Question 6 (vi) - CBSE Class 10 Sample Paper for 2022 Boards [Term 2] - English - Solutions to CBSE Sample Paper - English Class 10 - English Class 10

Briefly state how Matilda invited ‘a dreadful life of necessity’ into her family

Answer

• In “The Necklace”, Matilda is portrayed to be extremely self indulgent and dreamt of a life filled with luxury. She was born in a middle class family but was married off to a clerk in the office of the board of education as her family couldn't afford to give dowry.
• She was very unhappy with the life she was leading as she had expected to eat the most exquisite food out of the finest silverware. She didn't own frocks or jewels as she had only dreamt of it. She was constantly annoyed about the simple life she lived.
• One such day, her husband- M. Loisel had returned back from work with an invitation to an extravagant party. Contrary to what he had expected, Malinda threw the invitation away out of frustration as she did not own anything fancy enough to look important. Saddened by her state, her husband gives her 400 francs and buys a dress for herself. She later complained that she didn't have jewelry to go with it.
• She borrowed a diamond necklace from her rich friend- Jeanne and wore it to the party. She received a lot of compliments for it but by the time she had gotten back, the necklace had gone missing .
• The pair looked high and low in search of the missing necklace and went as far as putting up posters and filing complaints at the police. They f ound a similar necklace for 36000 francs which was paid by the inheritance earned by M. Loisel from his father and the rest was taken on loan.
• It took them about ten years to repay all the loans and those lost years had changed their lives drastically. They moved into a smaller apartment and were forced

  to remove the maid. Malinda handled all the household chores and the lost years had taken a huge toll on her appearance as well- her voice became loud, her hair was out of place and she had lost the charm of her youth.

• She happens to meet her rich friend from whom she had borrowed the necklace from and how she was indirectly the cause of her present state . She went on to explain how she had to take a loan to replace the necklace she had borrowed.

• Due to a surprising turn of events, Jeanne tells Malinda that the necklace she had borrowed was in fact fake and not worth more than 500 francs. She realized that it was her greed that invited this into her life . But this instance humbled Malinda and taught her how to live a simple life.