James Baquet

I’m a big fan of the short story, and one of the masters of that genre was the French author Guy de Maupassant. One of his best is called simply, “The Necklace.” It tells of Mathilde Loisel, who, though born into a poor family, has always imagined herself an aristocrat. Unfortunately, she married a lowly clerk.

One day the husband brings home an invitation to a fancy dress ball, but Mathilde refuses to go because she doesn’t have anything suitable to wear. At last Loisel gives her 400 francs he had saved for a hunting excursion with friends, and she buys a dress. Now, however, she lacks jewels to match the dress, so she borrows one exquisite necklace from her friend, Jeanne Forestier.

Mathilde is a hit at the ball, dancing with many an admirer. But when the Loisels get home, Mathilde still riding high on excitement, she discovers that she has lost the necklace! Her husband spends hours retracing their steps, but to no avail.

At last, they decide to buy a replacement. They find one costing 40,000 francs — a huge sum — and haggle the price down to 36,000. Loisel covers half the cost from an inheritance from his father, and borrows the rest at exorbitant interest. Mathilde “returns” the necklace; Jeanne does not notice the switch, saying only: “You should have returned it sooner, I might have needed it.”

Now the Loisels must pay back the loan. They move to a smaller, cheaper apartment. Loisel takes on night work to earn extra money, and Mathilde does all the housework herself, as they had released the maid.

After 10 years of grinding poverty they pay off the usurers, but by then Mathilde has lost her looks.

One Sunday, as Mathilde walks down the Champs Elysees, she runs into Jeanne, and speaks to her. But Jeanne doesn’t recognize her, saying she must have made a mistake. At last, realizing this is Mathilde, she asks what happened to her.

Mathilde replies that she has had hard times, “and all because of you!” Jeanne asks how that can be, and Mathilde tells her the whole story of the necklace, the loss, and the years of toil to replace it.

Stunned, Jeanne tells her, “Oh, my poor Mathilde! Mine was an imitation! It was worth 500 francs at most!”

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. one who highly approves

2. going back over

3. wearing, harsh

4. member of the upper class

5. gorgeous, especially beautiful

6. bargain, negotiate

7. extremely high

8. lenders who charge high interest

9. trip, outing

10. office worker