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‘The Luncheon’ by W. Somerset Maugham is the eighth chapter of the NCERT Class 11 English Woven Words textbook. This humorous short story explores the themes of financial strain and subtle revenge. This story focuses on a young writer’s uncomfortable luncheon with an impressive woman. In this blog, we will provide a summary, character sketches, themes, literary devices, and morals of the story. You can also download the free PDF for quick revision.
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Explore Notes of Class 11 English Woven Words
NCERT Notes Class 11 English Woven Words Chapter 8: The Luncheon
Here we have provided the NCERT notes for Class 11 English Woven Words Chapter 8: The Luncheon, including author highlights, synopsis, character sketches, themes, and a detailed summary.
About the Author and Key Highlights
W. Somerset Maugham, a renowned British writer, is celebrated for his sharp wit, keen observation of human behaviour, and engaging storytelling, as seen in works like Of Human Bondage and The Razor’s Edge. The Luncheon is a humorous tale set in Paris, where a young, financially strained writer is invited to lunch at the luxurious Foyot’s restaurant by a woman who claims to eat lightly but orders extravagantly. The story, narrated in the first person, captures the narrator’s growing anxiety as his limited budget is stretched to its limits by his guest’s expensive tastes. Twenty years later, the narrator meets her again at a play, reflecting on the past incident with satisfaction, noting her significant weight gain as a form of poetic justice. The narrative explores themes of social pretence, financial embarrassment, and subtle revenge, delivered with Maugham’s characteristic irony and humour.
Synopsis of the Story
The Luncheon recounts a young writer’s awkward dining experience with a woman who manipulates him into hosting her at an expensive restaurant. Twenty years ago, the narrator, living frugally in Paris with only eighty francs to last the month, received a letter from a woman who admired his book. She proposes a luncheon at Foyot’s, a restaurant far beyond his means, on Thursday at 12:30 pm. Flattered and too young to refuse, he agrees, hoping a modest meal will cost no more than fifteen francs. At Foyot’s, the woman, aged forty and talkative, claims she eats only one thing for lunch to avoid overeating. However, she orders costly dishes, caviar, salmon, asparagus, and peaches, along with Champagne and ice cream with coffee, while criticising the narrator’s modest mutton chop as heavy. The narrator, panicking about the mounting bill, orders only a mutton chop and water, fearing he may not have enough to pay. The bill exhausts his funds, leaving just three francs for a tip, which the woman notices with disdain. As they part, she advises him to eat lightly, to which he retorts that he’ll skip dinner. Twenty years later, seeing her at a play, now weighing twenty-one stone, the narrator feels a sense of vindication for her past extravagance.
Main Characters in the Story
Understand the key characters who drive the narrative:
- The Narrator: A young, struggling writer in his twenties, living in a modest Paris apartment. Polite and inexperienced, he is flattered by the woman’s attention but grows increasingly anxious as her expensive orders deplete his limited funds. His subtle wit and final reflection on her weight gain reveal a quietly vengeful streak.
- The Woman: A forty-year-old, talkative, and imposing woman with large, white teeth, who presents herself as health-conscious and frugal but orders lavish dishes. Her hypocritical comments about eating lightly while indulging in costly items highlight her manipulative and self-absorbed nature.
- The Waiter and Headwaiter (minor characters): The waiter facilitates the woman’s orders, while the headwaiter, with an ingratiating smile, presents a basket of expensive peaches, adding to the narrator’s financial distress. They represent the restaurant’s role in amplifying his predicament.
Also Read: NCERT Notes Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 2 The Address (Free PDF)
Themes in the Story
The story explores several significant themes, explained below in simple terms:
- Social Pretence and Hypocrisy: The woman’s claims of eating only one thing for lunch contrast sharply with her lavish orders, revealing her hypocrisy and desire to maintain a refined image while exploiting the narrator’s hospitality.
- Financial Strain and Embarrassment: The narrator’s limited budget and growing panic over the bill highlight the anxiety of maintaining social appearances under financial pressure, a relatable struggle for those in modest circumstances.
- Irony and Subtle Revenge: The woman’s indulgence leads to her weight gain, which the narrator views with satisfaction years later, illustrating how life can deliver poetic justice without direct confrontation.
- Power Dynamics in Social Interactions: The woman’s dominance in conversation and menu choices, coupled with the narrator’s inability to refuse due to youth and politeness, underscores unequal social dynamics and the pressure to please others.
Literary Devices in the Story
W. Somerset Maugham employs various literary devices to enhance the narrative’s humour and thematic depth:
- Irony: Situational irony is central, as the woman’s insistence on eating lightly is contradicted by her extravagant orders, and the narrator’s polite hospitality leads to his financial ruin. The final irony lies in her weight gain, serving as the narrator’s quiet revenge.
