4.2 The Luncheon

(a) Although the author was not a vindictive man, he was very happy to see her weigh twenty one stone and had finally had his revenge. What makes him say this? Explain.
The author says this because the lady had financially exploited him during their luncheon twenty years ago. She repeatedly claimed she ate "only one thing" while ruthlessly ordering the most expensive, heavy dishes on the menu, leaving him starving and penniless for the rest of the month. He feels a sense of natural justice (or "revenge by the gods") because her immense gluttony eventually caught up with her, resulting in her becoming heavily overweight (twenty-one stone) later in life.

(b) There are quite a few places where the author uses the expressions 'My heart sank, panic seized' etc. What was the reason for this? Explain.
The author uses these expressions to highlight his extreme financial anxiety. At the time of the luncheon, he was a struggling writer with only eighty francs to last him the entire month. As his guest relentlessly ordered the most expensive, out-of-season dishes like caviar, salmon, giant asparagus, and peaches, he was terrified that the total bill would exceed the meager amount of money he had in his pocket, leading to a deeply embarrassing situation where he might have to borrow from her or leave his watch as a pawn.

(c) What are the instances which create humour in "The Luncheon"?
The primary humour stems from the glaring contradiction between the guest's words and her actions. She repeatedly insists, "I never eat anything for luncheon" and "I never eat more than one thing," yet proceeds to devour expensive caviar, salmon, giant asparagus, ice cream, coffee, and a huge peach. Additionally, her patronizing advice to the starving narrator about not "overloading" his stomach while he eats a single, cheap mutton chop creates a highly amusing, albeit painful, situational comedy. Finally, his dry retort that he will "eat nothing for dinner" (because he is broke) is mistaken by her as a brilliant joke.

(d) Describe the use of irony and humour in "The Luncheon".
The story is built entirely on dramatic and verbal irony. The verbal irony lies in the lady’s constant refrain of being a light eater ("I never eat more than one thing") while acting as a glutton. The situational irony occurs when she criticizes the narrator for his "heavy" mutton chop, completely oblivious to the massive feast she is consuming at his expense. The humour is deeply psychological, resting on the narrator's polite, internal panic and his inability to simply say "no" to a guest, culminating in the final ironic twist where her gluttony eventually makes her weigh twenty-one stone, giving the narrator his "revenge".