Villa For Sale

Villa For sale

Summary
Juliette wishes to sell her villa but is really
disappointed that no prospective customers walked that
way. The sign ‘For Sale’ has been there since a month
but the villa appeared not to interest anyone. Juliette
confesses to her maid that she was so fed up that she
would do anything to get the wretched place off her hands.
She starts doubting whether it was sensible to ask for two
hundred thousand francs. The villa was located near
French Hollywood and was in reasonable condition but
no one seemed interested to buy it. Meanwhile the maid
requests Juliette to give her an off since she had been
offered the role of a maid in a movie. Juliette is surprised
to discover that the maid was going to earn a hundred
francs just for a day’s work. The maid surprises Juliette
by suggesting that even she could act as a cook and earn
quite a bit of money. Juliette is amazed to know that the
entire locality was busy taking up one role or the other
in movies.
As Juliette retires for relaxation, two customers,
Jeanne and Gaston are ushered in by the maid. They are
a young couple. From their conversation, it is evident
that the wife Jeanne is more eager to buy the villa. She
wants to buy it for her parents and her sister’s family.
Gaston is very business-minded, very shrewd and he is
least interested in making any investment for his wife’s
family. Meanwhile Juliette makes an appearance. She
pretends to be very proud of her villa and single-handedly
announces that the villa perfectly suited the personality
of the customers. She flatters the young couple, calls
them ‘exceptional’ that the villa was according to their
taste. Juliette hikes up the price and then brings it down
to two hundred thousand francs and pretends to do a
favour to the couple. Gaston is totally irritated by now
and makes it very clear that he has no intention of
purchasing the villa. As they are leaving, Jeanne expresses
a desire to see the upper floor. Both Juliette and Jeanne
go upstairs.
Gaston is busy cribbing when the maid ushers in
another customer, Mrs Al Smith. Mrs Al Smith mistakes
Gaston to be the owner of the villa and expresses her
desire to buy the villa. Initially Gaston just wiles away
the conversation but his business-instincts are aroused
when he discovers that Mrs Al Smith is really interested
in buying the villa. Mrs Al Smith was an actress. She
wanted to buy this villa to make a new house near
Hollywood. She has loads of money but has no time to
inspect the house or go in details. Gaston quotes three
hundred thousand and to his utmost surprise the lady
hands him the cheque and makes a quick departure. In
the meantime Jeanne and Juliette come back. Jeanne is
astounded to discover that within a short while Gaston
has changed his mind. He gives a cheque of two hundred
thousand to Juliette and walks out, smiling to himself,
with his wife. The transaction had been quite worthwhile,
chuckled Gaston to himself.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS (SOLVED)
1. Complete the following paragraph about the
theme of the play using the clues given in the box
below. Remember that there are more clues than
required.
sell, buying, house,
enthusiastic, comes,
200 thousand francs, taking, favour,
get, sleeps, money,
300 thousand francs, unhappy, his in-laws,
walks in; strikes, keep
Juliette, the owner of a villa wants to _________ it as
she is in need of _________ . Moreover, she is not in
_________ of the house. Jeanne and Gaston, a couple visit
her with the aim of _________ the villa. While Jeanne is
_________ about buying, Gaston detests the idea as he does
not want his __________ in that house. Also, he finds the
asking price of _________ to be expensive. When Jeanne
and Juliette go around the house, another customer
_________ and starts talking to Gaston _________ him to
be Juliette’s husband. Gaston _________ a deal with the customer
by which he is able to give _________ to the owner
and _________ one thousand francs for himself.
Ans : sell, money, favour, buying, enthusiastic, inlaws,
house, walks in, taking, strikes, 200 thousand francs,
keep
2. Answer the following questions.
(a) Why does Jeanne want to buy a villa?
Ans : Jeanne wants to buy the villa so that her
parents can stay in it. Moreover, her sister along with her
children could also visit and stay there.
(b) Why is Gaston not interested in buying the villa in
the beginning?
Ans : Gaston is not fond of his wife’s family. He
believes that her parents would occupy the villa for quite
some time and her sister would also visit there. He believes
that buying the villa is a bad investment and has no desire
to buy it.
(c) Mrs Al Smith makes many statements about the
French. Pick out any two and explain them.
Ans : (i) “You French have a very cute way of doing
business”.
(ii) “Frenchmen usually have to consult about ten
people before they get a move on”.
Mrs Al Smith believes that French are not very
business-minded and they don’t go into any details.
Moreover she also believes that the French are fickleminded
and they cannot make their own decisions.
(d) Juliette says, “..... want to get this wretched place
off my hands. I would sacrifice it at any price”. Does she
stick to her words. Why / Why not?
Ans : Juliette changes her stand totally when Jeanne
and Gaston arrive. At first she quotes three hundred and
fifty thousand francs and when Gaston shows disinterest,
she settles down for two hundred thousand. She is no way
ready to reduce the cost of the villa any more.
3. Read the following extracts and answer the
questions that follow by choosing the correct options.