- Humour: Gentle humour arises from the narrator’s exaggerated anxiety, such as imagining his pocket being picked to avoid paying, and the woman’s oblivious comments about his “heavy” mutton chop while she indulges in lavish dishes.
- First-Person Narrative: The narrator’s direct recounting of his thoughts, from flattery to panic to vindication, creates intimacy and allows readers to empathise with his plight and relish his subtle triumph.
- Imagery: Vivid descriptions, like the “enormous, succulent, and appetising” asparagus and peaches with “the blush of an innocent girl,” heighten the allure of the costly dishes and the narrator’s distress.
- Hyperbole: The narrator’s exaggerated fear of being ten francs short and his dramatic resolve to claim his pocket was picked add a comedic touch to his financial panic.
- Foreshadowing: The woman’s initial claim of eating only one thing foreshadows her escalating orders, building suspense about the bill’s impact on the narrator.
Chapter 8: The Luncheon Summary
The Luncheon by W. Somerset Maugham is a humorous tale of social pretence and financial embarrassment, narrated by a young writer reflecting on an incident from twenty years ago. Below is a detailed summary of the key events in a clear and concise manner:
- Reunion and Recollection: The narrator, now older, spots a woman at a play who beckons him during the interval. Barely recognising her, he recalls their first meeting twenty years ago in Paris, prompted by her mention of a luncheon they shared.
- Initial Contact: Twenty years prior, the narrator, a struggling writer in Paris with only eighty francs for the month, receives a letter from the woman praising his book. She proposes a luncheon at Foyot’s, a luxurious restaurant, on Thursday at 12:30 pm. Flattered and too young to refuse, he agrees, budgeting for a modest meal costing no more than fifteen francs.
- The Luncheon Begins: At Foyot’s, the forty-year-old woman, talkative and imposing with large teeth, claims she never eats more than one thing for lunch to avoid overeating. She orders caviar while awaiting salmon, which is not on the menu but available as the season’s first. The narrator, unable to afford caviar, chooses a mutton chop, the cheapest dish, which she criticises as heavy.
- Escalating Orders: The woman orders Champagne, dismissing the narrator’s water as she praises light French wines. She then requests giant asparagus, which the narrator cannot afford but orders under pressure. Her insistence on eating lightly contrasts with her lavish choices, increasing the narrator’s anxiety about the bill.
- Final Blows: As the meal progresses, she orders ice cream and coffee, while the headwaiter presents a basket of costly, out-of-season peaches, which she takes absentmindedly. The narrator, now past caring, orders coffee for himself, dreading the final cost.
- Financial Ruin and Parting: The bill exhausts the narrator’s funds, leaving only three francs for a tip, which the woman notices with disdain. As they part, she advises him to eat only one thing for lunch, to which he retorts that he’ll skip dinner. She calls him a “humorist” and leaves in a cab.
- Revenge and Reflection: Twenty years later, seeing her at the play, now weighing twenty-one stone, the narrator feels a sense of vindication, believing her weight gain is a consequence of her indulgence, delivering poetic justice.
Moral of the Story
Below are the key moral lessons from the story:
- Beware of False Pretences: The woman’s claim of moderation masks her extravagance, teaching the importance of seeing through superficial claims to avoid being manipulated.
- Politeness Can Be Costly: The narrator’s inability to refuse due to youth and courtesy leads to financial strain, suggesting the need for assertiveness in uncomfortable situations.
- Actions Have Consequences: The woman’s indulgence, reflected in her weight gain years later, implies that excessive behaviour may lead to unintended outcomes, offering a subtle form of justice.
- Humour in Adversity: The narrator’s ability to find humour in his plight and satisfaction in the woman’s later condition highlights the value of resilience and perspective in overcoming embarrassment.
Download more NCERT Solutions of Class 11 English ‘Woven Words’ here!
| Chapter 1: The Lament Solution |
| Chapter 2: A Pair of Mustachios Solution |
| Chapter 3: The Rocking-horse Winner Solution |
| Chapter 4: The Adventure of the Three Garridebs Solution |
Explore Notes of Other NCERT Class 11 Subjects
| History | Geography | Political Science | Psychology | Sociology |
FAQs
The title refers to the central event, a lunch at Foyot’s that reveals the woman’s hypocrisy and the narrator’s financial distress. It encapsulates the story’s focus on social pretence and the consequences of an extravagant meal.
The narrator’s limited budget of eighty francs forces him to choose the cheapest dish and water, yet he feels compelled to accommodate the woman’s costly orders due to politeness and flattery, leading to his financial ruin.
Foyot’s, a luxurious restaurant frequented by French senators, contrasts with the narrator’s modest means, amplifying his anxiety and highlighting the woman’s extravagance, setting the stage for the story’s humour and tension.
Irony is evident in the woman’s claim of eating lightly while ordering expensive dishes, the narrator’s polite hospitality leading to his ruin, and her weight gain years later, which serves as poetic justice for her actions.
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