Class 10 English Chapter 7 The Necklace Notes 2026-27 | Nextoper Notes
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What is The Necklace Class 10 English chapter about?
The Necklace is Chapter 7 of Footprints Without Feet, the Class 10 CBSE English supplementary reader. It is a short story by the French writer Guy de Maupassant. It shows how vanity and fear of shame can ruin ordinary lives.
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Chapter | The Necklace, Chapter 7 |
| Book | Footprints Without Feet (NCERT, Class 10 English) |
| Author | Guy de Maupassant, a French writer |
| Board and session | CBSE, 2026-27 |
| Setting | Paris |
| Main characters | Matilda Loisel, M. Loisel, Mme Forestier |
| Central ideas | Vanity, honesty, contentment, appearance versus reality |
| Pages in the book | 39 to 46, with a glossary and exercises on page 46 |
| Exercises | Read and Find Out boxes, 4 Think about it questions, 3 Talk about it prompts |
What is the summary of The Necklace?
Matilda Loisel is a pretty woman married to a poor clerk. She borrows a diamond necklace from her rich friend for a ball and loses it. The couple buys an expensive copy and repays the debt for ten years. Then she learns the original was fake.
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1. The unhappy wife
Matilda was born into a family of clerks. She had no dowry and no hope of marrying a rich man. So she married a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education.
She felt born for luxury. Shabby walls and worn chairs made her angry. She even avoided her rich convent friend, because each visit hurt her.
2. The invitation and the dress
One evening, M. Loisel comes home happy. He holds an invitation to a ball at the Minister’s residence. Matilda throws it down and says she has nothing to wear.
He asks how much a dress would cost. She names four hundred francs. He had saved that sum for a gun, yet he agrees.
3. The borrowed necklace
As the day nears, Matilda is sad again. She has no jewel to wear. Her husband suggests flowers, but she calls that humiliating.
He then reminds her of Mme Forestier. At her friend’s house, Matilda rejects bracelets, pearls and a gold cross. She finally picks a diamond necklace from a black satin box.
4. The ball and the loss
At the ball, Matilda is the prettiest woman in the room. She dances happily until four in the morning. Her husband has dozed in a small room since midnight.
She hurries out in plain wraps to avoid the women in rich furs. At home, she looks in the mirror. The necklace is gone.
5. The search and the lie
The Loisels search their clothes, the street and the cab. M. Loisel visits the police and the cab offices. He also places a newspaper advertisement with a reward.
Nothing works. So Matilda writes to Mme Forestier that the clasp is broken. That lie buys them a week.
6. The replacement
In a shop at the Palais-Royal, they find a similar diamond chaplet. The shop values it at forty thousand francs. They can buy it for thirty-six thousand.
M. Loisel has eighteen thousand from his father. He borrows the rest from moneylenders and makes ruinous promises. Mme Forestier takes the necklace back coldly and never opens the box.
7. Ten hard years
The couple sends away the maid and moves to an attic. Matilda scrubs, carries water and haggles over every coin. Her husband keeps books at night and copies pages for five sous each.
After ten years, the debt is cleared. Matilda looks old and rough. Sometimes she remembers the ball and wonders how life might have gone.
8. The twist
One Sunday, Matilda sees Mme Forestier on the Champs-Elysees with a child. Her friend does not recognise her. Matilda now tells her everything.
Mme Forestier is shocked. She says her necklace was false and worth no more than five hundred francs. The story ends on that bitter irony.
How much money is involved in The Necklace?
The Loisels pay thirty-six thousand francs for a necklace that replaces one worth at most five hundred. Of that sum, M. Loisel owns eighteen thousand and borrows the rest. The table below puts every amount from the story in one place.
| Item | Amount | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Dress money | 400 francs | Saved by M. Loisel for a gun (page 41) |
| Shop value of the copy | 40,000 francs | Palais-Royal shop (page 43) |
| Price actually paid | 36,000 francs | Placed on the merchant’s counter (page 43) |
| M. Loisel’s own money | 18,000 francs | Left by his father (page 43) |
| Borrowed money | 18,000 francs | Our sum: 36,000 minus 18,000 |
| Real worth of Mme Forestier’s necklace | Not over 500 francs | Revealed on page 45 |
| Years of repayment | 10 years | Pages 44 and 45 |
Here is a quick calculation of our own. The copy cost at least 72 times the real worth, because 36,000 divided by 500 is 72. Repaying 36,000 over ten years means about 3,600 francs a year, before any interest.
Who are the main characters in The Necklace?
