TOO DEAR!

SUMMARY:

“Too Dear!” is a story written by count Leo Tolstoy, a famous Russian writer, master of realistic fiction and is widely considered one of the world’s greatest novelists. The story “Too Dear!” is a parody of one of the modern systems of governance. It ridicules the ways of punishing criminals and dispensing justice in modern states. The story is narrated in a matter-of fact-tone but with an undercurrent of sarcasm. Leo Tolstoy satirizes the thirst for power, exercised by men of the upper class, and how it affects society. In addition, it also raises a serious question on capital punishment. All is well in the kingdom of Monaco until a man commits a murder. The king had never had to deal with the murder until the man was sentenced to death. He runs into considerable trouble trying to carry out the sentence. Monaco had neither guillotine nor an executioner, so they requested the government of France. France agreed to send the requirements for the sum of 16000 francs.

This would require imposing more tax on people. So the king requested help from the king of Italy who agreed to provide the requirements at the cost of 12000 francs. As the King found the expenses unaffordable, the death sentence was altered to imprisonment for life. Life imprisonment however presented its own set of problems. There needed to be a guard to watch the criminal and provide him food. The costs came to be 600 francs, which would still require an increase in taxes. It was decided that the guard should be dismissed, at the risk of losing the prisoner. The prisoner however did not try to escape and continued to stay in the prison. It was then agreed to pay an annuity of 600 francs by the government and he left the King’s domains. In the concluding paragraph, the narrator comments that it is good that the prisoner did not commit his crime in a country where they do not grudge expense to get a man’s head off or to keep him in prison for life. The author seems to question the very conviction of the rulers and about the system of law and governance instituted by them. The author seems to appreciate the courage and open-mindedness of Monaco and acknowledging their limitations and letting the prisoner free on humanitarian grounds. It is worth noting that the writer puns on the title “Too Dear!” which means either too expensive or of great value. The author leaves it to the reader to decide whether “Too Dear!” refers to executing the criminal or saving the criminal’s life.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

1. Kingdom of Monaco – Near Borders of France and Italy.
2. Shore of Mediterranean Sea
3. 7,000 Inhabitants
4. Like the small country town
5. TOY KINGDOM – REAL KINGLET
- Palace, Courtiers, Ministers, Laws, Courts of justice, Bishops, Generals.
- Army consists of just 60 Men
6. TAXES
- Tobacco, Wine, Poll tax
- Monopoly in a Gaming House – Roulette because of it Monaco Govt. rakes in money.
- Problem – Youngman (Rascal) commits murder unprecedented event.
7. DECISION – 1
- His head cut off as law
HITCH IN FOLLOWING
- Non-availability of Guillotine and executioner unaffordable
- French Govt – 16,000 francs, Italian Govt – 12,000 francs
- Military men do not accept the proposal of executing the man
8. DECISION – 2
- Life imprisonment, Hitch, Jail, Guard, Food. Result: - Expenses – Above 600 Francs.
9. DECISION – 3
- Dismisses guard and offers a safe escape
- Murderer is offered 600 Francs pension for a lifetime to leave the king’s domain for a lifetime
- Given ⅓ of annuity in advance
- Murderer buys lands and starts market gardening
10. TITLE
Too Dear! This is justified because the per capita income of Monaco is 2 Francs expenditure to cope up with the murderer (Rascal) comes up to 600 Francs per year for his remaining life.

IT’S TOO DEAR!!!!!

Questions and Answers

I. Answer the following questions in a word, a phrase or a sentence each.

Answer: King of Italy.

Answer: 16,000 Francs

Answer: Germany Sovereigns

Answer: Gaming houses

Answer: Because they could not afford a guillotine nor an executioner

Answer: Death sentence

Answer: Tobacco/wine and spirits/poll tax/gaming houses

Answer: The guard was expected to watch the criminal and also fetch his food from the palace kitchen

Answer: Game of Roulette

Answer: Seven thousand inhabitants

Answer: Sixty men.

