The document discusses William Somerset Maugham and his short story 'The Luncheon,' which recounts a narrator's humiliating experience dining with a woman who exploits his modest financial situation. The story highlights themes of irony and social class, as the narrator struggles to keep up with his acquaintance's extravagant ordering despite his limited budget. Ultimately, after twenty years, the narrator gains a sense of revenge by observing the woman's physical decline, contrasting their past encounter.

1. The Luncheon
By – William Somerset Maugham

2. About the author
William Somerset Maugham was a British playwright
novelist and short story writer.
He was one of the most popular writers of his time and
the highest paid authors of the 30s.
Although such a good writer, Maugham never
attracted the highest respect from critics or peers,
something which he attributed to the lack of his “lyrical
quality”, limited vocabulary and his failure to make
expert use of metaphor in his work.
Maugham’s public view of his abilities remain modest.
Toward the end of his career, he described himself as
“in the very first row of second-raters”
In 1948, he wrote “great novelists and their novels”, in
which he listed the ten best novels of world literature
in his opinion.
In 1954, he was made a ‘companion of honor’
His significant works include ‘Of human bondage’, ‘The
moon and sixpence’ and ‘Cakes and Ale’

3. The story
‘The luncheon’ is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. The story
begins with the narrator meeting one of his acquaintances in the
theater. They had met after a long time (20 years), and the narrator
found it hard to recognize her.
The acquaintance i.e. a lady, recognized him immediately and asked
him if he remembered the last and first time they had met. She
reminded him that he had asked her out for luncheon.
The narrator quickly remembers what had happened and now he tells
us the story…..

4. Twenty years ago….
The narrator was living in Paris. He had a small apartment in a Latin Quarter. He
describes his income as ‘just enough to keep body and soul together’.
One of his books were read by that lady and she wrote to him about it. He thanked
her and in a few days, received another letter from her, saying that she was passing
through Paris and would like to have a chat.
The narrator took some time to decide where to take her for lunch. He finally
considered Foyot’s, which was a restaurant where many French senators ate, and
although it was a little expensive for our narrator, he was flattered by the ladies
compliments, and decided to cut down cost by drinking no coffee for the next two
weeks. He had 80 gold francs to last him the month, and he assumed that a decent
lunch wouldn’t cost him more than 15 bucks.
So, he asked the lady out for luncheon (a formal lunch) at Foyot’s.

5. At Foyot’s, 20 years ago….
The lady didn’t turn out to be young, as the narrator had expected. She was in her
forties. The narrator described the lady as ‘having more teeth than necessary’ i.e.
talkative and unattractive. The narrator decided to listen more and talk less.
The menu startled the narrator, as the prices were higher than what he had
estimated. The lady reassured him by telling him that she never had more than one
item for lunch. The narrator generously said, “please don’t say that”, but he dearly
wished she ate only one item. She ordered Salmon and caviar for herself and the
narrator ordered the cheapest dish on the menu – a mutton chop, for himself.
All the while, the lady told him that meat was a heavy dish, and that he should
follow her example and eat only one dish although she was clearly having more
than one.

6. At Foyot’s, 20 years ago…
After the meal, she ordered white champagne, which further sank the narrator’s
heart as he focused his thoughts on what the bill would sum up to. He only ordered
water. The lady enjoyed the meal and kept talking about art, literature and music.
When the waiter arrived with the bill, she waived him aside and wanted to know if
they had any Asparaguses at the restaurant. The narrator wished the waiter would
say “no”, but the waiter smiled and told them that they had large, tender, fresh and
miraculously juicy ones. The lady ordered Asparagus and asked the narrator if he
wanted to as well. The narrator refused and made the excuse that he didn’t like
Asparagus. Our narrator was seized by panic. Now he began to think if he would
have enough money to pay the bill. The asparagus arrived and the narrator
described the lady as ‘shamelessly thrusting the Asparagus down her throat’.

7. At Foyot’s, 20 years ago…
After the lunch, the narrator asked her if she wanted coffee, to which
she replied, “yes, just an ice cream and coffee”. The narrator had
stopped worrying about the cost now, and he ordered her both.
After the luncheon, just when they were about to get up, the waiter
appeared with a large basket of fresh peaches, much to the dismay of
our narrator.
The narrator refused for himself but the lady took one peach. She kept
thinking that the one mutton chop he had had, had ruined his appetite.
It was not the season of peaches, so the narrator had to pay extra.
After the bill came, he had only 3 francs left, and that too, he paid as a
tip.

8. Outside Foyot’s, 20 years ago…
After the luncheon, when it was time for them to leave, the lady advised him to
follow her example and eat only one dish for lunch, which was ironical coming from
someone like her, who had just had a whole stomach full for lunch.
The narrator replied by saying, “I will do better than that. I will eat nothing for
dinner tonight”. The lady called him a ‘humorist’. This was again ironical because
the narrator really meant it.
He did not have a single penny in his pocket, and he had the whole month left.

9. In the theater, 20 years later…
This brings us back to the present time, where the narrator and the
lady are meeting after twenty long years.
The narrator tells us that he had had his revenge for the luncheon
ordeal.
How did he have his revenge?
-The lady weighed 130 Kg now (in some versions of the story, her
weighed is said to be 21 stones, or 294 pounds, which is the same as
around 130 Kg). The narrator observed this result with a pardonable
sense of achievement.

10. In brief…
The story is an example of irony. The lady exploits the narrator by pretending an
interest and admiration for his work, which she might not even actually feel.
The irony is that the narrator takes her to an expensive restaurant where he’d never
dared to go himself, as he could not afford it.
The lady probably understood his financial situation and ‘took him for a ride’

11. THE END 