The Necklace

by Guy de Maupassant, Gary Kelley (Illustrator)

After devoting their energies and income for ten years to replacing a borrowed diamond necklace which they have lost, a woman and her husband learn the irony of their efforts.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, School, France, French Literature, Read For School

48 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 1884

About the author

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless dénouement. He also wrote six short novels. A number of his stories often denote the futility of war and the innocent civilians who get crushed in it - many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s.

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Price of Dreams.

Madame Loisel lives a comfortable, yet somewhat humble life with her husband in downtown city. Quite unhappy with her modest surroundings, she always felt like she should’ve been born royalty, and frequently dreams of wealthy marriages, fancy dresses, fabulous jewels and high society parties. When one day she receives an invitation for a very exclusive party her whole world seems to crush down on her. Oh no! What on earth is she going to wear?

Arguably the most famed story by Guy de Maupassant and one of the best short stories I’ve ever read period, deserving a special place in my short literature shelf. Superb storytelling, an unforgettable ending and a concise moral message. Simply brilliant. This is one of the examples that always comes to mind whenever I think of short stories, and always makes me want to pick more of the author, although still have not found the time and pleasure to.

Ten pages of near complete perfection. Highly Recommendable.

It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.


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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1884] [10p] [Classics] [4.5] [Highly Recommendable]
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★★★★★ The Necklace [4.5]
★★★★☆ Un parricida y otros cuentos [3.5]

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El Precio de los Sueños.

Madame Loisel vive una confortable, aunque algo modesta vida con su esposo en el centro de la ciudad. Bastante infeliz con su humilde alrededor, siempre sintió que debería haber nacido como realeza, y frecuentemente sueña con matrimonios acaudalados, vestidos de gala, fabulosas joyas y fiestas de alta sociedad. Cuando un día recibe una invitación para una fiesta muy exclusiva siente que su mundo se viene abajo. ¡Oh no! ¿Y ahora con qué se va vestir para la fiesta?

Posiblemente el más afamado cuento de Guy de Maupassant y uno de los mejores cuentos cortos que leí jamás, mereciendo un lugar especial en mi estantería de la lectura corta. Sobresaliente narración, inolvidable final y un conciso mensaje moral. Simplemente brillante. Este es uno de los ejemplos que siempre viene a mi mente cuando pienso en cuentos cortos, y siempre me hace querer agarrar más del autor, aunque todavía no tuve el tiempo ni placer de poder hacerlo.

Diez páginas de casi complete perfección. Altamente Recomendable.

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.



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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1884] [10p] [Clásicos] [Altamente Recomendable]
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[Meghhnaa (On a Review-Writing Break!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you willing to dwindle away your invaluable life for coveting expensive, precious, materialistic possessions?
Yes, or no?

Whatever may be your answer, do read this short story baring the avaricious and mercenary female, Mathilde, and bringing her face-to-face with her own shallowness, but alas, she fails to learn, becoming more penurious than what she was, both materialistically and morally!

“The Necklace” is a remarkably compelling story teaching the readers lessons on appearance vs reality, avarice and it’s evil-outcome, beauty and the mirage, covetousness for material possessions and the ephemeral superficial delight that comes along!
It is a hands-down blockbuster 5-star read for me! 😊

Mathilde, born to a low-class, with no money for a dowry, is married to Monsieur Loisel, a clerk!

“She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.”
She thought herself entitled to all the luxuries, and indefatigably aimed for all the opulence!

She despises her married life, is discontented with the food on the stove, wails over her lack of fine clothing, and jewelry.
In short, she whines and wails for the lack of the worldly items, she perpetually craves!
One day she manages to go to a lavish ball by borrowing a necklace from a wealthy friend, Madame Forestier.

Finally losing the necklace, spending the rest of the ten years of her life toiling arduously in order to pay back the debts for the acquired fake necklace (replacing the original with a fake). After all, she had to pay back the purchase price of the fake!
What happens towards the end simply blew me away, leaving me gob-smacked! :-O (Concealing spoilers)!

Irrespective of being blessed with a pretty decent life, in the beginning, having food on the stove, living in a decent little apartment, bestowed by a loving dutiful husband who has a steady modest job, she is not appreciative of any of these, instead covets for more.
She lusts for sensual pleasures without paying heed to the real treasure that she already owns!
Constantly craving for the sensually stimulating, the worldly appealing possessions, aiming for the grandiose facade she can’t afford.
The irony is towards the end, she ends up owning even lesser than what she possessed in the beginning.

In my eyes her husband, M. Loisel, is the champion, the epitome of martyrdom, a sacrificial goat!

He incessantly toils unremittingly, just to provide comfort to his wife, and to bring a smile to her face. With what little meager resources he has, he tries re-paying back for the catastrophe brought about by his wife’s nuisance and folly of losing the necklace. He works additionally during the evenings apart from his regular job, taking up loans. It is just not to fill up the disaster for the lost necklace, but he also gives all the money for her dress for the ball, at the cost of his own wishes for himself.
I perpetually felt sorry for him throughout the read. He sets out on the mission of finding the necklace during the night, and does everything possible without complaining or whining! He did everything out of love and duty. Everyone appeared to be more sensible but for Mathilde!
Instead of yearning for the spiritual/emotional/intellectual life, she hankers for the superficial life, thus being the reason for her own downfall, ensuing to be more downtrodden and penurious than she was before. She lacks big time on pragmatism and lives a life of fantasy and greed! Emblematic of being a woman of vain and foolishness, overly attached to the material mundane!

NB- She couldn’t even stay honest with her friend, upon losing the necklace, she tries to conceal the truth by replacing the original with the fake!
Hence, she had to pay for the rest of her life, just for being dishonest ☹
Instead of submitting to the urge of sharing the twisted ending, I appeal to everyone who hasn’t read this brilliant story, to go and devour it without any further delay!
In this story the flag-bearer is the inanimate necklace, bringing life to this story of a female filled with avarice, dishonesty, folly, and immaturity! A short story with a gobsmacking twisted-ending, delivering plentiful of morale!

I was left captivated and flabbergasted by this charming necklace manufactured by Guy De Maupassant!

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think of all the millions of high school students, like myself, who were assigned to read Guy de Maupassant’s The Diamond Necklace and then participated in the ensuing class discussion on such themes as envy, greed, materialism, symbolism and irony. When I listened to the teacher talk about the story, there was something gnawing deep down inside me I couldn’t articulate – something about the story, some important element, that wasn’t being addressed in the teacher’s analysis. My teacher, Mrs. Martin, was a good teacher – she dutifully listed on the board Maupassant’s progression, step by step, as to why The Diamond Necklace is the perfect story. But something, I sensed, was missing.

