Book Report:

The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Victoria Martínez Ortiz

Educational Orientation
September 1, 2022
The Necklace

Book details

Book written by Guy de Maupassant. First published in 1884 in the Paris newspaper Le

Gaulois with 35 pages.

Story

The story takes place in late-nineteenth century Paris, when the society was class-based and

highly unequal.

Mathilde Loisel was a lady who was unsatisfied with her life due to her poverty. She was

married to Monsieur Losiel, a servant at the Ministry of Education. She lived tormented and

angry because she thought that all the attributes of a gracious life should have been hers

since she was one of those pretty charming young women who are born into the wrong

family.

One day, her husband arrived home with a large envelope that contained an invitation for

an evening reception at the Ministry, but instead of being delighted, Mathilde was sad and

annoyed because she didn’t have an evening dress to attend the party so she couldn’t go,

however, after seeing her cry, her husband gave her money to buy one.

Nevertheless, a few days later she was still unsatisfied since she didn´t have any jewels to

wear, so she went to see her friend Madame Forestier; a wealthy woman that she knew

pretty well. After wandering through all the jewelry Forestier had, she picked a diamond

necklace and nothing else.

The day of the party arrived and Madame Loisel was the prettiest woman there. All the men

looked at her. The minister himself noticed her.

When she left the party it was almost four in the morning. After getting home, she wanted

to see herself in all her glory for the last time so she stood before the mirror. Then she

noticed that the necklace was gone. She searched it everywhere in the house but she didn’t

find it.

Her husband left the house to retrace the whole distance that they had covered on foot but

still, he found nothing. He went wherever there seemed to be the slightest hope of tracing it.

When he got home, he told Mathilde to write to her friend telling her that she had broken

the necklace and that it was being mended.

They decided to replace the necklace, so after searching for one that looked exactly the

same, they bought one for 36,000 francs, but to pay it, Loisel borrowed money from every

person he could. Madame Loisel would pay the debt, so she had to work like she had never

worked before as well as her husband. After ten years of non-stop work, she looked old and

completely different.

Then, one Sunday, she caught sight of Madame Forestier, so she went up to her to talk.

Forestier had to be reminded of her name to recognize her due to the physical appearance of

Mathilde. Finally, she told her the truth about the necklace and that she had to work for 10

years to pay the debt for it, but after hearing this, Madame Forestier became profoundly

moved and said “Oh, my poor, poor Mathilde! Mine was false. It was worth five hundred

francs at the most!”

Characters

 Mathilde Loisel:

She’s a beautiful lady who wants to live a rich life. However, she gets married to a

clerk and her poverty prevents her from getting that. She’s insecure about herself.

She’s also a vain and self-centered person.

 Monsieur Loisel:

He’s Mathilde’s husband. He really loves and cares for her so he tries his best to

lighten the unhappiness that their poverty provokes her by getting her an invitation

to a fancy party. He is a selfless person.

 Madame Forestier:

She’s Mathilde’s friend. She’s a caring and generous person. She’s also wealthy,

which makes Mathilde jealous.

Personal opinion

From my point of view, Mathilde’s really self-centered and I think she's also selfish

because she isn't grateful for what she already has and for what his husband gives her, but

instead she keeps wanting and asking for more. I think this is a good example of what pride

can do, because by feeding her pride, Mathilde went through difficult situations like, for

example, she bought a dress which cost his husband a lot of money, she also fed her pride

one night but paid for it for the next 10 years, which destroyed her beauty: "Madame Loisel

looked old now. She had become the sort of strong woman, hard and coarse, that one finds

in poor families."

This story teaches us to be more appreciative and grateful for what we already have.
Bibliography
De Maupassant, G. (1884). The Necklace (1st ed.). Le Gaulois.