About the Author
Guy De Maupassant was a great French writer. He was one of the best short story writers in the world. He was a representative of the naturalist school of writers. He depicted human lives often in pessimistic terms. He wrote more than three hundred stories. He also wrote novels, travel books, and poetry.
Theme of the Story
The story of ‘The Necklace’ is a satire that gives a strong message on human values. The very first thing that this lesson teaches us is that everyone should be content in life with whatever little that he has. One should live within one’s means or else he invites unnecessary problems, anxieties, and confusion in life. The most important message of the story is that we should be what we are. There is a facade among most of the individuals that they just want to be like someone who they are not so that they can be liked by people. But all individuals need to learn the fact that you can't change what your policy doesn't even need to be like someone. You are best as you are and you are unique in your own way. Every individual has his/ her own style and if you change that also, then what will make you unique from others will not be there anymore. So you just need to accept yourself and move forward to improve yourself by inculcating good qualities in yourself. If you want to improve yourself then you need to cultivate good qualities in yourself so that you can lead the life of a respectable person.
It is often observed that people tend to be the ones whom they think people like more and in that process, they eventually lose their own identity. Self-acceptance is what is lacking in today's generation. It is not about thinking someone can not be superior to you, it is realizing and accepting the fact that you are not inferior to anyone. You should be proud of yourself and learn to accept your flaws and weaknesses. Only when you accept your weakness can you improve yourself. If you seriously want to make some positive changes in your life, then start accepting yourself just the way you are. False pride or show-off is the cause of our sufferings. Mrs Loisel had lost the necklace that she had borrowed from her friend and instead of confessing it to the owner, she got into more debt and poverty to repay the amount. The story tells us about the negative effects of pride and vanity and emphasizes the importance of being content with what one has.
Summary of The Necklace
The story ‘The Necklace’ was written seven hundred years ago by Guy De Maupassant in France. Matilda Loisel lived in a small flat with her husband who worked as a clerk for the Minister of Education. Matilda was a very pretty young lady. Neither did they live a luxurious life nor were they poor. Matilda was very unhappy because she always thought that she was born for all luxuries in the world but she had to live a petty and simple life.
Her husband brought an invitation to a dinner party organized by his office. He thought his wife would be excited but instead, she was upset. She complained that she had nothing suitable to wear to such a great occasion. Her husband generously agreed to give her four hundred francs that he had saved to buy a new rifle to get herself a dress. Matilda became anxious in the week of the party. On asking her she told her husband that she had no jewellery policy with her gown. He suggested that perhaps she could borrow something from her friend Jeanne Forestier. Jeanne heard her story of distress and she generously opened her box of jewels. Matilda borrowed a sparkling diamond necklace.
Matilda and her husband attended the gala and had a great time. Matilda looked very pretty, elegant, and graceful. Everyone at the party noticed her and they all wanted to be introduced to her. She was so glorified by her beauty that she became very careless. They arrived home in the early hours of the morning. When Matilda viewed her glory in the mirror, she realized the necklace was missing. They searched for it everywhere in the house. They wondered if it fell in the cab that brought them home but neither of them noticed the number. Matilda’s husband went out to search the streets but returned empty-handed. He also went to the policeman and to the cab offices to raise a complaint. He advertised in the newspaper and offered a reward. To buy some time from Jeanne, Matilda wrote a letter that she broke the clasp of the necklace and so she sent it for repair. In the meantime, they found a similar kind of necklace. The cost of the necklace was thirty-six thousand francs. Her husband inherited eighteen thousand francs from his father and he borrowed the rest of the amount from the moneylenders. Finally, they purchased the necklace and Matilda gave it to Jeanne who did not care to look at it.
Matilda’s life changed dramatically in the next ten years. They moved to a much smaller apartment where she cooked and cleaned herself. Her husband did multiple jobs and she also did other work to pay all the money they had borrowed. After ten years, they were able to pay all the money back but by then Matilda had aged a lot.
One day, Matilda met Jeanne Forestier. She decided to confess the truth about the necklace. Jeanne was surprised to see Matilda’s state. Matilda told her that she had lost the necklace that she borrowed from her and had to pay a huge amount for the replacement. Jeanne was shocked to hear the entire story behind the necklace and she confessed that the necklace Matilda borrowed was a fake, which was not more than worth five hundred francs.
Conclusion
The lesson of the story is ‘Honesty is the best policy. If Matilda honestly told her friend the truth about the necklace, she would have learned that the necklace wasn’t made of real diamonds and that would have saved her from living a miserable life for ten years.
It is a fact that many times people either hide the truth or they just simply lie so that they can get saved from punishment or the anger of their loved ones. However, it should always be kept in mind that the ones close to us will never hold us responsible for little follies, only if we tell the truth and accept our mistakes.
FAQs on The Necklace Summary
1. What Kind of a Person is Mrs. Loisel? Why is She Always Unhappy?
Mrs Loisel was a young, pretty, and ordinary but discontented woman. She was of a simple and ordinary background but dreamed of riches and comforts. Besides this, she was a lady who believed that showing off your worth is more important. She always was n't interested in being the centre of attraction, this is the main reason that she led herself into such a disaster after living a poor life for almost 10 years. We can also observe that she lacks a sense of honesty. She was proud of her beauty and wanted to be admired. Her meagre resources were not enough to satisfy her expensive cravings, making her angry all the time.
2. How Did Mrs Loisel Manage to Buy a Diamond Necklace to Return it to Jeanne Forestier? What Were the Consequences?
Mr and Mrs Loisel spent all their savings, i.e., eighteen thousand francs which Mr Loisel inherited from his father. They borrowed the rest of the money from usurers at high interest. They had to arrange thirty-six thousand francs for the new diamond necklace. All this ruined their life. They rented a small room in the attic and they had to let their maid go. Matilda did all the household chores herself and also did odd jobs besides. Mr Loisel had to do multiple jobs to save money. He worked late at night after office hours, putting the books of some merchants or copying pages at five soups a page to earn extra money. Thus, a little act of carelessness and dishonesty by Matilda led her to 10 years of having a miserable state. Here, we learn that it is fine if you make a mistake but you need to learn thus that honesty is the best policy. If you commit errors, it is always advisable to accept the mistake.
3. What would have happened to Matilda, if She Had Confessed to Her Friend that She had Lost Her Necklace?
If Matilda were being honest to her friend about her mistake then she would have been saved from her doom. If only she dared to confess to her friend about the truth of the necklace, she would have come to know that the necklace was not made of real diamonds and that it was only worth five hundred francs. She would not have spent her husband’s entire savings that he had inherited from his father and borrowed eighteen thousand francs to pay for its replacement. She would have saved herself and her husband from ten long years of miserable life. If only she had been considerate, she could have continued living her normal life, instead of the one that she lived after her carelessness but this incident indeed was a turning point in her life.
4. What Kind of a Husband was Mr Loisel?
Mr Loisel was a simple man and he was a clerk in the office of the Board of Education. He knew his limitations but he was very generous and kind to sacrifice his savings to make his wife happy. He was a caring and loving husband who always stood by his wife. From the story, we conclude that even when his wife committed such a grave mistake, he was ready to save her. This proves how good a husband he was. It is not only this, but he also just spent all his inherited money and even became indebted just to save his wife and repent for the mistakes of his wife.
5. What lesson have you learnt from this chapter?
This chapter gives you the lesson that you should be honest and even if you have committed any mistake, you should have enough courage to accept your mistake. Maybe accepting your mistake can prevent you from facing hard situations with repentance. As in this story, we know that it was not a grave mistake committed by Matilda but just that she lacked the courage to accept her fault and be honest in front of her friend.