Oh, how I wish I could project myself back into that high school class. I’d note how all those many men and women who have ever lived out their lives on the face of the earth, expending so much of their emotional and physical energy, gnashing of teeth, fretting, worrying, calculating, wearing themselves down year after year, all in efforts to accumulate wealth or impress others or force the details and rhythms of life to pattern themselves to accord with their own wishes, share Mathilde’s fate when they are told on their deathbed by life itself “All of what you worked so hard for was only paste.”

Link to Guy de Maupassant's The Diamond Necklace: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...

[Adina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story with a few powerful messages. One concerns vanity of women of the era and a second important one has to do with speaking the truth when you get the chance.

I enjoyed the story enough that I decided to read more by the author. I listened to The Necklace as part of an audiobook narrated by the wonderful George Guidall which includes 4 more short stories and a novella. I will listened to the whole thing and will write more about the author when I'm done.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and captivating story about a wife (Mathilde) whose husband tells her they are invited to a ballroom party. He really thought this invitation would please his wife. But she doesn't want to go because she has nothing to wear. (She wishes she was wealthy and wants better things in life.) Her husband gives her money to buy a new dress and she borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from a friend, which she loses later that night...

I don't want to give the rest of the story away since it is very short. It's sad how a lost necklace changed the course of this couple's life. (Maybe Mathilde should have appreciated what she had in life and shouldn't have tried so hard to impress others. I felt sorry for her husband.)

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diamonds may not be a girl's best friend.



My initial rating of this 1884 short story by the French author Guy du Maupassant was 3 1/2 stars, but after rereading it, I'm bumping it up to 4 stars, maybe even 4 1/2.

I first read "The Necklace" in a college English short story course, more years ago than I want to say. The professor was rather odd and had (I thought) an undue hang-up with making the students try to distill the meaning and theme of each story into a sentence that we would offer up to the rest of the class for dissection. But it was one of my more memorable college courses, and this is one of the more memorable stories we read in that class. Only a few of those stories have really stuck with me through the years. "The Necklace" is one of them. (A Rose for Emily is one of the others.)

This is an uncomfortable, maddening short story: Mathilde Loisel is bourgeois, married to an unimportant clerk. But she is beautiful and graceful and certain that she was meant for better things.

She suffered intensely, feeling herself born for every delicacy and every luxury. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the worn walls, the abraded chairs, the ugliness of the stuffs... She had no dresses, no jewelry, nothing. And she loved nothing else; she felt herself made for that only. She would so much have liked to please, to be envied, to be seductive and sought after.

Then one day her opportunity to be noticed, and surrounded by riches, arrives: her husband brings home an invitation to a party given by the Minister of Education. Mathilde manages to get the money for a new dress from her husband, who gives up his own dream of a new gun and a hunting vacation, and borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from a rich friend from her school days. And she has the time of her life at the party, until ... well, go read the story for yourself. It's very short. (Here's an online version.)

This story may have stuck with me for so long mostly because of the unexpected ending, but it also says some important things about our values, and pride, and human nature. Appearances may be deceiving, in more ways than one. What we sometimes think is important in our lives may not be at all. And things - or people - that we sometimes fail to appreciate enough may be where the real value lies. Monsieur Loisel only appears around the edges of the story, but he's the character I feel the most sympathy for.

Guy du Maupassant died at only age 43, in an asylum, suffering from the effects of syphilis. His epitaph, which he wrote: "I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing." Coming from the person who had enough insight to write "The Necklace," I find that intensely sad.

[Leonard Gaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”… While that may be so, The Necklace (1887) takes this premise and turns it on its head. Indeed, this morality tale starts like Cinderella: a young woman of humble social status dreams of a fancy lifestyle and exotic settings while struggling to make ends meet. One day, she gets an invitation to a ball at the Ministry. But instead of a fairy godmother, Mathilde Loisel (Maupassant’s heroine) has a third-rate clerk for a husband and an affluent friend with a jewellery box.

Mathilde’s situation, of course, is agony to her as she believes herself to be the victim of an unjust fate. In short, The Neckless is the story of a woman who grapples with quixotic fantasies. And, in a sense, Mathilde Loisel is as close a relative to Emma Bovary as her husband is to Akaky Akakievich. Like Flaubert and Gogol, Maupassant will test his characters to the limit. The least I can say is that the end of the story—in the vein of The Fisherman and His Wife—will violate every expectation.

See also: Femme Fatale.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mathilde is unhappy with her domestic circumstances, she has a desperate desire for the better things in life, but events lead to quite the opposite. There’s a hard lesson to be learned here!
Published in 1884 by Guy de Maupassant, it’s free here http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...

[Nayra.Hassan · Rating 3 out of 5]

فاُنْظُرْ بِعَقْلِكَ إنَّ العيَنَ كاذِبَةٌ؛واسْمَعْ بِقَلبِكَ إنّ السّمْعَ خوّانُ

.. عن اعمار ضائعة و حيوات  تهدر هباء
عن الرضا و درجاته و السعادة و أسبابها
عن العقل و قلته و النزاهة و مسمياتها
عن المظاهر الكاذبة و الصدق المؤجل
عن قرارات تدمرحياتك و لحظات سهو تغدرك
عن حقائق تًكتشف بعد فوات الأوان؛ فثير الرعب لا الرضا

ا” ليس هناك عار في الدنيا يفوق أن تكون فقيرا وسط نساء غنيات"؟!! ا
ماتيلدا امرأة بسيطة تقنع نفسها كذبا انها ارستقراطية.. تطلعاتها تفسد حياتها..و كمعظم البشر الحمقى لا تدرك قيمة ما لديها الا بعد فقدانه
كانت جميلة و شابة؛ لديها زوج محب و بيت متوسط  أنيق و خادمة صغيرة و دخل منتظم يكفيهم.. َو يرغب زوجها في اسعادها بحضور حفلة رسمية.. فهل ستسعد؟


القصة فقدت نجمات بسبب اني توقعتها كلها منذ البداية و دي موباسان مشهور بالنهايات الساخرة المريرة ..ربما في نهاية القرن ١٩ كانت مدهشة
و لكنى أراها" كليشيه "تنعت النساء بالغباء و التفاهة و السطحية و المظهرية.. بينما هي صفات مشتركة بين الجنسين
و القصة التي تقرر كثيرا في المدارس. . ستجدها مسموعة و ستجدها هنا ⬇️ كاملة بترجمة مبسطة في السبويلر المخفي


كانت امرأة جميلة من عائلة فقيرة . لم تحصل على مهرها، لم يكن لديها آمال أو فرصة للزواج من رجل ثري مشهور. فقد تزوجت موظفا عاديا يعمل في وزارة التربية .

