CBSE Class 11 English Woven Words Short Stories: The Luncheon - NCERT Solutions

In William Somerset Maugham's short story "The Luncheon," the narrator recounts an encounter with a lady at an expensive Parisian restaurant, Foyot, twenty years after their initial meeting. Despite his initial apprehension due to his fragile financial state at the time, he agreed to the luncheon. During the meal, the lady, without consulting him or considering the bill, ordered a series of extremely expensive delicacies, including caviar, salmon, champagne, and asparagus. The narrator, unable to refuse or reveal his poverty, felt compelled to go along with her extravagant choices, ultimately spending all his money and leaving him penniless for the rest of the month.

The narrator describes himself as not being a vindictive person. However, he expresses happiness and a sense of having achieved 'revenge' when he encounters the same lady twenty years later. The reason for this feeling is the drastic physical transformation the lady has undergone; she has become a 'twenty-one stone' woman. The narrator implies that her extreme weight gain is a form of natural consequence or ironic retribution for her past extravagance and lack of consideration, which had financially devastated him years ago. Thus, his 'revenge' is not an active act but a passive observation of what he perceives as a fitting outcome for her behavior.

In "The Luncheon," the author, W. Somerset Maugham, uses expressions like 'my heart sank' and 'panic seized' to vividly convey the narrator's profound emotional and financial distress during the luncheon. When the lady began ordering expensive items, particularly caviar, the narrator's immediate reaction was that 'his heart sank.' This phrase signifies a sudden feeling of dread, despair, and overwhelming worry, directly linked to his realization of the immense cost of the dish and his inability to afford it given his limited funds.

Similarly, the expression 'panic seized' describes the narrator's state of mind as he grappled with the escalating expenses. He began to anticipate the total bill, wondering if it would exceed his meager budget. These expressions are not merely descriptive; they inject humor and pathos into the narrative by highlighting the narrator's embarrassing predicament and his internal struggle to maintain composure while facing financial ruin due to the lady's oblivious extravagance.

The short story "The Luncheon" is rich with instances of irony, which is the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Several key examples include:

• Situational Irony: The most prominent irony occurs when the lady, who had previously impoverished the narrator with her extravagant dining choices twenty years prior, is now significantly overweight ('twenty-one stone'). The narrator, who wasn't vindictive, finds a sense of satisfaction or 'revenge' in this outcome, implying a natural consequence for her past behavior.
• Verbal Irony: The lady claims she 'hardly ate anything' for luncheon. However, her subsequent order consists of multiple expensive dishes like salmon, caviar, champagne, and asparagus. This stark contrast between her words and actions is a clear example of verbal irony, highlighting her disregard for the narrator's financial situation and perhaps her own vanity.
• Situational Irony (Narrator's Excuse): The narrator mentions that he had been abstained from drinking by his doctors. This is presented ironically, as it's implied this is not a genuine medical restriction but rather an excuse he uses to avoid ordering expensive drinks himself, given his financial constraints.
• Situational Irony (The Luncheon Itself): The narrator agreed to the luncheon expecting it to be a simple meal, perhaps a chance to catch up. However, it turns into a financially devastating experience for him, which is ironic given the initial pleasant premise of meeting an old acquaintance.

These ironic elements contribute significantly to the story's humor and its commentary on social interactions, appearances, and financial realities.

The statement "People with foibles are often not conscious of them" suggests that individuals frequently possess minor weaknesses, eccentricities, or peculiar habits (foibles) that they are unaware of or fail to recognize in themselves. In the context of "The Luncheon," the lady serves as a prime example of this. Her primary foible is her extravagant and inconsiderate dining habits, coupled with a potential lack of self-awareness regarding her impact on others, particularly the narrator's financial situation.

She orders lavishly, assuming her companion can easily afford it, and makes claims (like eating very little) that are contradicted by her actions. She seems oblivious to the narrator's discomfort and financial strain. This obliviousness is characteristic of many people who have deeply ingrained habits or personality traits they don't question. They may see their behavior as normal or justified, failing to perceive how it might be perceived by others or the consequences it might entail. Discussing this in groups can lead to sharing personal observations about how people often overlook their own quirks, making the characters and situations in the story more relatable and thought-provoking.