The Necklace
| "The Necklace" | |
|---|---|
 La Parure, illustration of the title page of the Gil Blas, 8 October 1893 |
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| Author | Guy de Maupassant |
| Original title | "La Parure" |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre(s) | Short Story |
| Publication date | 1884 |
The Necklace or The Diamond Necklace (French: La Parure) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant, first published in 1884 in the French newspaper Le Gaulois.[1] The story has become one of Maupassant's popular works and is well known for its ending. It is also the inspiration for Henry James's short story, "Paste".[citation needed] It has been dramatised as a musical by the Irish composer Conor Mitchell;[2] it was first produced professionally by Thomas Hopkins and Andrew Jenkins for Surefire Theatrical Ltd at the Edinburgh Festival in 2007.
[edit] Plot Summary
"The Necklace" tells the story of Madame Mathilde Loisel and her husband Charles. Mathilde always imagined herself in a high social position with wonderful jewels. However she has nothing and marries a low paid clerk who tries his best to make her happy.
Through lots of begging at work, he is able to get two invitations to the Ministry of the Public Instruction party. Mathilde then refuses to go, for she has nothing to wear. Her husband is upset to see her displeasure and, using money that he was saving to buy a rifle, gives Mathilde 400 francs and lets his wife buy a dress that suits her. Mathilde goes out and buys a dress but even with the clothes Mathilde is still not happy since she has no jewels to wear with it. The pair does not have much money left, so her husband suggests that she buys roses to wear with it, but after Mathilde disagrees he suggests borrowing something from her friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde picks out the fanciest diamond necklace that she can find. After attending the Ministry of Public Instruction party, Mathilde discovers that she has lost the necklace.
Mathilde and her husband look everywhere but the necklace is not to be found. They take out loans from generous friends and loan sharks to buy a diamond necklace that looks just like the one that was lost. It takes them ten years of hard labor to come up with the 36,000 francs necessary to pay them back. Toward the end, Mathilde takes a walk, remembering her past and the night when the necklace was lost. Suddenly she sees Madame Jeanne Forestier and goes to meet her. Mathilde confesses about that night and how she worked so hard to return her necklace. Mme. Forestier, deeply moved, tells Mathilde that the one she had borrowed was made of paste, not real diamonds, and that it was worth at most 500 francs.
[edit] Adaptations
In 1921 the story was adapted into a British silent film The Diamond Necklace directed by Denison Clift and starring Milton Rosmer, Jessie Winter and Warwick Ward.
It was adapted into television series, Katha Sagar (1986) directed by Shyam Benegal.
[edit] References
- ^ Roberts, Edgar (1991). Writing Themes About Literature. Prentice Hall. p. 4.
- ^ Rudden, Liam (15 August 2008). "Mathilde makes it to the stage". Edinburgh Evening News. http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/previews?articleid=4394435. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
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