لم تكن قادرة على شراء المجوهرات أو الثياب الثمينة لهذا السبب كانت تلبس ببساطة .

كانت تتألم طوال الوقت . شعرت أنها كان يجب أن تستمتع بالأشياء الجميلة في الحياة . كان الأثاث البالي والغرف البائسة في منزلها يسببان لها الكثير من الألم . هذه الأشياء كانت تثير في داخلها الغضب . منظر لها الكثير من الألم . هذه الأشياء كانت تثير في داخلها الغضب . منظر الفتاة الفقيرة الصغيرة التي تنظف بيتها أثار في وجدانها الحزن العميق والأحلام البرية . حلمت بغرف مفروشة بالسجاد السميك ومضاءة بمصابيح جميلة عديدة . حلمت بغرف استقبال مزودة بأثواب من الحرير العتيق وطاولات عليها تماثيل صغيرة وغرف جلوس مبخرة بالعطور وحلمت أيضا بحديث في موعد الشاي عند الغروب مع الصديقات المقربات والناس المشهورين .

عندما جلست على طاولة العشاء المستديرة وراقبت زوجها يجلس أمامها يرفع قدر الحساء ويصرخ فرحا : ” أه .. يا له من حساء طيب ! ليس هناك أفضل منـ…” تخيلت العشاءات الفاخرة الغنية مع ملاعق وشوك مصنوعة من الفضة . فكرت باللوردات والسيدات وهمساتهم أثناء تناول السمك الفاخر والدجاج المميز .

لم يكن لديها خزانة للملابس أو مجوهرات …لم يكن لديها شيء. وكانت هذه هي الأشياء التي تحبها أكثر من أي شيء آخر . تشعر دائما أنها خلقت لأشياء كهذه .أحبت أن ينظر اليها الناس ويعجبون بها .

لديها صديقة غنية ؛ فتاة كانت ترافقها أيام المدرسة . لكنها لم تكن تحب لقياها كثيرا لأنها كانت تشعر بالإحباط عندما تعود من زيارتها . وكانت تبكي لأيام بسبب اليأس والقنوط .

في أحدى الأمسيات وصل زوجها فرحا يلوح بظرف بين يديه .

وخاطبها قائلا: ” هاك هذا …هناك شيء لك ”

فتحت الظرف بحماس وأخرجت منه بطاقة مطبوعة كتب عليها :

” يسر السيد وزير التربية وعقيلته السيدة جرجس رامبونان أن يدعوا السيد والسيدة لوسيل لحفلة مسائية يوم الاثنين الثامن عشر من كانون الثاني .”

وبدل أن تشعر بالسرور كما كان يأمل زوجها ، رمت الدعوة على الطاولة وقالت بغضب :” ماذا تتوقع مني أن أفعل بها ؟ ”

أجابها زوجها بلطف: ” لماذا يا حبيبتي ؟ اعتقدت أنها ستسعدك كثيرا . أنت لا تخرجين مطلقا وهذه ستكون فرصة لتمتعي نفسك – لقد عانيتُ كثيرا في الحصول عليها . وكل موظف في الوزارة يريد هذه الدعوة . هناك القليل من الدعوات للموظفين . كل المسؤولين سيكونون هناك “.

نظرت إليه بغضب متزايد وفجأة انفجرت قائلة : ” ليس لدي ما ألبسه . كيف سأذهب ؟ ” .

تمتم قائلا إنه لم يفكر في هذا الموضوع من قبل وقال :” لكن ما رأيك بالفستان الذي ارتديته للمسرح؟ أعتقد أنه جميل….”

ثم لاذ بالصمت ودُهش كثيرا لرؤية زوجته تبكي . انهمرت دمعتان من زاويتي عينيها وتدحرجتا نزولا إلى زاويتي فمها . تحدث بصوت خفيض قائلا : ” ما هذا ؟ ما هذا ؟ ” .

وبصعوبة بالغة سيطرت على حزنها وأجابته بهدوء وهي تمسح دموعها: ” لا شيء ..كل ما في الأمر هو ليس لدي فستان سهرة ولا أستطيع أن أذهب للحفلة . أعط الدعوة إلى أحد أصدقائك الذي يمكن لزوجته أن تلبس أحسن مني ؟ ” .

غُلبَ على أمره فقال : ” أصغي يا ماتيلد . كم يكلف فستان السهرة- فستان مناسب يمكن أن ترتديه في مناسبات أخرى – فستان بسيط ؟ ”

فكرت لعدة ثوان وأجرت حساباتها وفكرت للحظات في المبلغ الذي يمكن أن تطلبه من دون أن تجعله يرفض في الحال.

وأخيرا قالت وهي غير متأكدة من معلوماتها : ” من الصعب أن نحدد الكلفة بدقة لكن أعتقد أنه يمكنني تدبر الأمر بأربعمئة فرنك . ”

شَحب وجهه قليلا لأن المبلغ المطلوب هو المبلغ الذي وضعه جانبا لشراء بندقية . كان يريد أن يذهب للصيد في الصيف القادم مع رفاقه ممن يذهبون للصيد أيام الأحد .

لكنه قال: ” حسنا . سأعطيك مبلغ أربعمئة فرنك. لكن حاولي أن تشتري شيئا جميلا ” .

وعندما اقترب موعد الحفلة شعرت السيدة لوسيل بالقلق رغم أن فستانها صار جاهزا. ذات مساء خاطبها زوجها قائلا : ” هل هناك مشكلة ؟ أراك غريبة الأطوار في الأيام القليلة الماضية .”

أجابته قائلة : أكره أن لا يكون لدي أي قطعة مجوهرات أرتديها . سأبدو غير أنيقة . لا أحب أن أذهب للحفلة . ”

اقترح قائلا : ” يمكنك أن تضعي بعض الزهور. وهذا هو التقليد في هذا الوقت من السنة . يمكنك بعشرة فرنكات شراء زهرتين أو ثلاثا .”

لكن هذا الاقتراح لم يرضيها أبدا وقالت : ” ليس هناك عار في الدنيا يفوق أن تكون فقيرا وسط نساء غنيات .”

اقترح زوجها قائلا : ” لماذا لا تذهبين للسيدة فوريستر وتطلبين منها أن تعيرك بعض المجوهرات. أنت تعرفين بالتأكيد أنها تمتلك الكثير منها . أليس كذلك ؟ ”

هللت فرحة وقالت : ” أنت على حق . لم يخطر ببالي ذلك ” .

