[email protected]
The Wealth in The Necklace
From reading this story I realized that the quote “Don't judge a book by
its cover” is a big part in The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant . This
book is about woman who thinks she deserves more. But of course you
can’t always get what you want, because it might just bit you in the butt
one day. So get ready, grab a bowl of popcorn, and get comfortable
because I’m about to tell you about the importance of wealth in the story;
The Necklace.
There is a woman named Mathilde who is a beautiful girl, born in poor
family. She let’s them make a match for her with a little clerk in the
Department of Education. Which she in the poor community because
she is married to a poor man.
“She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood,
loved, married by a man rich and distinguished; and she let them make a match
for her with a little clerk in the Department of Education. (1)” (www.shmoop.com)
She suffered intensely, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury.
She wanted to be in luxury, not “worn wall, abraded chairs, and the
ugliness of stuff”. As you can see she basically wanted to be treated like
a princess.
She lives in an illusory world where her actual life does not match the ideal life
she has in her head—she believes that her beauty and charm make her worthy
of greater things. (www.sparknotes.com)
One day after her husband got off of work he gives Mathilde a
envelope. She saw big bold words she quickly ripped it open, but once
she saw that it was an invitation to a big party this happened. “Instead of
being delighted like her husband hoped, she threw the invasion on the
table with annoyance, mumbling ‘What do want me to do with that?’.
You see she didn't have a dress, so she didn't want to go looking a hot
mess. As you can see she is very ungrateful she didn't appreciate the
invitation that her husband work so hard for, no but instead she threw
the invasion on the table complaining that she didn't have a dress. The
nerve of some people I tell ya. So her husband Loisel is confused over
why she was so upset so he asked what was wrong and he told her that
she didn't have a dress. He asked how much money she would need
and she gave him a price then he realized that was exact amount of
money he was going to use to buy a new gun to go hunting with his
friends. But instead of declining he gave her the money that she would
need to buy the dress she wanted. For a few days now Mathilde seemed
sad, restless, and anxious.Her Loisel didn't understand why, she was
acting like that because she already got her dress. He asked her what
was wrong then she complained saying that she didn't have any jewelry
so she didn't want to go to the party. Okay, so after she's gotten an
expensive dress out of her husband, Mathilde refuses to go to the party
again. She's still not satisfied. This time, it's jewels. She needs jewels.
Does this mean Mathilde actually expects her husband to get her a piece
of jewelry? Loisel suggested to go borrow some from her rich friend
Forester, which she thought was a good idea and she did just that.
"It annoys me not to have a jewel, not a single stone, to put on. I shall look
wretched. I would almost rather not go to this party." (33) (www.shmoop.com)
So she went to her rich friend Forester for some jewelry. When she got
there Forester got out a pretty jewelry box and told Mathilde to pick
which one she wanted. Mathilde didn't want anything in the box and she
kept asking if that's all she has.Forester being the nice friend she was
showed her a box with an exquisite diamond necklace.Of course she
went nuts over the necklace, because we all know diamonds are a girl’s
best friend. Mathilde hesitantly ask if she would lend her the necklace,
which Forester did. Mathilde jumped up and down in excitement, then
she left right afterwards.
All at once she discovered, in a box of black satin, a superb necklace of
diamonds, and her heart began to beat with boundless desire. Her hands
trembled in taking it up. She fastened it round her throat, on her high dress, and
remained in ecstasy before herself. (48) (www.shmoop.com)
The day of the party arrived. Mathilde got exactly everything she
wanted. She was absolutely exquisite, elegant, and filled with joy. She
danced with passion taking up all the attention with grace. That, that
moment she felt like the princess that she was always supposed to be.
She got there at midnight and didn't leave until four o'clock in the
morning. Her husband was in a room taking a nap with three other men
while the wives of the other three men and Mathilde were still partying.
When it was time to go, “Her husband threw over her shoulders the
wraps he had bought to go home in, modest garments of everyday life,
the poverty of which was out of keeping with the elegance of the ball
dress.She felt this, and wanted to fly so as not to be noticed by the other
women, who were wrapping themselves up in rich fur.”
So before he can fully put it on her she ran down the stairs like her life
depended on it. So of course her husband is confused by the way she
reacted and asked her to come back before she caught a cold. By the
time they were by the street there was no cabs around so they walked
home shivering.
By the time they got home it was already morning and they were
exhausted. Mathilde look in the mirror and took of the warps. She
wanted to look at her beauty one more time for that night when she
realized that it was gone…
Her husband was taking of his suit when he heard her grasp, he hurried
and turned around to see what was wrong now. He asked her what was
wrong and guess what she said.
The diamond necklace that her friend Forester lend to her, was gone.
Yep it was gone, nada, it disappeared from her neck. Mathilde started to
freak out and started to look in her dress and the wraps but nope, it
absolutely no where in the house. Her husband hurried and put his
clothes back on and retraced their their steps from their house to the
party.While Mathilde was in the house freaking out.
Her husband came back around seven o'clock in the morning and found
nothing.Now let me remind you that they came home around four o'clock
in the morning and he has been looking for, four hours looking for the
necklace his wife lost and still found nothing. He went to the police, to
the newspaper to put an award of the necklace, and called all the cab
companies, he did everything, but still nothing.
He told her “You must write to your friend, that you broke the clasp of
her necklace and that you are having it repaired. That will give us time
around.”
She did what she was told. By the end of the week all hope was lost.
The next day they tried to replace the necklace, they took the case that
the necklace was in and went to the name of the place that was on the
case. The thing was the man didn't sell the necklace he only supplied
the case. Then they went to jeweler to jeweler but no luck. Until they
went to one that had the exact necklace. It cost forty thousand francs but
they could have four thirty six francs. They begged the jeweler to not sell
for another another three days which he agreed to.
“Liosel got the eighteen thousand that his father left for him, he
borrowed a thousand from one person, five hundred from another, five
there, three louis there. He gave promissory notes, made reunions
agreement, dealt usurers with all kinds of lenders, and etc.”
Once he had all of the money he went back to the jeweler and got the
necklace. Mathilde gave Forester the new necklace and all Forester said
was “You ought to have brought it back sooner, for I might have
needed.”, but she didn't open the case.
Afterwards they fired their servants, changed their rooms and lived in a
attic. Mathilde learn the rough work of household, the odious labors of
the kitchen. She washed dishes, wearing out her pink nails on the
greasy pots and bottoms of pans. She did the laundry, took out the trash
every morning, and carried water up the stairs. Her husband Liosel
worked in the evening keeping up the books of a shopkeeper, and at
night often he did copying at five sous the page. This went on for ten
straight years, at the end of the ten years everything was paid back.
Loisel seemed to age because of the rough and hard work he has been
doing for the last ten years.
One Sunday morning Mathilde saw Forester. Then Mathilde told her
what happened and everything then the Forester told her the diamond
necklace was a fake and that it would only cost five hundred francs.
Now isn't that something. Let me tell you something, looks can be
deceiving. Just like the saying “Don't judge a book by it's cover”.
She automatically thought the necklace was real fist of all because her
friend was rich, so she thought that everything she bought was real,
second because it was in a pretty box and it looked shiny which was a
mistake, and third of all it was “diamonds” and we all know, diamonds
are girl’s best friend so she automatically wanted it. So this is a lesson
learned, “Don't judge a book by its cover.”
Thanks for reading my report about, The Necklace by Guy de
Maupassant. Always remember to be grateful for the things you have not
the things you don't have, because if you really want something then be
patient and God will help you get that something. I hope you enjoyed
and learned something from my report and the story itself.