories based on real-life situations. This fictional short story is about a pretty lady, Matilda Loisel, who lives in a small yet cosy flat with her husband. He worked as a clerk in the office of the Board of Education and loved his wife very much. They were not so well-off to be able to have a luxurious lifestyle. They led a simple life. Matilda was unhappy about her condition and always desired to be rich. She often felt disappointed and brooded about her financial condition for not having a huge mansion to live in and riches to splurge on. She always desired to wear beautiful dresses with matching jewellery, but she had none of it.

One fine day, Mme Loisel’s husband brought her an invitation to a grand ball party at the Minister’s residence. He expected his wife to be excited upon seeing the invitation letter. On the contrary, when his wife saw the invite, she expressed her resentment over it and threw the letter aside and started sobbing over her condition. When asked, she complained about not having a pretty dress to wear on such a grand occasion. She wanted to look beautiful and well-groomed at the party such that everyone should admire her. Feeling pity for Matilda, her loving husband gave her all his savings of four hundred francs to buy a beautiful dress. He had saved that amount to buy a rifle for himself but gave the money to his wife to buy her dress.

Soon, the week of the grand party approached. Matilda seemed to be anxious again. This time she felt that she didn’t have any matching jewellery to pair with her lovely dress. To this, her husband suggested she request her friend, Mme Jeanne Forestier, for a neckpiece. Matilda went to Jeanne’s house immediately and borrowed a sparkling diamond necklace.

Mme Loisel went to the ball party with her husband and was happy about her appearance. She was elated that she was successful in garnering the attention of the attendees at the reception. They enjoyed a gala time at the party. Soon, they were ready to head back home in the wee hours of the morning. When they reached home, Matilda realised that the necklace was missing around her neck. She and her husband were panic-stricken that it might have fallen in the cab which they had boarded while returning from the party. Her husband immediately went to search the streets just in case it might have fallen there but to no avail.

Soon after, he approached the police and put up an advertisement in the newspapers offering a reward, but all went in vain. With no option left, Matilda’s husband asked her to write a letter to Mme Forestier and mention that the clasp had broken and she would return it once repaired. In the meantime, they had successfully found a replica of the necklace and decided to replace it with the old one. However, the new necklace was very expensive and cost thirty-six thousand francs. Matilda’s father-in-law had left eighteen thousand francs for his son. They decided to borrow the rest of the money to buy the expensive necklace. They bought the necklace with all the money they had and borrowed funds.

In the next few years, their condition worsened as their lives took a drastic turn due to the huge loan. They moved to a smaller place to live in, and Matilda did all the household chores by herself. Her husband worked odd hours in multiple jobs to repay the loan. Ten years passed, and with that, their appearances also changed due to the extreme workload. One day, Matilda met Mme Jeanne Forestier, who couldn’t identify her as she looked weary and aged. Mme Loisel revealed the truth to her friend about how she and her husband were left in ruins to repay the loan of the expensive necklace. Hearing this, Mme Forestier was stunned and told her that the necklace that she gave her for the ball party was a fake necklace that was worth not more than five hundred francs.

Conclusion of The Necklace

The Necklace focuses that one should be content and satisfied with their belongings and not crave expensive items that are not within their economic capabilities. Extreme desire for lavish items leads to unhappiness and loss of peace of mind. We are hoping that this CBSE Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Prose Summary of The Necklace has helped students to have a deep insight into the chapter and understand the purpose of the lesson.

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