Answer: A guillotine is a machine used to execute the head of a criminal.

Answer: Executioner.

Answer: The French government.

Answer: Twelve thousand francs, including the travelling expenses.

Answer: The soldier gave the reason that they were not trained to do so.

Answer: 600 francs.

Answer: Honest Labour alone cannot earn riches. One has to take resort to dishonest measures in order to earn beyond means.

Answer: Drawn or Shoot himself

Answer: To Head Cut off

Answer: The Rascal was really not worth the money.

Answer: One – Third of his annuity.

Answer: Because execution was too expensive.

Answer: Gaming House, where people play Roulette.

Answer: Palace Kitchen.

Answer: The kingdom of Monaco was near the borders of France and Italy, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It had only seven thousand inhabitants and a small army of sixty men. This toy kingdom also had a king, a palace, courtiers, bishops, generals etc.

Answer: The people of the kingdom of Monaco had to pay taxes on tobacco and wine.

Answer: A man committed the crime of murdering someone. This had never happened before in this peace-loving kingdom. The murderer was sentenced to death after the trial.

Answer: The murderer was sentenced to death for his crime. The king announced to execute the murderer.

Answer: The only hitch in executing the death sentence was that the kingdom had neither the guillotine and nor the executioner.

Answer: When the ministers found that they had neither the guillotine and nor the executioner, they made an inquiry in the neighbouring countries to get it on rent. 

Answer: The convict’s punishment was changed from a death sentence to life imprisonment because the kingdom could not afford to rent a guillotine and an executioner.

Answer: The murderer was locked in prison. A guard was appointed to keep a watch on him and fetch him food from the palace kitchen.

Answer: At the end of one year of the imprisonment of the murderer, the king found that they had to spend a lot on the guard appointed for him. So they dismissed the guard.

Answer: The prisoner did not escape from the prison saying that he had nowhere to go. He complained that the king had ruined his name and character. He even told the king that he had harassed him by removing the guard.

Answer: The government had to promise him to pay the annual pension of 600 francs and they even had to give him one-third of it in advance.

Answer: According to the author, it was a good thing that he did not commit his crime in a country where they do not grudge expense to cut a man’s head off or keep him in prison for life

II. Short Note

1. The Kingdom of Monaco:

The kingdom of Monaco was near the borders of France and Italy, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It had only seven thousand inhabitants and a small army of sixty men. This toy kingdom also had a king, a palace, courtiers, bishops, generals etc. The people of the kingdom of Monaco had to pay taxes on tobacco and wine. The people of the kingdom were peace-loving and there occurred no major crime in the kingdom.

The king found that he fell short of money to run the kingdom efficiently. So, he opened a gaming house in his kingdom; where roulette was played by the people of the kingdom and even by those from the neighbouring countries. Thus the king could get a share out of the profits earned in the gaming house.

But, once when a murder happened, the murderer was put to trial and sentenced to death. The kingdom neither had the guillotine nor the executioner. So they tried to rent it, but it proved to be a costly affair. Later they decided to give him life imprisonment. This also could not be afforded by them. Finally, they had to get rid of the murderer by offering him a pension of 600 francs per year.

2. The murderer’s shrewd and practical character:

The murderer committed a crime in the kingdom of Monaco. He was put to trial by the court of the kingdom. After much discussion, he was sentenced to death. It was declared that he should be executed; but, the kingdom neither had a guillotine, nor an executioner. The king was not ready to spend money on renting the guillotine and the executioner from Italy or France. Thus it was declared that the murderer should be imprisoned for life. A guard was appointed outside the prison that not only guarded but also brought food for him from the palace kitchen.

The annual expense of the kingdom increased due to the murderer. Thus the guard was removed. The king waited for the prisoner to run away. But to his surprise, the prisoner decided to stay in the prison. He even fetched food for himself from the kitchen and locked himself back in the room.

