The Necklace
| "The Necklace" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Guy de Maupassant | |
| Original title | La Parure |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre(s) | Short Story |
| Publication | |
| 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. The story has become one of Maupassant's most popular works and is well known for its twist ending. It is also the inspiration for Henry James' short story, "Paste".[citation needed]
Plot summary
"The Necklace" tells the story of a nineteenth-century middle class French couple, Monsieur and Madame Mathilde Loisel. Madame Loisel is not content with her middle-class circumstances, and secretly resents not having the material luxuries of life. She spends a lot of time imagining herself in wealthy settings, hosting and attending high society gatherings.
Monsieur Loisel is a clerk in the Ministry of Public Instruction. He manages to obtain an invitation to an official dance at the Ministry. Madame Loisel is distraught because she has no suitable dress or jewelry for the dance. The clerk sacrifices his savings to buy her a dress, and suggests that she borrow some jewelry from her old friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Accordingly, Madame Loisel borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from her.
At the dance, the pretty Madame Loisel is the center of attraction, with even senior officials admiring her beauty and grace. She has a wonderful time until the early hours of the morning. When the couple return home, they discover that the necklace is missing.
Unable to bear the shame of informing Madame Forestier of the loss, Monsieur and Madame Loisel decide to buy an identical diamond necklace from the 'Palais Royal' as a replacement. The cost is extravagant - thirty-six thousand francs - a fortune at the time. Monsieur Loisel spends his entire inheritance and life savings, and incurs heavy debts to buy the replacement. They do not inform Madame Forestier of the change and spend the next ten years of their lives paying off the debts. Both Monsieur and Madame Loisel are forced to take on extra jobs and live in abject poverty - in time, the Madame comes to empathise with those she once looked down upon with disdain.
At the end of the ten years, Madame Loisel, now older, tougher and less graceful from years of hard manual labor—but immensely proud—has an opportunity to tell her old friend of the lost necklace. Madame Forestier is shocked and informs Madame Loisel that her original necklace was, in fact, an imitation, "...not worth over five hundred francs!"
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