A. ‘But the sign has been hanging on the gate for over a
month now and I am beginning to be afraid that the day I
bought it was when I was the real fool.’
(a) Why is Juliette disappointed?
(i) She is unable to get a role of cook in the
films.
(ii) Her maid is leaving as she has got a role in
the films.
(iii) She is unable to find a suitable buyer for her
villa.
(iv) Gaston is offering a very low price for the
villa.
Ans : (iii)
(b) Why does she call herself a fool?
(i) She has decided to sell her villa.
(ii) There are no buyers for the villa.
(iii) She had bought the villa for more than it was
worth.
(iv) The villa was too close to the film studios.
Ans : (iii)
B. ‘But your parents would take possession of it, every
year from the beginning of spring until the end of
September. What’s more they would bring the whole tribe
of your sister’s children with them.’
What does Gaston mean by ‘take possession’?
(i) Her parents would stay with them for a long
time.
(ii) Juliette’s sister has many children.
(iii) Gaston does not like children.
(iv) Juliete’s sister’s children are badly behaved.
Ans : (i)
C. ‘While you were upstairs, I have been thinking a lot
about your Papa and Mamma.’
(a) What is the discrepancy between what Gaston said
earlier and what he says now?
(i) Earlier he did not want Juliette’s parents to
stay with them but now he is showing
concern for them.
(ii) Earlier he wanted Juliette’s parents to stay
with them but now he does not want them to
come over.
(iii) Earlier he wanted to buy a house for them but
now he wants them to come and stay in their
villa.
(iv) Earlier he stayed in Juliette’s parents’ villa but
now he wants them to stay with him and
Juliette.
Ans : (i)
(b) What does the above statement reveal about Gaston’s
character?
(i) He is selfish. (ii) He is an opportunist.
(iii) He is a caring person.
(iv) He is a hypocrite.
Ans : (ii)
4. Select words from the box to describe the characters in the play as revealed by the following lines.
Lines from the Play Speaker Quality revealed
1. One hundred thousand francs if necessary greedy
and that’s only twice what it cost me.
2. If you don’t want the house, tell me so
at once and we’ll say no more about it.
3. No! I am very fond of your family, but Gaston
not quite so fond as that.
4. Quite so. I have, but you haven’t.
5. I have never cared such a damned little
about anybody’s opinion.
6. On the principle of people who like
children and haven’t any can always go
and live near a school.
7. The garden is not very large, but you see, Juliette
it is surrounded by other gardens.
8. I will be philanthropic and let you have
it for two hundred thousand.
9. I have been thinking a lot about your clever
Papa and Mamma. You see, I am really
unselfish.

