The Necklace

🇫🇷 France: The Necklace, Guy de Maupassant

Summary

Mathilde Loisel, a woman who believes she was born for a life of luxury, is married to a modest clerk.  She is constantly dissatisfied with her lot, yearning for beautiful clothes and jewels. One day, her husband brings home an invitation to a prestigious ball, hoping to please her. Instead, Mathilde is distraught, as she has nothing glamorous to wear. To appease her, her husband allows her to buy a new dress and suggests she borrow jewellery from her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier. Mathilde chooses a stunning diamond necklace.

At the ball, Mathilde is the belle of the ball, finally experiencing the life she craves. However, her happiness is short-lived.  Upon returning home, she discovers the necklace is missing.  Panic-stricken, she and her husband decide to replace it with an identical one, a decision that plunges them into a decade of crippling debt and poverty. Mathilde spends her days toiling to repay the loan, her beauty and spirit fading under the weight of hardship.

After ten long years, the debt is finally repaid.  One day, Mathilde encounters Madame Forestier, who barely recognises the haggard, aged woman she has become.  Mathilde confesses about losing the necklace and the years of sacrifice to replace it.  To her utter shock, Madame Forestier reveals the original necklace was merely a cheap imitation, worth a fraction of what they paid.

The story ends with the revelation of the necklace's true worth, highlighting the irony of Mathilde's situation.  Her obsession with appearances and her yearning for a life beyond her reach ultimately led to her ruin. The Necklace serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of envy, pride, and the deceptive nature of appearances.

Discussion questions