Resumo de The Necklace - Guy De Maupassant

Known as one of the precursors of modern short story, Guy De Maupassant wrote ?The Necklace? (1885) to teach humanity that all that glitters is actually not always gold and that there is more to life than just the outer pomp and show. The setting of the story is 19th century France, but the theme of the story transcends beyond the 19th century and has a universal appeal as well as significance.

The story deals with a husband, who is a clerk, and a wife (Madame Moiselle Mathilde Loisel) belonging to middle class French society. Both are invited to a fashionable party that is to be attended by the rich and the high class members of the French society. Mathilde becomes sad on hearing about the invitation because she does not have a good dress to wear. Both buy a very pretty and expensive dress for the party. But now Mathilde feels that she needs jewelry to complement the dress. She borrows a diamond necklace from one of her wealthy friends, Madame Moiselle Forestier. Mathilde has a great time in the party as everyone admires her and she completely feels one with the rich and the famous. She is liked and appreciated by the guests and this makes her really happy.

The twist in the story takes place after the party when the couple returns back home and discovers that the necklace is missing. Both of them look for it at every possible place, but in vain. Mathilde does not want to tell her friend that she has lost the necklace and she convinces her husband to replace the necklace, even if it means going in debt to buy a new one. They buy a new necklace that looks exactly like the original one and it takes them ten long, arduous years to repay the debt. These ten years take away the prime, beauty, and happiness of the couple as they are bogged down by the tension of repaying the debt. The struggle and tension that the couple has to go through, ages Mathilde considerably. She meets her old friend from whom she had borrowed the necklace one day and reveals to her the truth about the necklace and how she had to repay the money for it. Her friend is shocked to hear all this because the necklace was not real diamonds but a fake one. It had cost her only 500 francs, whereas the husband and wife had to repay 3600 marcs for it.

The moral of the story seems to be to never lie and be dishonest to others, at the same time not to show more than you have. Maupassant seems to be reinforcing on the fact that show your true selves to others and don?t indulge in things that are beyond your capacity or reach. It is not money or high status in society that brings you respect, but your good work and good name in society that heightens you in people?s estimation. Also visible in the story is the theme that borrowing is never a good habit and can land one in trouble.

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