The king summoned him and asked him that why did he not run away. The prisoner was very shrewd and practical. He told the king that he had nowhere to go. He blamed the king for spoiling his name and character. He said that now he would not even get a job. He argued that he should have been executed when once declared. Thus the king had to pay him a pension of 600 francs per year to get rid of him. He got one-third of it in advance. He purchased land at the borders of the kingdom and started market gardening. He made a point to come regularly to collect his pension.

3. The ending of the story:

The ending of the story was quite unusual and unexpected. The annual expense of the kingdom increased due to the murderer. Thus the guard was removed. The king waited for the prisoner to run away. But to his surprise, the prisoner decided to stay in the prison. He even fetched food for himself from the kitchen and locked himself back in the room.

The king summoned him and asked him that why did he not run away. The prisoner was very shrewd and practical. He told the king that he had nowhere to go. He blamed the king for spoiling his name and character. He said that now he would not even get a job. He argued that he should have been executed when once declared. Thus the king had to pay him a pension of 600 francs per year to get rid of him. He got one-third of it in advance. He purchased land at the borders of the kingdom and started market gardening. He made a point to come regularly to collect his pension.

According to the author, it was a good thing that the murderer did not commit his crime in a country where they do not grudge expense to cut a man’s head off or keep him in prison for life.

4. The title of the story:

The title of the story is quite apt and suggestive. The story is about a king and his kingdom which finds it ‘too dear’ to handle a crime and a criminal.

A murderer committed a crime in the kingdom of Monaco. He was put to trial by the court of the kingdom. After much discussion, he was sentenced to death. It was declared that he should be executed; but, the kingdom neither had a guillotine, nor an executioner. The king was not ready to spend money on renting the guillotine and the executioner from Italy or France. Thus it was declared that the murderer should be imprisoned for life. A guard was appointed outside the prison that not only guarded but also brought food for him from the palace kitchen. The annual expense of the kingdom increased due to the murderer. Thus the guard was removed. The king waited for the prisoner to run away.

But to his surprise, the prisoner decided to stay in the prison. He even fetched food for himself from the kitchen and locked himself back in the room. The king summoned him and asked him that why did he not run away. The prisoner was very shrewd and practical. He told the king that he had nowhere to go. He blamed the king for spoiling his name and character. He said that now he would not even get a job. He argued that he should have been executed when once declared. Thus the king had to pay him a pension of 600 francs per year to get rid of him. He got one-third of it in advance. He purchased land at the borders of the kingdom and started market gardening. He made a point to come regularly to collect his pension. Thus it proved to be too dear for the king.

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III. Answer the following questions in about 200 words.

Answer: The authorities in Monaco failed to carry out the death sentence because there was neither a Guillotine nor an executioner. Though they tried to borrow a machine and an expert from France and Italy, they realized that it would cost a huge sum of money and the king would be forced to collect nearly two francs more per head on taxes. Therefore, the authorities cancelled the idea of carrying out the death sentence.

Answer: The narrator begins by telling about the location of Monaco. It was located near the borders of France and Italy on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a small kingdom that just has seven thousand inhabitants and if all the land in the kingdom were divided there would not be even an acre for each inhabitant.

The narrator calls it a toy kingdom as it did not have that glory, splendour and strength of a large kingdom. In this kingdom, there was a kinglet and he had a palace and courtiers, ministers and a Bishop and generals and an army. The kingdom in all had only sixty men as an army. There were also taxes in the kingdom. The items that were taxed were tobacco, wine and spirits and poll tax

Answer: As though to disrupt peace murder was committed in the kingdom. The council and the king sentenced the criminal to a life sentence. But due to the lack of a Guillotine and an executioner the sentence is reduced to life imprisonment. After a period of six months, the king notices a new item of expenditure and he notices that the amount was spent on the criminal. Again the council was summoned and they decide to dismiss the guard so that the prisoner will run away from the prison but unfortunately the prisoner does not run away but he takes food from the palace kitchen and again locks himself up in the cell.

