The Necklace
The Discontented Wife
Matilda Loisel is a young, pretty woman who feels she was born for delicacies and luxuries, but due to an error of destiny, was married to a petty clerk in the Board of Education. She suffers incessantly from the poverty of her apartment, its shabby walls, and worn chairs. When her husband brings home an exclusive invitation to a grand party at the Minister's residence, she reacts with irritation because she has nothing suitable to wear. Her devoted husband sacrifices four hundred francs—money he saved to buy a hunting gun—so she can buy a pretty dress. However, she remains anxious because she has no jewels, prompting her husband to suggest borrowing from her rich convent schoolmate, Mme Forestier. Matilda borrows a superb necklace of diamonds from her friend.
The Night of Glory and The Loss
The night of the ball, Mme Loisel is a massive success; she is the prettiest of all, completely intoxicated with pleasure and admiration. They leave around four in the morning, taking an old carriage back to their apartment. As she takes a final look at herself in the mirror, she utters a cry of dismay—the necklace is gone. After her husband spends hours searching the streets, checking with police and cab offices, and offering a reward, they find nothing. He dictates a letter to her friend stating the clasp is broken and being repaired to buy them time.
A Decade of Hardship and a Shocking Twist
Forced to replace the jewel, they find an exact match priced at thirty-six thousand francs. Loisel uses eighteen thousand francs left by his father and borrows the rest from usurers, making ruinous promises. To pay this frightful debt, the couple dismisses their maid, moves to a rented attic, and endures ten years of miserable, back-breaking labor. Matilda becomes a strong, crude woman of a poor household, washing floors and haggling for groceries, while her husband works nights copying pages for five sous. After ten years, the debt is completely paid. One Sunday, an aged Matilda encounters the still-youthful Mme Forestier and confesses the truth about losing and replacing the necklace. Deeply touched, Mme Forestier reveals the devastating truth: "Oh! My poor Matilda! Mine were false. They were not worth over five hundred francs!".
Key Figures
Matilda Loisel
A beautiful but deeply discontented woman whose vain desire to appear wealthy leads to her total ruin. Ironically, her obsession with luxury forces her into a life of intense poverty and heavy physical labor.
M. Loisel
Matilda's devoted, simple, and selfless husband. He gives up his own savings for her dress and takes on immense, crippling debt to protect her honor when the necklace is lost.
Mme Forestier
Matilda's wealthy friend. She kindly lends Matilda her jewelry without a second thought, and unwittingly delivers the story's crushing, ironic revelation at the very end.
Themes to Remember
The High Cost of Vanity
Matilda’s dissatisfaction with her middle-class life and her obsession with false appearances cost her youth, her beauty, and ten years of freedom.
Deceptive Appearances
The necklace itself is a powerful symbol of appearances vs. reality. Like Matilda’s dreams of high society, the diamonds looked magnificent but were completely fake.
The Importance of Honesty
The entire decade of suffering could have been avoided if Matilda and her husband had simply confessed the truth to Mme Forestier immediately after losing the necklace.