في اليوم التالي ذهبت لرؤية صديقتها وأخبرتها بقصتها .

ذهبت السيدة فوريستر إلى خزانتها وأخرجت علبة مجوهرات كبيرة ثم أحضرتها للسيدة لوسيل وفتحتها وقالت : ” تفضلي . اختاري ما يحلو لك”.

تجولت عيناها في الصندوق بين الحلي والأطواق والمجوهرات ثم نظرت لصليب ذهبي شكله رائع . جربت المجوهرات أمام المرآة وترددت قليلا وكأنها غير قادرة على نزعها واعادتها لمكانها. ثم كررت السؤال : ” أليس لديك أشياء أخرى ؟ قد تكونين نسيت شيئا بالصدفة ”

أجابتها السيدة فوريستر قائلة : ” لماذا ؟ نعم . انظري هنا . ابحثي بنفسك . لا أعرف الحلي التي أحبَبتِها ؟ ”

سرعان ما وجدت صندوقا مغطى بقماش أسود من الداخل يحتوي عقد مجوهرات جميل . بدأ قلبها بالخفقان برغبة عارمة . ارتجفت يداها وهي تمسك به. ربطته حول عنقها فوق فستانها ووقفت تنظر إلى نفسها بالمرآة .

وسألت السيدة فوريستر والتردد يجتاحها وقلبها مليء بالحسرة الشديدة : ” أيمكن أن تعيريني هذا ؟ هذا فقط ولا شيء غيره ” .

أجابتها السيدة فوريستر : ” نعم . طبعا ”

رمت يديها حول عنق صديقتها وقبلتها ثم طارت فرحة بثروتها.

أتى يوم الحفلة . كانت السيدة لوسيل ناجحة نجاحا باهرا . كانت أجمل امرأة هناك – رشيقة ، سعيدة ، بهيجة . نظر اليها كل الرجال وسألوا من تكون وحاولوا التعرف عليها . أراد رجال الوزير الرقص معها . ولفتت نظر الوزير نفسه .

رقصت ورقصت مليئة بالبهجة والسعادة . نسيت كل شيء إلا إظهار ج��الها . الرغبات التي أثارتها والاعجاب الذي حصلت عليه ومجد نجاحها رفعوها لتطفو على سحابة من السعادة . كان النصر الذي حققته كاملا وله وقع جميل في قلوب النساء .

كانت الساعة تقريبا الرابعة صباحا عندما غادرت الحفلة . نام زوجها منذ منتصف الليل في غرفة صغيرة مهجورة مع ثلاث رجال آخرين زوجاتهم منغمسة في قضاء وقت جميل في الحفلة .

احضرت معها شالها لتضعه على كتفيها عند المغادرة . شالها الرخيص أفسد منظرها . شعرت بذلك فرغبت في الهروب بسرعة حتى لا تنتبه إليها النساء الأخريات اللواتي كن يضعن شالأ مصنوعا من الفرو الثمين.

بدأت عائلة لوسيل بالذهاب .

خاطبها السيد لوسيل قائلا: ” انتظري لحظة . قد تبردين هناك . سأطلب سيارة ” .

لكنها لم تصغ إليه . هبطت الدرج بسرعة كبيرة . في الخارج لم يكن هناك أي سيارات . انطلق السيد والسيدة لوسيل للبحث عن واحدة وهم ينادون السائقين المارين .

مشيا قرب النهر فشعرا بالبرد والتعب . وأخيرا وجدا عربة قديمة حملتهما إلى منزلهما في شارع الشهداء . صعدا بحزن إلى شقتهما . بالنسبة لها ، انتهت ليلة السعادة والاثارة . وهو كان يفكر أن عليه أن يكون في عمله بحلول الساعة العاشرة في صباح اليوم التالي .

نزعت الشال أمام المرآة حتى ترى نفسها بكامل مجدها مرة ثانية . لكنها صرخت بصوت عال . لقد فُقد العقد ليس هناك شيء حول عنقي . كان زوجها ينزح ملابسه . سألها : ” ما المشكلة ؟ ”

استدارت نحوه بقلق شديد : ” العـ…العقد ….فُقد العقد.”

نهض الرجل والدهشة تجتاحه و قال : ” مستحيل ! ماذا..؟ ماذا قلت ؟ ”

فتشا الفستان والشال والجيوب . فتشا في كل مكان لكنهما لم يجدا شيئا. سألها : ” هل أنت متأكدة أنك كنت ترتدينه عندما غادرت الحفلة ؟

أجابت : ” نعم . اتذكر أنني لمسته عندما كنت أخرج من قاعة الرقص.”

تابع قائلا : ” لو كنت فقدتيه في الشارع كنا سمعنا صوت سقوطه . ربما فقدناه في السيارة . ”

أجابت : ” نعم . ربما . على الأغلب . هل تذكر رقم السيارة ؟ ”

قال : ” كلا وأنت أتذكرين ؟ هل انتبهت للرقم ؟ ”

أجابت : ” كلا . ”

نظرا لبعضهما في حزن . وأخيرا لبس لوسيل ثيابه مرة ثانية وقال: ” سأفتش عنه في كل بوصة من الطريق التي مشيناها على أقدامنا . ربما أعثر عليه . ”

غادر المنزل وهي بقيت في ثوب السهرة لا تستطيع أن تذهب للنوم . جلست على كرسي صامتة هامدة بلا حراك .

عاد زوجها حوالي الساعة السابعة صباحا . لكنه لم يعثر على شيء.

ذهب إلى الشرطة والجرائد ليقدم مكافأة لمن يعثر عليه . ذهب إلى مكاتب شركات السيارات …بكلمات قليلة …ذهب إلى كل مكان فيه أدنى أمل في العثور عليه .

وهي قضت كل النهار تنتظر بيأس أمام هذه الكارثة المريعة .

عاد لوسيل في المساء حزين الوجه لأنه لم يجد شيئا .

قال لزوجته : ” يجب أن تكتبي لصديقتك تخبريها أن خيط العقد انفرط وأنك تصلحيه . وهذا سيستغرق بعض الوقت . ”

كتبت الرسالة كما أراد

وفي نهاية الأسبوع فقدا كل أمل في العثور على العقد . شعر السيد لوسيل أن هذه الكارثة زادت من عمره خمس سنوات . وفي النهاية قال : ” علينا أن نجد عقدا آخر بدلا منه ” .

