SUMMARY

GUY THE MAUPASSANT

‘The Necklace’

Mathilde Loisel was a pretty and charming woman. Unfortunately, she was born into
an ordinary family of clerks. She was married to an ordinary man who just a little clerk at the
Ministry of Public Instruction. Mrs. Loisel longed for luxury and a better life. She always felt
that she should have all the luxury and comfort that most upper-class women have. She also
felt envious of her only friend, Madame Forestier who born with a silver spoon on her mouth.

One evening, Madame Loisel had dinner with her husband. A simple dinner, with a
simple menu. Monsieur Loisel came home with an invitation to a ball. Hoping that Mathilde
would be delighted, but it turned out she enraged and asked her husband to give the invitation
to one of his friends whose wife is more equipped than her. She was complaining that she
does not have any appropriate dress to wear to the ball.

To comfort his wife, Monsieur Loisel gives his savings to his wife. Four hundred
francs amount of money that he saved to buy a gun for his wife in order to buy a piece of
dress. The dress was ready as the day of the ball drew near. Yet Madame Loisel seemed sad.
Again, she was complaining that she does not have any jewelry to wear to the ball. Monsieur
Loisel suggested her to wear some flowers, but she declined as said that it would miserable to
look poor among the riches women. Monsieur Loisel told her to borrow a piece of jewelry
from her friend, Madame Forestier. Then, Mathilde went to Madame Forestier and she lent
her a diamond necklace. Madame Mathilde Loisel went to the ball and overjoyed herself.

When they got home, Madame Loisel realized that she had lost Madame Forestier's
necklace. The Loisels panicked, Monsieur Loisel downed the street and found nothing. They
contacted the police but found nothing. Madame Loisel wrote to Madame Forestier that she
broke the clasp of the necklace and having it fixed. They tried to find a substitute for the
necklace and found it for 36.000 francs. Monsieur Loisel let go of his 18.000 francs from his
father and borrow money from some of his friends.

Madame Loisel returned the necklace, the substitute necklace to Madame Forestier.
Her husband worked two jobs to pay off the debt, she was doing heavy housework. They
changed everything. The debt finally paid off after ten years. Madame Loisel looked so old
now, sometimes wondering what would happen if she did not lose Madame Forestier's
necklace. On one Sunday, she met Madame Forestier. Her old friend did not recognize her
since her appearance is so different. Madame Loisel told everything, she told that she had lost
Madame Forestier's necklace and working ten years to pay off the debt. Ironically, Madame
Forestier told her that the necklace that had lost is an imitation, not a real diamond necklace.