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BACKGROUND
It was in 1924 that The Luncheon was published. The original 1924 publication was featured in The Cosmopolitans (1936) collection of short stories. The tale first appeared in a 1952 compilation titled New Method English for the Arab World for unknown reasons, and in 1956, McGaugham acceded to a request that it be included in an anthology for Swedish schools. The writer-narrator sees the woman again after twenty years at a performance, prompting him to think back to their first encounter. She had read one of his works and wrote to him, inviting him to lunch at Foyot's, where they first met in Paris. Despite having just eighty francs left for the rest of the month, the Narrator accepted the request because he was flattered. At forty, she was clearly much older than he was, but she was also far more lovely and thin. The Narrator was then taken aback by two things: the Woman's enormous appetite and the pricing on the Foyot's menu. The story drags on as the narrator’s remark on the sophistication (and high cost) of the Woman's meal selections. The narrator begins to panic when he realises he only has eighty francs to pay the amount. The situation might even worsen if he has to borrow money from his lunch buddy. However, he has enough money to pay the bill and leave an insufficient tip of three francs. Finally, the Narrator gets his vengeance for having to starve for the last week of the month. Twenty years later, at age sixty, the lady has gained one stone (or 294 pounds) and now weighs twenty-one stone (294 pounds)
FORM
Description
W. Somerset Maugham's short tale "The Luncheon" is about a writer who looks back on a meal he had with a lady twenty years before and reminisces about the experience. The lady, who had read his book, extended an invitation to him to partake in a sumptuous meal at a swanky establishment in Paris. Even though the author was going through a tough financial time, he nonetheless consented to see her and made an effort to satisfy her lavish preferences despite the fact that he had a restricted budget. While she went all out with delicacies like caviar, salmon, and gigantic asparagus, he went for the cheapest alternatives on the menu. The writer started to feel anxious about the bill, and he began to consider a number of different methods to get out of paying it if he couldn't afford it. In the end, he just barely had enough money to pay the bill, but he only left a little tip, which made the lady quite unhappy. On the other hand, in the present day, the author discloses that the lady has now put on a large amount of weight, which he perceives to be his kind of retribution for the costly meal.