AUTHOR

Guy de Maupassant

5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, and as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives and destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms.

CHARACTERS

Mathilde Loisel

The protagonist of the story. Mathilde has been blessed with physical beauty but not with the affluent lifestyle she yearns for, and she feels deeply discontented with her lot in life. When she prepares to attend a fancy party, she borrows a diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier, then loses the necklace and must work for ten years to pay off a replacement. Her one night of radiance cost her and Monsieur Loisel any chance for future happiness.

Monsieur Loisel

Mathilde’s husband. Monsieur Loisel is content with the small pleasures of his life but does his best to appease Mathilde’s demands and assuage her complaints. He loves Mathilde immensely but does not truly understand her, and he seems to underestimate the depth of her unhappiness. When Mathilde loses the necklace, Monsieur Loisel sacrifices his own future to help her repay the debt. He pays dearly for something he had never wanted in the first place.

Madame Forestier

Mathilde’s wealthy friend. Madame Forestier treats Mathilde kindly, but Mathilde is bitterly jealous of Madame Forestier’s wealth, and the kindness pains her. Madame Forestier lends Mathilde the necklace for the party and does not inspect it when Mathilde returns it. She is horrified to realize that Mathilde has wasted her life trying to pay for a replacement necklace, when the original necklace had actually been worth nothing.

THEMES

Reality and Illusion

Ambition, Greed, and Material Possessions

Sacrifice, Suffering, and Martyrdom

Happiness

The Necklace Summary

A lady, Mathilde Loisel lived in a flat with her husband. He worked as a clerk for the Ministry of Education. They were not able to live a luxurious life. However, they were not poor, merely simple. However, Mathilde’s desire was to be rich. She felt irritated, disappointed and sad of not having a large house. Moreover, she desired to have good dresses, lots of jewelry which made her sad.

One day his husband brings her an invitation to a fancy party. It was an invitation to the ball. He thought his wife would be very excited about seeing the invitation letter. However, his wife, instead of being happy, threw away the invitation letter and started crying. She complained about not having a pretty dress to wear on such a great occasion. She wanted to seek admiration for everyone. Also, she wanted to be a success at the party. His gentle husband gave her four hundred francs to buy a pretty dress. He had saved the money to buy a rifle.

The week of the party approached. His wife seemed to be anxious again. She was upset as she felt that she didn’t have any jewelry to wear with the dress. Her husband suggests her to ask the same from his friend Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde went to her house and borrowed a sparkling necklace.

Mathilde, along with his husband enjoyed a lot at the party. She was successful in seeking everyone’s attention to her. Then, they headed for home during the odd hours in the morning. On reaching home, Mathilde was surprised on not finding a necklace around her neck. They both felt that it might have fallen down in the cab which they took to reach home. Also, he searched on the streets they have come through.

Moreover, he approached the police, gave advertisement but all in vain. Her husband asked her to write a letter to her friend. She wrote that she had the clasp broken and is getting it repaired. Meanwhile, they were successful in searching for a similar necklace. However, it cost thirty-six thousand francs. His husband has inherited eighteen thousand francs from his father. However, they had to borrow the remaining money. They managed to buy the necklace through inherited and borrowed money.

But it took them a period of ten years to repay the borrowed amount. In these years, their lives have drastically changed. They moved to a smaller apartment, cleaned and cooked herself. Moreover, his husband did multiple jobs to repay the amount. Also, she looked like a strong woman of a poor household. She looked very aged. One day she saw Miss Jeanne Forestier on the street. She decided to tell her the truth about the necklace. The latter was stunned by the rough appearance of the former. Moreover, on learning the truth of necklace, Jeanne Forestier told that it was a fake one. The worth of the same was no more than five hundred francs.

QUESTION- ANSWERS

1. How did Loisels manage to pay for the necklace?

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Answer: The necklace cost Loisels thirty six thousand francs. Loisel had to chip in his entire his inheritance of eighteen thousand francs and the rest he had to borrow from the usurers. This cost them a fortune and they had to spend the rest of their lives in misery and poverty.

2.  Describe Mme Loisel after ten years.

Answer: Ten years of poverty and hardship steal away Matilda’s youth and beauty. She becomes strong and and hard woman, who is poorly dressed with untidy hair and reg ragged hands.  As she has to live a hard life after the lost necklace of Mme Forestier that she returned and it cost her a fortune.

3.Why did Matilda not want to see her rich friends? �Answer:�Matilda did not want to see her rich friends because she did not have jewels, nothing to adorn herself with. Besides, she did not have any suitable dress for the party. She thought that without having these valuable things she would have a poverty-stricken look in the midst of rich friends.