cunning, clever, witty, smart,
innocent, humorous, haughty,
overbearing, critical, domineering,
disapproving, materialistic, dishonest,
practical, greedy, cruel, boastful
Ans :
1. Speaker : Juliette
Quality revealed : greedy
2. Speaker : Jeanne
Quality revealed : innocent/practical, helpless
3. Speaker : Gaston
Quality revealed : overbearing, critical
4. Speaker : Gaston
Quality revealed : cunning, haughty
5. Speaker : Gaston
Quality revealed : disapproving, domineering
6. Speaker : Gaston
Quality revealed : witty, humorous
7. Speaker : Juliette
Quality revealed : tactful, boastful
8. Speaker : Juliette
Quality revealed : materialistic, smart
9. Speaker : Gaston.
Quality revealed : clever, hypocrite, cunning
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Read the following extracts and write down the
most appropriate option.
1. “You folk are queer. You think about the past all the
time. We always think about the future.”
(a) The speaker of this line is :
(i) Mrs. Al Smith (ii) Juliette
(iii) Maid (iv) Jeanne
(b) ‘You’ here refers to the
(i) German (ii) French
(iii) British (iv) American
(c) Who is ‘we’ referred to?
(i) Gaston and Jeanne
(ii) Jeanne and maid
(iii) Americans
(iv) Europeans
Ans : (a) (i) (b) (ii) (c) (iii)
2. “Then stop being bored and buy one. That will finish
it. We won’t talk about it any more.”
(a) Who is speaking here and to whom :
(i) Gaston to Mrs. Al Smith
(ii) Juliette to Gaston
(iii) Jeanne to Gaston
(iv) Gaston to Jeanne
(b) “......and buy one” refers to :
(i) buying of a villa
(ii) buying a set of books
(iii) buying of a shop
(iv) buying a car
(c) The relationship between the person spoken to and
the speaker is :
(i) Mistress – maid
(ii) Husband – wife
(iii) Shopkeeper – customer
(iv) Mother – son
Ans : (a) (iii) (b) (i) (c) (ii)
3. “Your dowry. My poor child, we have spent that
long ago.”
(a) The speaker is ______ and he is speaking to
______.
(i) Jeanne’s parents to Jeanne
(ii) Jeanne’s sister to Jeanne
(iii) Gaston to Jeanne
(iv) Jeanne to her sister’s children
(b) He needed the money _______.
(i) To go on a holiday
(ii) To buy a villa
(iii) To buy a car
(iv) To go on a cruise
(c) The above statement shows that the speaker was
______.
(i) Selfish (ii) Opportunist
(iii) Domineering (iv) Hypocrite
Ans. (a) (iii) (b) (ii) (c) (i)
4. You go and tell your boss that if he doesn’t come
right away, I’m going. I haven’t any time to waste.
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
(a) Who is the speaker?
(i) Gaston (ii) Juliette
(iii) Jeanne (iv) Mrs. Al Smith
(b) ‘The Boss’ referred to here is :
(i) Juliette (ii) Mrs. Al Smith
(iii) Gaston (iv) Jeanne
(c) The speaker feels that if there is a hold-up that
would :

(i) make him / her angry
(ii) be very bad
(iii) make him / her sick
(iv) turn him / her to madness
Ans. (a) (iv) (b) (i) (c) (i)
5. Copies are not always good. We would only
imitate you and imitations are no better than parodies. We
are so different. Think of it...... [CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
(a) The speaker of these lines is :
(i) Mrs. Al Smith (ii) Gaston
(iii) Juliette (iv) Jeanne
(b) ‘We are so different’ means :
(i) Europeans go to America to earn money and
Americans come to Europe to spend it
(ii) the speaker is European and the other Russian
(iii) both of them are different in their outlook
(iv) both of them are contrast to each other
(c) The speaker outwits the other in :
(i) selling the Villa for two thousand francs
(ii) selling the Villa which does not belong to him
(iii) buying the Villa for two thousand francs only
(iv) taking the little picture as a souvenir.
Ans. (a) (ii) (b) (i) (c) (iv)
6. Don't be aggravating, please! If you don't want the
house, tell me so at once and we'll say no more about it.
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
(a) The above dialogue is spoken by _________.
(i) Mrs. Al Smith (ii) The maid
(iii) Jeanne (iv) Juliette
(b) The speaker is talking to __________.
(i) Mrs. Al Smith (iii) Jeanne
(iii) Juliette (iv) Gaston
(c) When the speaker says don't be aggravating, she
expects the listener not to__________.
(i) be suspicious (ii) make fun
(iii) be outrageous (iv) criticise
Ans. (a) (iii) (b) (iv) (c) (iii)
7. Gaston : Just trying to please you, darling.
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
(a) Gaston is trying to please :
(i) Juliette (ii) Jeanne
(iii) Mrs. Al Smith (iv) The Maid
(b) Gaston has ______ to please the addressee :
(i) Bought a car (ii) Finalized the deal
(iii) Kept the picture (iv) Paid in cash
(c) Gaston is _______ while speaking the line :
(i) joking (ii) serious
(iii) laughing (iv) making fun
Ans. (a) (ii) (b) (ii) (c) (iv)
8. Every little helps, Madame. Especially, Madame,
as you have such a funny face.
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
(a) The phrase ‘little helps’ refers to ______.
(i) the help provided by neighbours
(ii) the monetary help that she will get after doing
the role
(iii) the help of 100 francs
(iv) the help of the maid servant
(b) The speaker of this extract is _________.
(i) Jeanne (ii) Juliette
(iii) Mrs. Al Smith (iv) Juliette’s maid
(c) The funny face of the listener would help her
to______.
(i) scare people away
(ii) take a break
(iii) bag the role of a cook
(iv) entertain people
Ans. (a) (ii) (b) (iv) (c) (iii)
NON-MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Read the following extracts and asnwer the
questions.
1. “That was a month ago and now I have only one
thought, that is to get the wretched place off my hands.”
(a) Who is speaking this line and to whom?
Ans. This line has been spoken by Julliette who
desperately wants to sell her villa. She is talking to her
maid.
(b) What is the thought dominating the speaker’s
mind?
Ans. The thought of selling the villa at any cost, is
dominating her mind.
(c) Why does the speaker call her house a ‘wretched
place’?