The Necklace has three main characters. Matilda Loisel is the vain wife. M. Loisel is her loving, hard-working husband. Mme Forestier is the rich friend who lends the necklace. Each one helps the story reach its ironic ending.
| Character | Role | Key traits | Proof from the story |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matilda Loisel | Main character | Pretty, vain, discontented, later brave and hard-working | Weeps over her dress; later scrubs floors for ten years |
| M. Loisel | Her husband | Kind, simple, caring, willing to sacrifice | Gives up his gun money; copies pages at night |
| Mme Forestier | Rich friend | Generous, trusting, never suspicious | Says “Choose, my dear” and does not check the box |
Matilda Loisel
Matilda wants what she cannot afford. She blames fate for her small life. Her pride stops her from telling the truth.
Yet she also shows courage. Once the debt arrives, she faces it fully. She does her part “heroically”, as the text says.
M. Loisel
M. Loisel loves his wife and tries to please her. He enjoys simple pleasures, like a good potpie. He gives up his own dream of hunting trips for her dress.
When the necklace is lost, he takes charge. He searches, borrows and works nights. He never blames her aloud.
Mme Forestier
Mme Forestier lends her best-looking jewel without fear. She speaks coldly when it returns late. But she is touched at the end, and she takes Matilda’s hands.
Her fake necklace is the story’s biggest irony. It looks costly, but it is cheap.
What are the themes and moral of The Necklace?
The main theme of The Necklace is vanity and its cost. The moral is simple. Be honest, be content with what you have, and do not chase false show. One small lie and one proud wish cost the Loisels ten years.
Key themes
- Appearance versus reality: The necklace looks rich but is cheap. Matilda looks happy at the ball but is poor.
- Honesty: A single confession would have saved the couple a decade of hardship.
- Contentment: Matilda’s constant wishing makes her miserable before any loss happens.
- Social class: The story shows how a clerk’s wife feels pressed by richer people.
- Small causes, big effects: Matilda herself says how small a thing can ruin or save a person.
Why is the title The Necklace apt?
The whole plot turns on one object. The necklace starts the problem, drives the debt and delivers the twist. It also stands for false show, which makes the title both literal and symbolic.
Literary devices to name in answers
| Device | Example in the story |
|---|---|
| Irony | Ten years of labour for a necklace that was fake |
| Symbolism | The necklace stands for false show and social pressure |
| Contrast | The glittering ball against the attic and the kitchen drudgery |
| Twist ending | Mme Forestier’s last line changes how you read everything before it |
Which lines in The Necklace matter most?
Five short moments carry the story. Each one shows a feeling, a choice or a turning point. If you can explain these in your own words, you can answer most questions on the chapter. The table gives the reason each line matters.
| Moment | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Born “through an error of destiny” (page 39) | Matilda blames fate, not herself. It sets up her vanity. |
| “Have you nothing more?” (page 41) | She is not satisfied even with a box of jewels. Her wanting has no end. |
| “That will give us time” (page 43) | This is the first lie. It is the point where honesty was still possible. |
| “How you have changed!” (page 44) | Mme Forestier cannot recognise her. It shows what ten years cost. |
| “Mine were false” (page 45) | The twist. It turns the debt into a painful, needless sacrifice. |
What do the difficult words in The Necklace mean?
The NCERT chapter lists nine glossary words on page 46. Knowing them helps you read the story smoothly. The table below gives each word in simple language, plus three extra words from the text that students often miss.
| Word | Simple meaning |
|---|---|
| incessantly | without stopping |
| tureen | a covered dish for serving soup |
| M. | short for Monsieur, a French way to address a man |
| Mme | short for Madame, a French way to address a woman |
| vexation | annoyance and distress |
| ruinous | causing great loss or disaster |
| usurers | moneylenders who charge very high interest |
| sou | an old French coin of very low value |
| awry | twisted or out of place |
| dowry (extra) | money or goods a bride’s family gives at marriage |
| chaplet (extra) | a ring-shaped ornament, here a diamond necklace |
| haggling (extra) | arguing over a price to pay less |
What are the NCERT questions and answers for The Necklace?
The chapter has six Read and Find Out questions, four Think about it questions and three Talk about it prompts. The model answers below are written in our own words. Keep each answer short, clear and tied to events in the story.
Read and Find Out (page 39)
Q1. What kind of a person is Mme Loisel — why is she always unhappy?
Matilda is young, pretty and vain. She feels she deserves luxury but lives in a modest home. She compares herself with richer women. That comparison keeps her angry and unhappy.
Q2. What kind of a person is her husband?
M. Loisel is a petty clerk. He is kind and simple. He enjoys small pleasures and wants to make his wife happy. He even gives up his gun money for her dress.
Read and Find Out (page 41)
Q3. What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?
The dress is nearly ready, but she has no jewel to wear with it. She fears looking poor among rich women. She even says she would rather skip the party.