في اليوم التالي أخذا العلبة التي كان يحفظ فيها العقد وذهبا إلى الجواهري الذي ظهر اسمه داخل العلبة . نظر الصائغ في دفتر حساباته وقال : ” أنا لم أبع العقد سيدتي قط . أنا بعت فقط العلبة . ”

ذهبا من صائغ إلى آخر في محاولة لإيجاد عقد مماثل للعقد المفقود وحاولا التذكر حتى يئسا وتعبا من القلق و القنوط .

وجدا عقد مجوهرات اعتقدا أنه يشبهه في متجر عصري قرب القصر الملكي . كان سعره أربعين ألف فرنك . وأخبرهما الصائغ أنهما يمكن أن يحصلا عليه بستة وثلاثين ألف فرنك .

طلبا من الرجل أن يبقيه لهما لمدة ثلاثة أيام فوافق على ذلك وأخبرهما أنه يمكنهما أن يحصلا عليه بمبلغ أربعة وثلاثين الف فرنك في حال لم يجدا العقد المفقود قبل نهاية شباط .

كان لدى لوسيل مبلغ ثمانية عشرة ألف فرنك التي تركها له والده وعليه أن يستدين الباقي.

استدان المبلغ ، طالبا من هذا ألف فرنك وخمسمئة من ذاك ، مئة من هنا وخمسون من هناك . تعامل مع المرابين ولم يكن متأكدا أنه يستطيع أن يرد الدين في موعده . صار اسمه وعمله في خطر . كان يخشى الجوع والبؤس الأسود الذين ربما يملآن حياته في المستقبل . ذهب ليأخذ العقد ودفع للصائغ مبلغ ستة وثلاثين الف فرنك .

وعندما ذهبت السيدة لوسيل لإعادة العقد قالت السيدة فوريستر : ” كان يجب عليك إعادة العقد في وقت مبكر ، ربما احتجت إليه “.

وعندما سلمت السيدة لوسيل العلبة لصديقتها كانت تخشى أن تفتحه وتلاحظ العقد الجديد وخافت أن تنعتها بالسرقة . لكنها لم تفتحه.

اكتشفت السيدة لوسيل معنى الحياة القاسية لكنها تكيفت مع الوضع الجديد. الدين الذي يجب أن تعيده وستعيده . تخلت عن الخادمة وانتقلت للعيش في شقة صغيرة تحت سطح بناء.

تعرفت على معاني الواجبات المنزلية المتعبة وعمل المطبخ القبيح . غسلت الصحون وتكسرت أظافرها الحمراء في قعر القدور المتسخة . غسلت القمصان والملابس الأخرى ونشرتها على حبل الغسيل لتجف .

صارت تنزل القمامة إلى الشارع كل صباح وتحمل الماء صاعدة الدرج وتتوقف عند كل طابق للاستراحة . كانت ترتدي ثيابها مثل نساء الطبقة العاملة. ذهبت للبقال والجزار تحمل على ذراعها سلة . وصارت تساوم حول كل قرش تصرفه .

كل شهر هناك ديون يجب أن تدفع .

عمل زوجها مساء في متجر في المدينة وكثيرا ما عمل طوال الليل أيضا. ثم مارس أعمال النسخ ليحصل على خمس وعشرين قرشا مقابل كل صفحة .

واستمرت الأحوال على هذا المنوال مدة عشر سنوات .

وعند انتهاء السنوات العشر ، دفعا كل الديون .

بدت على السيدة لوسيل علامات التقدم في العمر. صارت امرأة قوية كتلك التي نراها في العائلات الفقيرة . صارت فساتينها قبيحة ويداها خشنتان وأصبحت تتحدث بصوت عال . لكن ، أحيانا عندما يكون زوجها في المكتب ، كانت تجلس بجانب النافذة وتتذكر تلك الحفلة القديمة عندما كانت شابة وجميلة ، أجمل امرأة في تلك الحفلة .

كيف سيكون شكل حياتها لو لم تفقد العقد ؟ من يعلم ؟ كم هي غريبة ومريبة هذه الحياة ! سرعان ما تسعدك وسرعان ما تنتزع منك السعادة .

وذات أحدٍ ، وعندما كانت تسير في الحديقة بجانب النهر تحاول أن تنسى تعب عناء اسبوع من العمل رأت فجأة سيدة تأخذ طفلا في مشوار . كانت هذه السيدة هي السيدة فوريستر . كانت ما تزال شابة جميلة وجذابة .

بدأت السيدة لوسيل ترتجف. أتتكلم معها ؟ نعم . بالتأكيد هي . والأن وحيث أنها دفعت كل شيء لماذا لا تخبرها بكل الحكاية ؟

ذهبت اليها وقالت : ” مرحبا ..يا جاني …”

لم تتعرف عليها المرأة الأخرى و دُهشت من منظر السيدة ذات الفستان الرخيص التي تتحدث معها كصديقة . تمتمت قائلة : ” لكن . يا سيدتي. أنا متأكدة أنك مخطئة ” .

أجابتها : ” كلا. أنا لست كما تظنين . أنا ماتيلد لوسيل”.

صرخت صديقتها مندهشة . ثم قالت : ” أه…آه..ماتيلد البائسة …كم تغيرت . ”

أجابتها : ” نعم . لقر مررت بأوقات حرجة منذ أن رأيتك آخرة مرة . تعرضت للكثير من المشكلات . وكلها كانت بسببك ” .
ردت : ” بسببي؟ ماذا تقصدين ؟ ”

أجابتها : ” أتذكرين عقد المجوهرات الذي أعرتني إياه لألبسه في الحفلة التي أقامتها الوزارة ؟”

ردت : ” نعم . ما مشكلته؟ ”
أجابت : ” حسنا . لقد فقدته. ”

ردت : ” ماذا تقولين ؟ لقد أعدته لي . ”

أجابتها : ” ما أعدته كان عقدا آخر يشبه تماما العقد الذي استعرته . وأخذ من حياتنا عشر سنوات ونحن ندفع ثمنه. كما تتصورين لم يكن الأمر بهذه السهولة لأننا كنا فقيرين تماما. على أية حال، أنا سعيدة أن الأمر انتهى الآن . ”

ثم وقفت السيدة فوريستر في الحال وقالت : ” تقولين أنك اشتريت عقد مجوهرات بدلا من العقد القديم ؟ ”
ردت : ” نعم وأنت ألم تلاحظين ذلك وقتها؟ كانا يشبهان بعضهما تماما.”

ثم ابتسمت وهي مليئة بالفخر والسرور العفوي .