Ans. She called it so because even after a month of
putting up ‘for Sale’ sign, she could not get any
prospective buyer.
2. “A maid, Madam. They prefer the real article.
They say maids are born, maids are not maids. They are
giving me a hundred francs a morning for doing it”.
(a) Who is the speaker here?
Ans. The speaker here is Juliette’s maid.
(b) Who is ‘they’ referred to?
Ans. ‘They’ here is referred to the people from film
industry.
(c) What is meant by ‘real article’?
Ans. Here, it is meant 'a real life actor'.
3. “I tell you what I will do. I will be philanthropic and
let you have it for two hundred thousand.”
(a) Who is the speaker here?
Ans. The speaker here is Julliette.
(b) What is meant by ‘philanthropic’?
Ans. It means a person who freely gives money or
other help to people who need it.
(c) What is the speaker telling about selling?
Ans. The speaker is telling him that she is selling the
villa for a paltry amount.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. Why is Juliette fed up of the house? What was
the reaction of the people when the villa was put up for
sale?
Ans. When Juliette put up the ‘Villa for Sale’ sign, she
had thought that the next day the entire world would be
fighting to purchase it. But it so happened that nobody
turned up to buy it. It has already been one month since
she put up the sign for sale. In the past two weeks, there
were four people who wanted to buy it but did not. Juliette
was also fed up because after putting up the sign, she felt
as if the villa did not belong to her. The neighbours looked
at her in such a strange way that she began to think that
they were mocking at her and that the whole thing was
going to lead to a great disappointment.
2. “They say maids are born; maids not made
maids.” Explain the context of the above statement.
Ans. This line is spoken by Juliette’s maid. She has got
a role to play in a film at the Joinville Studio. She has got
the role of a maid. While telling Juliette about her role, she
tells her that the film-makers prefer people from the same
profession as the role assigned to them. She says that maids
are born as they are; nobody can pretend to be one. She
implies that only a maid will be able to most successfully
play the role of a maid in a film, so she is most suitable for
it.
3. How was the French Hollywood proving to be a
great attraction for the people?
Ans. Everybody around the French Hollywood was
vying for a role in the films because of the huge financial
benefit. Everybody looked up to getting just any role they
could manage. People gave up their jobs temporarily to act
in the films. Whether it was the butcher who didn’t open
his shop, or the policemen who were missing from their
duty, shooting a fight scene — all were doing some or the
other role; nobody thought about anything else round there
the manager was offering a thousand francs for a real beggar
who had nothing to eat for two days. The films were paying
everybody so well that they were bound to be attracted
towards them.
4. What advantages of the villa are presented by
Juliette?
Ans. Juliette describes the villa as ‘a most delightful
place.’ She says that although it appears modest but it has
a charm of its own. She says that the house possesses a
great many advantages — electricity, gas, water, telephone,
and drainage. She also says that the bathroom is beautifully
fitted and the roof was entirely repaired the previous year
only. She says that she is ready to sell it with all the furniture
and fixtures, except the little picture signed by Corot.
5. Why does Juliette find both Gaston and Jeanne
to be perfectly suited to buy the villa?
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. Juliette had put up a ‘Villa for Sale’ sign a month
ago, and there had not been much response from the
customers. She was fed up of waiting for the buyers. Now
when Gaston and Jeanne came as customers, and when she
saw so much of eagernes on Jeanne’s part to buy the villa,
she felt that they were perfectly suited to buy it. She could
clearly see that Jeanne was highly impressed and so tried
to flatter her so that the deal could be finalised.
6. Why is Gaston not tempted to buy the villa even
after Juliette decreases the rate?
Ans. Gaston was not ready to buy the villa even after
Juliette had decreased the rate because he did not come
with the intention of buying it. In the conversation between
himself and Jeanne, when they were waiting for Juliette in
the villa, he had told Jeanne clearly, “I told you before we
crossed the road that I didn’t want it.” The reason he gave
for his disinterest in it was that he knew very well that the
villa would be used by Jeanne’s parents and her sister’s
children throughout the year. There was no use investing in
it when they (Jeanne and Gaston) would be staying there
only for one month..
7. What is the case of mistaken identity between