Q4. How is the problem solved?
M. Loisel suggests she borrow jewels from Mme Forestier. Matilda visits her friend and picks a diamond necklace. Mme Forestier agrees to lend it at once.
Read and Find Out (page 42)
Q5. What do M. and Mme Loisel do next?
They search the clothes and retrace their path. M. Loisel goes to the police and the cab offices. He also advertises a reward. Then they write that the clasp is broken, to gain time.
Q6. How do they replace the necklace?
They find a similar diamond chaplet at the Palais-Royal for thirty-six thousand francs. M. Loisel uses eighteen thousand left by his father. He borrows the rest from lenders.
Think about it (page 46)
Q1. The course of the Loisels’ life changed due to the necklace. Comment.
Before the loss, the Loisels lived plainly but safely. Afterwards, they sent away the maid and moved to an attic. Matilda did hard housework, and her husband worked nights. Ten years of debt aged and hardened them.
Q2. What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
Her vanity and her fear of admitting the loss caused her ruin. She wanted to look rich and could not accept her life. She could have avoided it by telling Mme Forestier the truth.
Q3. What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?
Mme Forestier would have said the necklace was false. It was worth at most five hundred francs. Matilda would have saved thirty-six thousand francs and ten years of misery. The friendship might even have stayed warm.
Q4. If you were caught in a situation like this, how would you have dealt with it?
This answer is personal, so write your own view. A strong model: I would tell my friend at once and apologise. I would offer to pay a fair price. Honesty hurts briefly, but a lie can hurt for years.
Talk about it (page 46)
Q1. The characters in this story speak in English. Do you think this is their language? What clues are there?
No, they would speak French. The story is set in Paris. The clues are the titles M. and Mme, the money called francs and sous, and place names like the Palais-Royal and the Champs-Elysees.
Q2. Honesty is the best policy.
The story proves this. One honest word to Mme Forestier would have ended the problem on day one. The lie did not protect Matilda. It trapped her in debt for a decade.
Q3. We should be content with what life gives us.
Matilda’s discontent began the trouble. She could not enjoy what she had. Contentment does not mean giving up dreams. It means working honestly and not chasing show.
What are 10 MCQs on The Necklace Class 10?
These ten MCQs test the facts you most need from the chapter. Try each one before reading the answer. The reason after each answer helps you remember it. These are practice questions written by Nextoper, not past board papers.
- Who wrote The Necklace? (a) Anton Chekov (b) Guy de Maupassant (c) Katherine Mansfield (d) Ruskin Bond.
Answer: (b). The name appears at the end of the story on page 45. - Where did M. Loisel work? (a) A bank (b) A shop (c) The office of the Board of Education (d) A newspaper.
Answer: (c). The text calls him a petty clerk there. - How much money did he give for the dress? (a) 40 francs (b) 400 francs (c) 4,000 francs (d) 40,000 francs.
Answer: (b). Matilda named four hundred francs. - What had he saved that money for? (a) A gun (b) A cab (c) A house (d) A trip to Paris.
Answer: (a). He wanted to join Sunday hunting parties. - From whom did Matilda borrow the necklace? (a) Her mother (b) The Minister’s wife (c) Mme Forestier (d) A shopkeeper.
Answer: (c). She was Matilda’s rich convent schoolmate. - What excuse did Matilda write to her friend? (a) The clasp was broken (b) The necklace was stolen (c) She was ill (d) She had moved.
Answer: (a). M. Loisel said it would give them time. - Where did they find the replacement? (a) Champs-Elysees (b) Palais-Royal (c) A cab office (d) The Minister’s house.
Answer: (b). A shop there sold a similar diamond chaplet. - How much did they pay for the replacement? (a) 18,000 francs (b) 40,000 francs (c) 36,000 francs (d) 500 francs.
Answer: (c). The asking value was 40,000, but they paid 36,000. - How long did they take to repay the debt? (a) One year (b) Five years (c) Ten years (d) Twenty years.
Answer: (c). The text says “ten years” twice. - What was the original necklace really worth? (a) Over 5,000 francs (b) 40,000 francs (c) Not over 500 francs (d) 18,000 francs.
Answer: (c). Mme Forestier says her jewels were false.
How can you revise The Necklace quickly?
Revise The Necklace in three steps. First, learn the seven-step story chain. Second, fix the key numbers. Third, test yourself with the self-check table. This takes about fifteen minutes and works well the night before an exam.
Quick revision box
- Author: Guy de Maupassant. Book: Footprints Without Feet, Chapter 7.
- Matilda is vain. M. Loisel is loving. Mme Forestier is generous.
- Dress: 400 francs. Replacement: 36,000 francs. Repayment: 10 years.