أخذت السيدة فوريستر يدي ماتيلد ثم وضعتها في يدها حزينة لما جرى وقالت : ” أه…يا ماتيلد البائسة الفقيرة ! لقد كان عقدي مزيفا ليس حقيقيا. لم يكن يساوي أكثر من مائة فرنك على الأكثر . ”

[Cecily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

If all the wannabe celebs on Instagram, Love Island, and their ilk make you despair at the corrosive effect of consumerism and the vacuous obsession with looking and dressing perfectly (or, with Love Island, perhaps that should be undressing), you can be cheered or depressed by the fact that 134 years ago, de Maupassant had similar concerns.

“With women there is neither caste nor rank; and beauty, grace, and charm act instead of family and birth.”
The phrasing is from 1888, but I guess there’s still a lot of truth in it.

Self-improvement is good; social-climbing perhaps less so. This tragi-comic morality tale demonstrates the dangers of envy and pretence. Better to live in the moment and enjoy what you have, even while hoping and working towards higher things.


Image: A woman wearing a diamond necklace (Source)

How it starts

“She was one of those pretty and charming girls who are sometimes, as if by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerks.”
Awareness of that sours her life. “She let herself be married” to a clerk but is consumed with resentment at the fine things she doesn’t have and feels she deserves.
“She was as unhappy as though she had really fallen from her proper station.”
She hates the ordinary things around her and dreams of Oriental tapestries, shining silverware, and:
“Strange birds flying in a fairy forest… and of the whispered gallantries which you listen to with a sphinx-like smile while you are eating the pink flesh of a trout or the wings of a quail.”

Her husband triumphantly acquires an invitation to a reception that few clerks can go to, an opportunity to advance their social connections. But what shall she wear?
“There's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich.”
A solution is found and it's a glorious evening:
“Mme Loisel made a great success... She danced with intoxication, with passion, made drunk by pleasure, forgetting all, in the triumph of her beauty in the glory of her success in a sort of cloud of happiness.”

Cinderella came to mind. There is a tragic twist, but not quite that: this is realism, not a fairytale. Mme Loisel reflects how different things could have been, but rather than being bitter, she seems to become a better person. The final twist turns the knife, even as it raises a smile in the reader.

See also

• I read this immediately after Henry James’ The Real Thing (see my review HERE), which tackles similar themes in a rather different way. In both, those whose social position is lower than they want are the ones who struggle to juggle authenticity and pride. Those whose social position is secure can weather storms of finance more easily.

• Henry James wrote a contrasting version of the story a decade later, Paste.

Short story club

I read this as one of the stories in The Art of the Short Story, by Dana Gioia, from which I'm aiming to read one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 2 May 2022.

You can read this story here.

You can join the group here.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do we own things or do they own us? My favorite short story...a life changing lesson. Maupassant is a master of 'quick immersion' - he is able to place you in his stories so quickly that you feel as if you have been 'there' for a long time. I have never read an author who has been able to do this as skillfully as he can. A real undercurrent of 'dharmic chains' here - the chains we place upon ourselves when we pursue materialism to the exclusion of all other considerations.

[Nilguen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this short story that is packed with so much wisdom and insight whilst finishing up with a strong morale.

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Mathilde Loisel, our main protagonist longs for living the high-life. She wallows in self-pity, is oversensitive and a strenuous wife to her husband.

One day, as her husband joyously tells her about the invite to a ball in the palace of the ministry, expecting his wife to get excited about it, Mathilde sinks even deeper in self-pity. After all, she´s got nothing to wear to the ball, she says.

Anyway, her husband gives her money to buy a dress and impatiently advises her to lend some jewelry from her close friend Madame Forestier, who is well heeled.

No sooner said than done, Mathilde accompanies her husband to the ball in her brand-new dress and the diamond necklace she borrowed from Madame Forestier. Now she´s having the time of her life! She´s wrapped in a cloud of happiness with all the attention she gets…until she loses the precious necklace.

That’s when their phase of desperation starts: Husband and wife cannot find the necklace anywhere and feel forced to replace it with much chagrin and struggle. It takes them TEN years to pay off the necklace whilst they downsize their lifestyle to the bare minimum.

Gone is the beauty of Mathilde as she is taught the real hardship of life.

The short story finishes with Mathilde running into Madame Forestier when taking a walk in Champs-Élysées. During their conversation Madame Forestier reveals to her that the necklace she had lent to her ten years ago...was FAKE and cost a friction of the replacement that Mathilde returned!!!

Poor Mathilde!

This story draws parallels to Madame Bovary, to Great Gatsby and all wanna-be´s around us who are constantly dissatisfied with what they have and long for a high-life with the rich. Though the rich can even afford to wear fakes and pretend like it is the real deal.

The story signals a wake up call to appreciate what we got in life. Nothing is wrong with having ambitions, but Guy de Maupassant reminds us that greediness and envy is atrocious.

LOVE this short story. Easy 5 stars. 🤗🎊🎉👏

#ShortStoryClub

IG: nilguen_reads

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The foolishness of youth gives way to a hard and bitter truth born of regret. If only we could rewind time... An excellent tale with several solid moral lessons!

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story, simply told with its allegorical irony. That is Guy de Maupassant's style, after all. There are two major themes behind The Necklace: one, the difference between appearances and true value, or as Oscar Wilde remarked in The Portrait of Dorian Gray: “Nowadays people know the price of everything, and the value of nothing”; second, and perhaps most important, the idea that true happiness cannot be reached through fleeting moments: borrowing Wordsworth’s words from Ode to Immortality, it was the “hour of splendor in the grass, the glory of the flower” that soon perishes.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Era una de esas bonitas y encantadoras muchachas que nacen, como por un error del destino, en una familia de empleados"

Este cuento corto creo sirve mejor como una sátira social, de la importancia que muchas personas buscan en el ambiente donde se desenvuelven. Nos da una idea de esa gran diferencia que existía quizás aún más pronunciada durante la época del segundo imperio francés entre las personas "bien nacidas" y las de condición económica media o trabajadora. Todavía era muy diferente el dinero proveniente de la nobleza o del trabajo en puestos de empleos del estado, oficinistas, comerciantes, Etc. No era lo mismo un rico noble que un rico hecho con su propio esfuerzo. En este cuento la Sra. Loisel a pesar de haber nacido muy hermosa tiene que conformarse con una vida "mediana" al lado de un burgués y el cuento empieza cuando por fin de mucho tiempo de un matrimonio desprovisto de encantos sociales para ella tiene la oportunidad de ir a una gran recepción. Es una excusa más bien para satirizar el cuidado que dan ambos burgueses a la humillación que podría venir por las malas lenguas en torno al asunto del collar. Al final, parece que ese extremo de precaución les pasó factura.