Mrs Al Smith and Gaston? [CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. When the maid brings Mrs. Al Smith inside the
house, only Gaston is there. After this, the maid goes out.
There was no introduction between Gaston and
Mrs. Al Smith. She was in such a hurry that she took Gaston
as the owner of the house. Since money was not an issue
or anything else, she talked with Gaston without a break —
all she wanted was to finalise the deal assuming Gaston to
be the owner of the house, she gave him a cheque of three
hundred thousand francs demanded by him. Gaston had
understood Mrs. Smith’s ‘mistaken identity’ and cleverly
remained quiet about it and made one hundred thousand
francs in the deal with her.
8. Why does Gaston insist on taking the picture as
a souvenir? [CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. The picture on the wall of the villa was a precious
one as it was signed by Corot — a well-known painter, and
thus had a lot of value. Gaston has already made a lot of
money in the deal he had with Mrs. Smith. Now, he knows
that Mrs. Smith was going to get the whole house knocked
down which will destroy this painting also. He wanted to
be a proud owner of it, and maybe, decided to make a lot
of money by selling it as it was an antique painting.
9. In the play “Villa for sale,” who do you think is
a better businessman and why? [CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. In the play, Gaston is a better businessman than
Julliette. Julliette has no idea about real estate. She lacks
the business acumen to take advantage of the fact that her
villa was near French Hollywood. But Gaston was a
shrewd businessman. He poses himself to be the owner of
the villa to the American actor and makes a deal of thirty
thousand francs. He pays Julliette twenty thousand francs
for the villa and makes a net profit of one thousand francs.
10. Why is Gaston not interested in buying the villa
in the beginning? [CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
In the beginning, Gaston was not interested in buying
the villa because he knew very well that the villa would be
used by Jeanne’s parents and her sister’s children
throughout the year. He considered it useless in investing
in it when he and Jeanne would be staying there for one
month only. But in the end when he got a chance to earn
one thousand francs, he at once bought the villa.
11. What was the suggestion given by maid to
Juliette to end her financial hard up?
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. In order to meet her financial hard up, Juliette
wanted to sell her villa but was unable to get any
prospective buyer. Her maid was greatly concerned with
her crisis. She suggested Julliette that she should take up
the role of a cook in the movie that way she would be able
to earn one hundred francs a day.
12. Why did Ms. Al Smith want to buy the Villa?
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. Al Smith was a big American actress. Money
was not an issue for her in possessing the villa. Neither she
was interested in knowing about its features. Even after
buying the villa she wanted to knock it down and build a
bungalow so that she was near French Hollywood area
where she was supposed to shoot for a film.
13. What are Jeanne and Gaston arguing about
before Juliette enters the room?
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. There is no uniformity between Jeanne and
Gaston in the decision of buying the villa because Gaston
is not ready to support Jeanne’s idea of buying the villa at
any cost. He has come to see it with Jeanne just because
she had persuaded him to see it. The reason he gives for
not being interested in buying the villa is that Jeanne didn’t
want it for herself and Gaston, but for her parents. Gaston
was not fond of Jeanne’s parents and said that her parents
would stay in the villa from April to September every year,
whereas they themselves would be staying there only for
one month. Moreover, he also knew that Jeanne’s parents
would also bring along the ‘whole tribe’ of her sister’s
children to stay there.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. Give a character sketch of Juliette.
Ans. Juliette seems to be a fickle-minded person. She
gets a strange feeling that since nobody was coming to buy
the house, even after one month of advertising it, she was
a real fool to have bought it. She is also an opportunist.
She was ready to sell it for a sum of hundred thousand
francs but when she got the customers in Gaston and
Jeanne, she quoted its price to two hundred thousand fifty
francs. She particularly wanted to take advantage of
Jeanne’s liking of the house. Her fickle-mindedness is also
evident from the way she got irritated at Gaston’s remarks
and said that she didn’t want to sell the house, but the next
moment, when she saw that Gaston was ready to get up
and go, she began speaking in a pleading manner.

