The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Important Characters

Mathilde Loisel - protagonist and wife of M. Loisel, attends the party wearing her friend Jeanne's
necklace then loses it and spends ten years working to pay off the replacement jewelry

M. Loisel - Mathilde's husband, a clerk who gets an invitation to a fancy ball, works multiple jobs to pay
for the replacement necklace

Jeanne Forestier - Mathilde's long time, wealthy friend who lets her borrow a diamond necklace to wear
to the ball then is irritated when she returns it late, sees Mathilde again a decade later and is shocked by
her haggard appearance

Summary

The short story "The Necklace" by Guy De Maupassant takes place in France several hundred years ago.
Mathilde Loisel lives in a flat with her husband, who works as a clerk for the Minister of Education. Their
lives are not luxurious, but they are not poor, merely simple. Mathilde, however, longs to be rich. She
envies her friend Jeanne who has a large house and lots of jewelry.

One day her husband brings home an invitation to a ball. He thinks his wife will be excited to attend such
a fancy party, but instead she is upset. She complains that she has nothing suitable to wear to such an
extravagant occasion. Her kind husband agrees to give her the four hundred francs that he had been
saving to buy a new rifle to get herself a gown.

The week of the party, Mathilde seems anxious again. When her husband asks her why, she frets that
she has no jewelry to wear with her dress. He suggests that perhaps she could borrow something from
her friend Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde goes to Jeanne's house and picks out a sparkling diamond necklace
to borrow.

She and her husband attend the gala and have a fabulous time. She loves amazing and dances all night.
Finally, they head home in the wee hours of the morning. When they arrive home, Mathilde realizes that
the necklace is missing. They wonder if it fell off in the carriage that they took home, but neither of them
noticed the number. Her husband goes out to search the streets but returns empty handed. To stall for
time, Mathilde writes to her friend that she broke the clasp and is having it repaired. In the meantime,
they find another necklace that matches the missing one, but it costs thirty-six thousand francs. Her
husband fortunately inherited eighteen thousand francs from his father, but they will need to borrow
the rest of the money. Finally, they have enough to purchase the replacement necklace and Mathilde
gives it to Jeanne who doesn't even look at it.

The next ten years Mathilde's life changes dramatically. They move to a smaller apartment where she
has to cook and clean for herself. She also does work on the side while her husband works multiple jobs
to pay back all the money they borrowed. After the ten years, the money is all paid back, but Mathilde
has aged a great deal.
One day she sees Jeanne Forestier on the street. She decides to tell her the truth about the necklace.
Jeanne is stunned by Mathilde's rough appearance. Mathilde explains that it is indirectly because of
Jeanne since she lost the necklace she borrowed from her and had to pay for a replacement. Shocked,
Jeanne confesses that the necklace Mathilde borrowed was a fake, made of paste, worth no more than
five hundred francs.

Clearly, the lesson of the story is that honesty is the best policy. If Mathilde had been honest with her
friend from the start, she would have learned that the necklace wasn't made of real diamonds and
would not have wasted ten years paying for a replacement.

"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi” summary key points:

☺Della Young decides to sell her beautiful hair to buy a watch fob for her husband’s beloved watch.

☺When Jim comes home, he is saddened and surprised to see Della’s beautiful hair missing. He offers
her his gift: bejeweled combs that she no longer needs.

☺Della offers her gift to Jim. He looks at her and admits that he has sold his watch to buy her the
combs.

☺The two are overcome with love as they realize they have sacrificed their most prized possessions for
one another.

Summary

"The Gift of the Magi" is the story of a young, rather poor, married couple. Jim and Della don't have very
much money but they are very much in love. The most valuable items in their possession are Della's
fabulous, below-the-knee-length hair and a pocket watch that is a family heirloom from Jim's father and
grandfather.

The story takes place just before Christmas. Della has been secretly trying to save every penny to buy a
Christmas present "just a little bit near to being worthy of the honour of being owned by Jim" but has
only been able to save $1.87. She decides to sell her hair in order to get more money, and is paid $20.00
for it. Della buys a platinum watch chain that will perfectly compliment Jim's watch. She then curls her
now very short hair and hopes Jim will understand why she had to sell her hair.

Jim comes home from work and is shocked to see Della's short hair. When he gives her the Christmas
present he bought for her, she discovers a beautiful set of hair combs that she has longed to have - the
combs that would have looked stunning in her long hair. Della reassures Jim and herself that her hair
grows rapidly, then gives Jim his present.
Jim sold the pocket watch to get the money to buy the combs. He suggests they both save their presents
for the time being. "They're too nice to use just at present."

O. Henry ends the story by commenting that the Magi, the rich and wise ones who brought gifts to the
baby Jesus, didn't give gifts that had as much meaning and value and love as the wise and wonderful
sacrifices Jim and Della gave to each other.