[AiK · Rating 3 out of 5]

На мой взгляд, это очень мужской рассказ. Мужской в том смысле, что после его прочтения большинство мужчин воскликнут хотя бы мысленно: «Я же говорил, что твои новые платья (или что-то другое из женского гардероба) до добра не доведут» или «Не в платьях счастье, я тебя люблю и такую». Да, судьба сыграла злую шутку с главной героиней и превратила эту красавицу в заурядную женщину среднего возраста в рабочей одежде и с рабочими руками. Виновата ли она, что родилась женщиной, с ее инстинктом нравится, сводить с ума, очаровывать? Да, многие современные женщины не стремятся выглядеть как куколки, но стремление превосходить всех может проявляться в карьерных достижениях или подобном. Злая шутка и в том, что вместо бижутерии, они вручили хозяйке ожерелье с настоящими бриллиантами в 72 раза, превосходившее стоимость утерянного. Каково было узнать, что все их жертвы оказались напрасны. Я сочувствую главной героине, она не заслуживает мужского злорадства. Конечно, не стоило так стремиться ослепить всех на балу своим великолепием, особенно если средства не позволяют, и ее муж был в общем-то прав, предложив украсить наряд свежими цветами. Но у нее было так мало радостей, так мало событий, когда можно выйти в общество и показать себя. Как говорится, накопилось…

[Kathryn in FL · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just saw this story in a GR friend's recent reads.

Honestly, I've thought about this book many times in life! I read it in my early teens so lets just say it had a profound message that has stayed with me nearly all of my life. Its telling is unwrapped like a present. The power of the ending is haunting. It's message, timeless.

I thought this was an O. Henry story because of the manner it was written and because of the "moral" of the story.

[Laysee · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘How little a thing is needed for us to be lost or to be saved!’

The Necklace is the first literary work I have read by Guy de Maupassant, a 19th century French writer famed for the short story form. It is a potent tale about the price to be paid to satisfy the lure of riches and the vanity of human wishes.

Mathilde Loisel is a beautiful woman from a humble background married to a lowly clerk employed in public service. She feels that she deserves a better life: a house she can be proud of, gleaming silverware, fine clothes and jewelry, social opportunities, adoring glances and admiration. She is ashamed of her poverty even though she can afford a servant to help with household chores. One day, her husband returns home with triumphant news of a coveted invitation to the Palace. But how will Mathilde present herself to the important and illustrious company that will grace the occasion? The humiliation of not having the right dress and accessories for a grand function gnaws at her until a solution is found.

And thus unfolds a story of The Necklace that is gorgeously heartbreaking.

Thank you, Cecily, for directing me to this story. It can be read here: The Necklace

[Piyangie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Necklace is a good short story that delivers a powerful message. With his crisp and ironic writing, Maupassant intimates the consequences of a woman's pride and vanity.

Mathilde's pride and vanity, unacceptance of her station in life, and aspiring to do things outside their means results in painful consequences for both her and her husband. Mathilde dreams to live the life of a wealthy woman. She is unhappy with her bourgeois life with her clerk husband. For one day, it becomes possible to live her dream. But that day also becomes the beginning of a nightmare.

The irony behind Mathilde's story is extremely interesting. She couldn't be happy and content with her life before her fall. When she actually came to know the misery of being deprived of the necessities, she bore them with strength and courage. If only she had the will to be content with her situation, had exercised prudence to economize and improve their financial status, and had shown the same strength and courage to rise in life, as she did after her misfortune, she would have perhaps risen to some level of wealth to which she so yearned. But she lost all that opportunity through her haughty pride and vanity, the two gifts she received from her beauty.

I enjoyed this short story by Maupassant. I've now read two short stories and one novel by the author. And I agree with the majority opinion that Guy de Maupassant is at his best in his short stories.

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

de Maupassant manages to bring a flavor to his stories that are close to unforgettable. He writes about ordinary people, but he paints their lives in colors that are rich with adultery, marriage, prostitution, murder, and war. During his lifetime, he created nearly 300 stories, and in my opinion a far greater writer of the short story than the novel. "The Necklace" one of his most famous works, focuses on Mme. Mathilde Loisel - a woman seemingly "fated" to her status in life. "She was one of those pretty and elegant girls who are sometimes as if by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerks." Instead of accepting her position she feels cheated in life. She is selfish and self-involved, tortured and angry that she can't purchase the jewels and clothing that she desires. Maupassant writes, "She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries." this amounts to a moralistic fable in some ways, She wants to be someone and something that she is not.

Wishing to appear wealthy to the other women at a ball, she borrowed a diamond necklace from a wealthy friend, after having a great time, she descends into poverty. I don't want to give anything else away here, but will add the ending hit me like a tom of bricks, the final line is read and the world of that story comes crashing down around us.

A classic short-story jewel in the crown.

[Mohsin Maqbool · Rating 5 out of 5]

A caricature of Guy de Maupassant.

Guy de Maupassant is one of the best writers of short stories. He is admired by book-lovers all over the world. Once you have read a story of his, you will be hooked for life.
A woman is invited to a ballroom party. In fact, her husband, a clerk, has gone through great trouble to get the invitation card as only the rich and the famous have been invited.
However, the woman is not happy. On being asked as to why she felt unhappy, she replies that she has no dress to wear on the occasion. Her husband tells her that he had saved 4000 francs to buy a hunting rifle. But he sacrifices for her sake and gives her the money, asking her to buy herself the dress that she liked best. He advises her to get a rose necklace which she could buy for a few francs. However, she wants to wear something expensive around her neck with such a beautiful dress. When her husband tells her that she could borrow one from a close friend, she is delighted and does exactly that. Soon she returns with a diamond necklace.


...


A sketch of ballroom dancing along with an extract from "The Necklace".

On the day of the ballroom party, she looks ravishing and becomes the cynosure of all eyes. All the men want to dance with her. She feels ecstatic. Time flies away and it is time to return home. The couple walks some distance to catch a cab.
On reaching home, the wife discovers that the necklace is missing; it has been lost somewhere.
How the missing necklace changes the couple's life is the gist of the story.
The short story teaches us a moral that we should be satisfied with whatever we have and not be greedy to attain something which is out of our reach.
Desires need to be controlled at times. If you don't, it might end up ruining your entire life.


An unwanted desire can fill your life with misery, turning you old at jet-speed.

[Tawfek · Rating 4 out of 5]

نهاية صادمة غير متوقعة
بعد معاناة عشرة سنوات في العمل لسداد ديونهم يكتشفون ان العقد كان مزيفًا منذ البداية
القصة تدور حول حكمة ليس كل ما يلمع ذهبًا
احببتها.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be careful what you wish for.....

