NecklaceGuy de Maupassant is a famous and extraordinary French writer. He wrote numerous novels, short stories and other literary works. His style of the plot is usually very cynical. He does not pity the characters of his works and gives them pretty difficult challenges and destinies. The short story Necklace is one of those stories with a cruel trick, which fate prepared for the main characters.
The main character is Mathilde Loisel, a woman who dreams about the life which she has no chances to have. Instead of this, she accepts the reality, which is the life with a common husband. They are neither rich nor poor. It is just a destructing middle which is far from the dream life. All the luxury she wants to have is unavailable for her. Until one day, when they decide to accept the invitation to the dinner party, and Mathilde’s husband gives her money, which he saved to buy a gun, for a dress. They even solve the problem with jewelry. She borrows a necklace. However, at the end of the fabulous evening, she loses it.
This moment is the decisive one. Mathilde and her husband have to solve this problem. This is not only the obvious problem of the lost necklace, but also the inner problem of the character who meets the occurrence, how to act in this case. They have to decide whether to be honest and acknowledge their irresponsibility and perhaps to lose a friend of Mathilde, or to win some more time and to find the same necklace and make a substitution in order for no one to know the truth. They choose the second option. Loisels borrow money and add them to their only saving, change their apartment and servant on the poor garret. They buy another extra expensive precious necklace and give it back. After ten years of working hard in order to pay the debts, Mathilde enquires that the necklace she has lost was fake.
Life gave this experience for Mathilde and her husband not in order to show them that they have done the wrong choice, but to show first of all Mathilde that their life was not so bad and all that luxury, parties and dresses she dreamed of are just nothing comparing with a real life. Moreover, it is about the appreciation of what she had. This cruel challenge of fate, which Mathilde was forced to pass, had an aim to help her to reveal and understand her truly self and her real richness. It is not mentioned in the text, but it is hidden in the lines that she understood how faithful and loyal her husband is. He also realized that the appearance does not play such and important role in life. It is obvious when she meets her friend and decides to tell the truth.
This challenge also shows that sometimes it makes sense to trust people. Mathilde was afraid of the truth and what it may cause, so she paid more than money, she paid ten years of life. Only after them, she was not afraid anymore and was ready to be honest. It was too late for that moment, but it was a perfect lesson for the future. The life is so. It takes a huge price, but explains pretty clearly.
The most important in this short story is the question of honor. This topic is deeply relevant. Comparing current woman would never sacrifice her life in order to protect her honor. However, in the time when Mathilde lived, there was no bigger value as an honor. That is worth of being admired. She could not admit her inattentive behavior which caused the loss, her poverty that she cannot buy another one and ask for understanding and postpone the giving back. It was beneath her dignity to show her weakness and helpfulness of this situation.
Guy de Maupassant was the writer who dared to show the cruelness of fate. His spectacular examples seem to be the best theoretical lesson of life. He explains how it is important for a person to appreciate what he already has; how sometimes person may mistake in other people, because some of them are worth of trust and what is more important is honor. He shows how the honor and pride might be more expensive than the easy life.