Finally, the council asks him why he did not go away when there was no guard to watch over him and the criminal gives his own reasons as to why he did not go away from the prison. Finally, the council and king pay pension to the criminal and send him away from the prison. So we see at various times the council and king give different sorts of punishment to the criminal.

Answer: The prisoner refused to escape from the prison because the judgment given by the king of Monaco had ruined his character as he was termed ‘A Murderer’ and the people of Monaco would turn their backs on him. Besides, nobody would employ him and he had to go without work. He felt that he was treated badly and it was not fair to ask him to move out of prison. He said that first as he was sentenced to death, he must have been executed. It did not happen and he had not complained about the same.

The judgement was changed and he was sentenced for life and a guard was put to bring him the food, but he too was removed with the changing judgement for the third time. This time, he was asked to go away from the prison which he was not willing to do, as he found his life secured inside the prison.

Answer: The king of Monaco offered a pension of 600 Francs to get rid of the criminal who had committed a murder. The criminal agreed to go away from the kingdom on the condition that he has to receive his pension regularly on time. The prisoner received one–third of his annuity in advance. He emigrated and settled just across the frontier. He brought a piece of land and started market – gardening and lived comfortably. Regularly, he went to draw his pension enjoyed gaming and lived peacefully and happily.

Answer: The king of Monaco levied taxes on tobacco, wine and spirit, apart from a poll tax. But there were such a few people in the country that the tax earned by these sources was not enough for the king to maintain his courtiers and official and his kingdom. Therefore, he had to resort to the tax obtained from gaming houses.

Answer: Monaco, the kinglet though had a well-coordinated legal system but there was an absence of means of execution to cut off the criminal’s head. The king did not have a Guillotine machine and an executioner in his kingdom so he tried buying it from France but that would cost 16,000 Francs. Then, the king approached Italy, but Italy also quoted 12,000 Francs.

Both these amounts were too high and could not have been accepted so the king asked his general to find a soldier in his army who could cut the head roughly. But the soldiers replied that they were not trained to do so. So the king changed his punishment to life imprisonment and kept a guard to watch him. But after one year, the king met him in the prison. Then he was asked to run away but he refused to do so till they promised him an annual lifelong pension of 600 Francs.

Answer: Monaco is a small kingdom with hardly seven thousand inhabitants. The writer describes it as a ‘Toy Kingdom’. But it had a king and ministers and his army. The problem is the kingdom started when a murder was committed. The prisoner was tried in the court of law and was given the death sentence. His head was to cut off. But the state had neither Guillotine nor the executioner.

So they thought of buying it from France and Italy, their neighbouring countries. France asked for 16,000 Francs while Italy quoted 12,000 Francs. The king decided that it was too expensive and not worth it so the punishment was changed to life imprisonment but after a year the king realized that they were spending 600 Francs on the prisoner. Again they found it too expensive and the prisoner was asked to run away, but he didn’t till they promised him an annual lifelong pension of 600 Francs.

The decision of the king and the advice given by the ministers, both were worth a laugh. Moreover, the maintenance of criminal in prison and the amount spent by the state on them is also mocked. To get rid of the criminal only after promising a lifelong annual pension of 600 Francs. The criminal who was supposed to be punished by the state now enjoyed his life on the state’s money. He gambled in a gaming house and spent a happy life thereafter.

Answer: The Prisoner did not show any signs of running away and this got the ministers worried. The criminal was brought to the Minister of Justice. He suggested to the prisoner to run away. The prisoner told the minister that he had nowhere to go and accused them of ruining his character by sentencing him to death.

The prisoner told them that having been confined to the prison, he had given up his habit of working. He actually resented their action in not executing him. He finally told them that he would not like to agree to their proposal that he should run away and escape. The ministers decided to pay the prisoner a fixed sum of 600 Frans as pension. On receiving the news, the prisoner told them that he would go away on that condition but they must undertake to pay it regularly. The prisoner received one-third of his annuity in advance and left the king’s dominions.