The Luncheon Summary, Notes & Questions Class 10 SSC

'The Luncheon' is a delightfully humorous slice-of-life short story written by the distinguished British author William Somerset Maugham. The chapter narrates a stressful yet amusing lunch meeting between the narrator and an admirer who repeatedly claims she eats nothing for luncheon while continuously ordering expensive dishes.

About the author

William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was a distinguished British playwright, novelist, and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era, reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s, known for his clear unadorned style, cosmopolitan settings, and shrewd understanding of human nature.

Summary

Twenty years prior to the present encounter, the narrator was living in a tiny apartment in Paris, earning barely enough money to survive. A woman who had read his book wrote to him, and upon passing through Paris, she expressed a desire to chat with him and asked him to treat her to a little luncheon at Foyot’s restaurant. Having only eighty gold francs to last the rest of the month, the narrator agreed, calculating that a modest luncheon of about fifteen francs would suffice if he cut out coffee for two weeks.

Upon meeting at Foyot’s, the narrator found her imposing and talkative. When the menu arrived, the prices shocked him, but she immediately reassured him by declaring that she never ate anything for luncheon and never ate more than one thing. Despite this claim, she asked for expensive salmon, followed by caviar, claiming she never minded it while the salmon was being cooked. Meanwhile, the narrator prudently ordered the cheapest dish available: a mutton chop.

As the meal progressed, she criticized the narrator for eating a heavy meat dish, warning him against overloading his stomach. She then expressed a desire to eat giant asparagus, a luxury item the narrator knew to be horribly expensive. His heart sank and panic seized him as he realized he might not have enough money to pay the bill and could face the humiliation of being short of cash or having to borrow from his guest.

After consuming the asparagus, she comfortably ordered an ice cream and coffee, maintaining her hypocritical stance that she only spoke for his own good and never ate luncheon. Just as the narrator felt completely defeated, the head waiter brought out a large basket of out-of-season peaches. Absent-mindedly, she took and ate one while lecturing him about his heavy meal.

When the bill arrived, the narrator paid it, leaving only a tiny tip that earned him a disdainful look from his guest, leaving him with no money for the rest of the month. However, years later, the narrator has his sweet revenge when he learns that she weighs twenty-one stone.

Mind map

Sequence of Events in The Luncheon

Characters

Themes and message

Hypocrisy and Lack of Self-Awareness

The guest repeatedly preaches about moderation and claims she never eats luncheon, yet she orders and devours multiple expensive items, demonstrating a complete lack of awareness regarding her contradictions.

Financial Struggle vs. Social Pretension

The story highlights the contrast between the struggling young writer trying to maintain his dignity on a tight budget and the carefree, expensive tastes of his affluent acquaintance.

Key points to remember

• The story is a humorous slice-of-life narrative reflecting human nature.
• Foyot’s was a high-end restaurant far beyond the narrator's meager means.
• The guest's catchphrase was that she never ate more than one thing for luncheon.
• The narrator's panic highlights the acute embarrassment of potential financial failure in public.
• The ultimate revenge is non-violent and ironic: the gluttonous woman grows to weigh twenty-one stone.

Word meanings

Figures of speech and poetic devices

Important questions and answers

Q1. Why was the narrator startled when the menu was brought?

The narrator was startled because the prices on the menu at Foyot's restaurant were a great deal higher than he had anticipated, posing a severe threat to his meager budget of eighty gold francs for the rest of the month.

Q2. Describe the narrator's state of mind when the guest ordered asparagus.

When the guest ordered the horribly expensive giant asparagus, the narrator's heart sank and panic seized him. He worried whether he even had enough money to pay the bill, fearing the mortification of being ten francs short and having to borrow from his guest or leave his watch as a pledge.

Q3. What makes the author say he finally had his revenge at the end of the story?

Although the author did not consider himself a vindictive man, he felt a sense of poetic justice and satisfaction because the woman who had put him through financial agony by gorging herself on expensive food grew to weigh twenty-one stone over the years.

Q4. Explain the irony in the statement: 'I never eat anything for luncheon.'

The direct meaning of the statement is that the speaker consumes zero food during midday. However, the hidden ironic meaning is the exact opposite; she uses this claim as a polite excuse to order and consume multiple heavy, expensive items like salmon, caviar, asparagus, ice cream, and peaches.

Q5. What phrases in the story indicate that the author was not financially well off?

Phrases like 'tiny apartment', 'earning barely enough money', 'beyond my means', 'modest luncheon', and 'not a penny in my pocket' indicate that the author was struggling financially.

Q6. What did the narrator decide to do if the restaurant bill exceeded the money he had?

The narrator decided that if the bill came to more than his money, he would put his hand in his pocket, start up with a dramatic cry, and pretend his pocket had been picked.

Q7. Why did the guest accuse the narrator of eating a heavy luncheon?

The guest accused the narrator of eating a heavy luncheon because he ordered the cheapest dish on the menu, which happened to be a mutton chop, while she herself was consuming multiple luxurious courses.

Q8. What was the final parting advice given by the woman to the narrator?

As they shook hands, the woman advised the narrator to follow her example and never eat more than one thing for luncheon, to which the humorist narrator retorted that he would do better by eating nothing for dinner that night.

Exam tips

• Remember the exact meaning and context of irony used in the chapter for grammar and writing questions.
• Learn the meanings of difficult words like 'caviar', 'mortifying', 'vindictive', and 'stone' as vocabulary-based questions frequently appear.
• Pay close attention to character traits of the narrator and the woman guest for descriptive answers.

FAQs

Who is the author of 'The Luncheon'?

The story is written by the distinguished British author William Somerset Maugham.

What is the main theme of 'The Luncheon'?

The chapter highlights human hypocrisy, lack of self-awareness regarding one's flaws, and the humorous clash between social pretension and financial struggle.

What unit of weight is a 'stone' mentioned in the story?

A stone is a unit of weight equal to 14 pounds.

These notes were prepared with AI help from the Balbharati English Kumarbharati textbook (2026-27) and fact-checked against it.