In this predictable short story classic, only misery for Madame Loisel. No clothes, no jewels, no one to admire her....nothing but a ho-hum lowly marriage....until the ministry ball, that is, with the loan of THE NECKLACE.

Harder times follow, sorrow and shock with hard lesson learned.

First published 1884.

[Razan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 /5 stars
lets just say that i would've liked it more if i it wasn't for a literary reading class :)
With that being said, it wasn't the best short story that I've read but it still is an enjoyable read, although the characters were stupid and i hated all of them very much, but the concept of the book saved it and i appreciate that.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” Proverbs 16:18-19

A short, simple morality tale with an ironic ending that leaves you standing in the character’s shoes.

I’d like to try some of de Maupassant’s longer works. This one just made me think of other versions of this message that I liked better (perhaps because there’s more to them), like Madame Bovary or The Gift of the Magi.

Still, it’s an excellent take on a timeless lesson, one I learned first from Fractured Fairy Tales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn4QF...

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable short story! I loved it!

Synopis: "Invited to a ball at the Ministry of Public Instruction where her husband works, Mathilde is in despair about how to look the part. She manages to persuade her husband to give her 400 francs for a new dress. But she also would like some jewellery to complete the outfit. Although their budget cannot stretch to this, Mathilde is able to borrow a diamond necklace from an old schoolfriend who is wealthy. But while she dazzles everyone at the ball, disaster is waiting in the wings..."

[Jessaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Stupid Superficial Woman Goes to the Ball

I read this book by accident as it was part of a mystery series, that is, a book with a lot of books in it, and after listening to it on Audible I couldn’t figure out why it was a mystery.

But I will say this: I normally don’t read mysteries, nor do I read short stories. Just never liked “who done its” if they have a list of characters and read like Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh, whose books I have only read one of each. The Marsh book was first read by my friend Julie when we were in Mexico. She found it in our hotel room. She gave it to me to read. Said it was good. I looked at the list of characters, told her who the murdered was, and she gave me a strange look. I read the book and was right.


Well, this story was captivating. Who knows I may try other short stories, at least by him, but maybe not because I have 2,000 plus books on my kindle, not to say how many I own as paperback and hardback, and I am sure that I will not be alive to finish them all, mainly because I keep getting new books. What can I say? I can say this: Old people don’t need this many books.

This story was about a woman who wanted to be wealthy; she wanted rich friends. She also had a dislike for her surroundings, that is, if things didn’t look perfect. I understood the perfect. I hate clutter, and I consider myself a decorator in the way of Country Living Magazine, but my style is not English Country, nothing fancy. I have a husband that finds clutter okay. I gave up. He has his own cluttered corner, a room with a desk and my lovely back porch with wicker furniture also has room for his tools. Easier to get to than to walk out to his shop.

But now this is where this woman and I part ways. Her husband got tickets to go to a ball, one with the wealthy people. Maybe only the rich go to balls. He was a clerk. I think she married beneath what she desired, but she probably had no choice. Anyway, she so wanted to go to the ball, but she needed a dress, an expensive one. Geesh! He gave her the money for it, the money he was saving for a gun to go hunting with a friend. Nice guy who deserved a better wife, because she gladly took the money.

I hate parties. I would even hate to give one. I dated a few doctors and lawyers while in college, and I finally realized that these men would expect me to have parties. Plus, the ones I dated were boring. I had one doctor buy me a dress to go to one of his parties. We were going to marry, so it was okay. Stupid me. I hated the party. We broke up soon after, but for other reasons. That was good. But I will say one thing. I did like the food. My friends and I crashed a party in Berkeley, just said that we were friends of Mary. Everyone knows a Mary. We ate the food and left. They may have danced and socialized. I can’t tell you why I hate parties because I am social. Maybe it is that I hate going out at night, always have. Maybe it is because they dance all night or the talk is boring. That’s it. The conversations are boring. I hate small talk. Give me a party with writers and intellectuals, and it would be fun even if I couldn’t really participate that well. I can listen and eat.

So this stupid woman goes to the party, but not before she borrows a diamond necklace. Who in their right mind would borrow an expensive necklace? My jewelry is all hippie jewelry or some hippied type that I bought at a store. Why would anyone wear anything different? And I would never let anyone borrow any of it. You cannot replace Telegraph Avenue jewelry from Berkeley. (For those that don’t know. Street artists sold their jewelry on Telegraph Avenue.)

And who wants an expensive dress? I never got over my hippie days. Never got over my growing years of wearing jeans and cowboy boots. My dresses are tie dyed and loose, and I seldom wear them. But now if you are going to say that I just fear rich people, well, not true. I have some wealthy friends, but some are earthy. One of my friends was married to a rich doctor, divorced, and her daughter married a Rockefeller, but she wears khakis. Some of my somewhat wealthy friends dress up, but they don’t take me places.

I can’t say more about this book because if I did it would give it away. And I can’t analyze it anymore than I have because to do so I would have to read up on other critiques, which I am not into doing. I once took a course in college where they analyzed a book. It took the joy out of reading. I’ll make what I want out of a book.

[Paula Mota · Rating 3 out of 5]

She was simple, not being able to adorn herself; but she was unhappy, as one out of her class; for women belong to no caste, no race; their grace, their beauty, and their charm serving them in the place of birth and family. Their inborn finesse, their instinctive elegance, their suppleness of wit are their only aristocracy, making some daughters of the people the equal of great ladies.

Madame Loisel nasceu abaixo da condição que a sua personalidade exige e no dia em que finalmente é convidada para o baile que tanto ambiciona, pede um colar de diamantes emprestado a uma amiga e, a partir daí, a sua vida de remediada não volta a ser como antes.
Apesar do início sugestivo e do final surpreendente, pelo meio este conto perde alguma força, talvez pelas suas insinuações vagamente moralistas.

She danced with enthusiasm, with passion, intoxicated with pleasure, thinking of nothing, in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a kind of cloud of happiness that came of all this homage, and all this admiration, of all these awakened desires, and this victory so complete and sweet to the heart of woman.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guy de Maupassant was a master of irony and this is one of his most famous short stories. I remembered it from high school, but it was worth revisiting.

I wonder how often we punish ourselves in life because we envy others, try to keep up with the Joneses, or focus on the material world too much.

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story delves into the intertwined themes of suffering and attachment.

We yearn for that greener grass on the other side of the fence; however, we may come to learn that the impeccable green carpet is actually plastic.

The twist ending of this story is fairly predictable, but perhaps also has been widely imitated. It exudes the flavour of a fairy tale, combining vanity and hubris with a denouement illustrating human folly.