- Real necklace: not over 500 francs.
- Themes: vanity, honesty, contentment, appearance versus reality.
- Devices: irony, symbolism, contrast, twist ending.
Memory trick: the seven-step chain
Remember the plot as Invite, Dress, Lend, Lose, Loan, Labour, Twist. Turn it into a silly sentence: “I Don’t Like Losing Lovely Loans, Truly.” Say it twice and you will not skip a stage in your answer.
Self-check table
Cover the answers and try each question. Then open your book to the page given.
| Can you answer this? | Check on page | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Who sent the invitation? | 40 | The Minister of Public Instruction and Madame George Ramponneau |
| What did the diamond necklace come in? | 41 | A black satin box |
| When did Matilda find the necklace missing? | 42 | At home, in front of the mirror |
| How did M. Loisel earn extra money? | 44 | Evening bookkeeping and night copying at five sous a page |
| What did Mme Forestier say at the end? | 45 | Her necklace was false and worth not over 500 francs |
What practice questions can you try for The Necklace?
These questions are practice questions written by Nextoper. They are not previous-year board questions. Use them to test short and long answers. Each question has a hint so you can check your direction.
- Why did Matilda first refuse the invitation? (about 30 words)
Hint: she had no dress, and she felt shame before rich guests. - What lie did the Loisels tell Mme Forestier, and why? (about 40 words)
Hint: the broken clasp; they needed time to find or replace the necklace. - How did hardship change Matilda? (about 40 words)
Hint: contrast her ball look with her hands, hair and voice after ten years. - Write a character sketch of Matilda Loisel. (about 120 words)
Hint: begin with vanity, add the ball, then her courage during the debt years. - “Honesty is the best policy.” Explain with reference to The Necklace. (about 120 words)
Hint: use the lie about the clasp and the final reveal. - Extract: read the paragraph on page 44 that begins with Mme Loisel learning the “horrible life of necessity”. What tasks did she do? What does “heroically” tell you?
Hint: list three chores; link the word to her acceptance of the debt.
What mistakes should you avoid when writing about The Necklace?
Students lose marks on small slips in names, numbers and judgement. Check this table before you write. Each slip is easy to avoid once you know it. The NCERT 2026-27 text uses the name Matilda, so use that spelling in your answers.
| Common slip | Fix |
|---|---|
| Writing “Mathilde” because some websites do | Use Matilda, the spelling in the NCERT chapter |
| Saying the necklace was stolen | The text never says how it was lost. Say “lost”. |
| Mixing up the money | 18,000 was M. Loisel’s own. 18,000 was borrowed. Total 36,000. |
| Calling M. Loisel selfish | He gave up his gun money and worked nights for years |
| Saying Mme Forestier tricked Matilda | She lent the necklace honestly. She was touched at the end. |
| Giving only one moral | Write both honesty and contentment |
In short, what happens in The Necklace?
Short answer: Matilda Loisel borrows a diamond necklace from her friend Mme Forestier to wear to a ball. She loses it and says nothing. The couple buys a costly copy and repays the debt for ten years. Finally she learns the borrowed necklace was fake. Honesty would have saved them.
The Necklace Class 10 FAQs
What is the summary of The Necklace Class 10?
Matilda Loisel borrows a diamond necklace for a ball and loses it. The couple buys a similar one for thirty-six thousand francs. They work for ten years to repay the debt. Later, Mme Forestier tells Matilda that her necklace was false.
Why was Mme Loisel unhappy in The Necklace?
She was unhappy because she wanted luxury but lived modestly. She felt born for fine things. Her shabby home and plain meals hurt her. She also suffered when she visited her rich friend.
What is the moral of The Necklace?
The moral is to be honest and content. Matilda’s vanity led her to borrow a showy necklace. Her fear of shame stopped her from telling the truth. That silence cost her ten years of hard labour.
How much did the Loisels pay for the new necklace?
They paid thirty-six thousand francs. The shop valued the diamond chaplet at forty thousand. M. Loisel used eighteen thousand francs from his father and borrowed the remaining eighteen thousand from lenders.
Was the necklace real or fake in The Necklace?
The necklace Mme Forestier lent was fake. She says it was worth no more than five hundred francs. The Loisels replaced it with a real diamond necklace, so they paid far more than they needed.
Final thoughts for your exam
You now have the full set of Class 10 English Chapter 7 The Necklace notes. Learn the seven-step chain, the money table and the two morals. Write answers in short, clear sentences with one proof from the story. Then test yourself with the MCQs once more.
Related notes
- Class 10 English Chapter 5: Footprints Without Feet notes
- Class 10 English Chapter 6: The Making of a Scientist notes
- Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet notes hub
