The NecklaceClass 9 English Chapter 1 Notes – Maharashtra Board

Summary: The Necklace

Mathilde is pretty and charming but born into a family of clerks. She marries a minor official at the Ministry of Education and is always unhappy, dreaming of riches, jewels and a grand house she does not have.

Her husband brings home an invitation to a party given by the Minister of Education. Instead of being pleased, she cries because she has nothing to wear. He gives her four hundred francs, money he had saved for a gun, to buy a dress.

She is still sad because she has no jewels, so she borrows what looks like a superb diamond necklace from her rich friend, Madame Forestier. At the party she is the prettiest woman there and enjoys great success.

At home she finds the necklace is gone. After searching everywhere, the Loisels buy a similar necklace for thirty-six thousand francs, using his father's eighteen thousand and borrowing the rest. They return it without telling her friend.

For ten years they live as the very poor and work extremely hard to repay the debt. When at last Mathilde meets her friend and tells her everything, Madame Forestier reveals that her necklace was an imitation worth at most five hundred francs.

Key points to remember

• Author: Guy de Maupassant (French writer); this is an adapted version
• Main characters: Mathilde Loisel, her husband Monsieur Loisel, her rich friend Madame Jeanne Forestier
• M. = Monsieur (Mr) and Mme = Madame (Mrs) in French
• Mathilde's flaw: discontent and the wish to be admired and envied
• The husband is kind and generous — he gives up his savings for a gun to buy her dress
• The real necklace cost 36,000 francs; the borrowed one was an imitation worth about 500 francs
• The loss changes their life: no maid, an attic room, hard housework, extra work for ten years
• Mathilde shows honesty and courage in paying the debt
• Twist ending (irony): all their suffering was for a fake necklace
• Lesson: pride, false show and lack of honesty can ruin a life; tell the truth early

The Necklace – Notes

1. Part I in simple words

• Mathilde feels she deserves every luxury. Her plain clothes and poorly furnished home make her bitter. She even stops visiting her rich school friend because she comes back crying with envy.
• Her husband proudly brings an invitation from the Minister of Education and his wife. Mathilde throws it down and asks what she could possibly wear.
• After working out how much she can ask for, she names four hundred francs. Her husband turns pale — it is the exact sum he had saved for a hunting gun — but he gives it to her.
• With the dress ready, she is still upset: she has no jewels. Her husband suggests fresh flowers, but she refuses.
• Madame Forestier opens her jewel box. Mathilde tries bracelets and pearls, then finds a diamond necklace in a black satin box and asks to borrow only that.
• At the party she is a great success, dancing joyfully. They leave at about 4 a.m., find a cab with difficulty near the river Seine, and at home she discovers the necklace is missing.

2. Part II in simple words

• They search her dress and cloak. Loisel walks back along the whole route, then visits the police, newspapers and cab companies, offering a reward.
• To gain time, Mathilde writes to her friend (as her husband dictates) that the clasp is broken and is being repaired.
• After a week they lose hope. At a shop in the Palais Royal they find a similar diamond necklace priced at forty thousand francs, which they can have for thirty-six thousand. The jeweller agrees to buy it back for thirty-four thousand if the first is found by the end of February.
• Loisel uses eighteen thousand francs from his father and borrows the rest at ruinous terms. Madame Forestier receives the necklace coldly, saying it should have come back sooner; she does not open the box to check.
• For ten years they live in poverty: they dismiss the maid, rent a garret, and Mathilde does all the heavy housework and bargains for every sou. Loisel does accounts in the evenings and copies manuscripts at night.
• When the debt is paid, Mathilde, now old and rough-looking, meets her still-young friend on the Champs Élysées and tells her the truth. The friend reveals the necklace was fake.

3. Characters

• Mathilde Loisel — beautiful, proud, dissatisfied and fond of show at first; later hard-working, honest and brave in facing poverty.
• Monsieur Loisel — loving, patient, generous and responsible. He sacrifices his own wish, searches tirelessly, borrows money and works extra for ten years without blaming his wife.
• Madame Forestier (Jeanne) — rich, generous enough to lend her jewels; a little cold when the necklace comes back late; deeply moved at the end.
• Who caused the misery? Mainly Mathilde's pride and her failure to tell the truth, though bad luck played a part too. Her friend's only fault was not mentioning the necklace was fake — but she was never asked.

4. Theme, irony and expressions

• Irony: something turns out the opposite of what we expect. Ten years of suffering were for a necklace worth only 500 francs.
• 'A hollow, pale figure' shows Loisel was exhausted, worried and drained of energy.
• The word 'still' in 'still young, still beautiful, still charming' contrasts the unchanged friend with Mathilde, who has grown old and coarse with hard work.
• 'The horrible life of the very poor' means a life of hard labour, little food and comfort, and constant worry about money.
• Mathilde's reflection: life is fickle — a very small thing can ruin or save a person.

5. Grammar: determiners and verb forms

• Determiners come at the start of a noun phrase and make clear which noun we mean.
• Types: articles (a, an, the); possessives (my, our, your, her, their); demonstratives (this, that, these, those); quantifiers (much, many, some, few, all); numerals (one, two, first).
• Five verb forms: base (give), -s form (gives), past (gave), present participle (giving), past participle (given).
• The present participle with 'be' shows continuous action (She was dancing); the past participle with 'have' shows completed action (They have paid).
• Short verbs ending in one vowel + one consonant often double the last letter: sit → sitting, sob → sobbed, write → written.

Words and phrases to know

Key terms

The Necklace – Flashcards

Read the question, answer it in your head, then tap the card to check. 20 cards.

The Necklace – MCQ Quiz

15 questions. Tap an option — you will see at once if it is right and why.

How to study The Necklace

⏱ About 35 minutes

1. Read (15 min)
   Read Part I and Part II, noting each turning point: invitation, dress, necklace, loss, replacement, ten years of debt, twist.
2. Learn (10 min)
   Learn the characters, the money figures (400, 18,000, 36,000, 34,000, 500 francs), word meanings, determiners and verb forms.
3. Practise (10 min)
   Answer the 'Try it yourself' questions, take the quiz and play 🎮 Play.