2. Discuss the character traits of Mrs Al Smith.
What is her significance in the context of the lesson?
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans : Mrs. Al Smith is a rich, busy woman who is
proud of being an American. She seems to have a
superiority complex for the American race as compared to
the Europeans. Throughout her very brisk, short
conversation that she had with Gaston, number of times,
she mentioned about the superior ways of thinking and
working of the Americans, so much so that she suggested
that Europeans must copy the Americans more often. So,
her conversation was a racially inclined one. Secondly, she
seems to be very rich as she simply wanted Gaston to
quote the price of the house; she had no hesitation in
paying anything!
There is a lot of significance of her role in the lesson.
The way Gaston made a fortune for himself through her
within no time, has given a turning twist to the lesson and
has made it extremely interesting. Mrs. Smith’s entry into
the scene suddenly changed the direction of the story and
added wonder and humour in it.

3. What were the attempts made by Juliette to sell
the villa?
Ans : To sell the villa, Juliette, first of all, put up a
signboard outside her house. She feels quite tensed when
she doesn’t get any customers. Finally, when Gaston and
Jeanne turn up, she tries every possible way to have the
deal finalised. She tries all her tactics — flattery, bargain,
pressure — and is finally successful in selling the house,
without realising even a little bit as to what had happened
behind the scene between Gaston and Mrs. Al Smith. She
tells Jeanne about all the facilities being provided along
with the house, i.e. electricity, gas, water, telephone,
drainage as well as all the fixtures. She even tries to
psychologically impress Jeanne by saying that even before
buying the house, she seems to be already belonging to it.

4. Why is Gaston not interested in buying the
villa? How does he convince his wife – first in backing
out of the deal and later in sealing the deal?
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans. Gaston is not interested in buying the villa
because he knows that most of the year, the villa would be
used by Jeanne’s parents and her sister’s children, and they
themselves would be staying there only for a month. He is
not very fond of his wife’s family and doesn’t wish to
make any investments there. He tells his wife that in no
way he is interested in buying the house. He argues with
his wife that he was never interested in even talking about
the house. He even talks in a very dry manner with Juliette
to discourage any deal between her and Jeanne.
After Gaston has made his profit of one thousand
francs, his stance regarding the villa changes completely.
Jeanne is shocked at this, but he convinces her that now he
has changed his mind and wants to buy the villa to please
her, that he has no problem even if her parents stayed
there, and that the villa would be useful for them also in
their old age.

5. Who is better in business – Juliette or Gaston?
Why?
Ans : For doing business, one has to be businessminded.
When it is a game of profits, investments, losses,
one has to be hard-core, unscrupulous and manipulative.
Qualities like human considerations, honesty go for a toss.
What wins the day is foresight, opportunism and the ability
to outsmart others. That is where Gaston scores over
Juliette. Juliette wishes to sell the villa to cut her losses,
whereas it is Gaston who walks away with the chunk of
profit with his shrewdness.
Julliette has no idea about real estate. She curses
herself for spending so much money to buy it. When she
wishes to sell it, hardly any customers turn up. To get her
due, Juliette tries her best to bargain, to hard sell the
house. She presents the villa in such a positive light and
psychologically blackmails the couple into buying the
house. She uses all the business tactics – flattery, bargain,
pressure etc. Juliette lacks the business acumen to take
advantage of the fact that her villa was near French
Hollywood.
It is also sheer luck that Gaston is there to reap the
harvest, which others have sown. When Mrs Al Smith
shows interest, Gaston leads her on, never contradicting,
and lets the case of mistaken identity go on. He is quick,
decisive, smart and seals the deal with Mrs Al Smith,
before the real owner appears. He takes three hundred
thousand francs from Mrs Al Smith, gives two hundred
thousand to Juliette and walks away with a neat profit of
one hundred thousand. He has pleased his wife in the
bargain, along with Juliette. The villa that was a losing
proposition now becomes most lucrative along with the
antique painting, the value of which was not known to
anyone.
6. Gaston, being a keen observer, made mental
notes about Mrs. Al Smith, her behaviour and her
opinions. Describe Mrs. Al Smith and your meeting
with her to your business partner in a letter, telling him
about the profitable deal that you made.
[CBSE 2010 (Term I)]


7. Juliette’s maid is witness to the activities that
take place in the Villa that day. She is in dilemma
whether to tell Juliette how Gaston sold the Villa before
buying it or to keep quiet about it as the money has
been paid. She writes a page in her diary expressing her
feelings. Write her diary. [CBSE 2010 (Term I)]