Deal Me in Challenge: The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Card Drawn:

Pourquoi devez-vous être un gamin gâté, mon chéri?

I am actually surprised that "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant was not spoiled for me since it is one of the most famous short stories ever written. While it does not quite live up to all the hype in my eyes, there is no denying the author's excellent literary technique and should be applauded for his influence on the modern short-story. His taut and economical prose flows seamlessly without any extraneous detail--every word, every sentence, every symbolic or metaphorical aspect of the text serves a purpose towards highlighting the key themes and driving the narrative headstrong towards the "twist ending" that actually took me by surprise even though it was not totally convincing. Indeed, it is no wonder that this story is heavily anthologized and often praised as the pinnacle of the short-story form.

Mathilde Loisel is an unhappy woman blinded by her own pride and vanity. She is the wife to a government clerk and lives a modest life but desperately yearns to be accepted a member of the elite. They both get invited to a fancy party but she is anxious about being humiliated in front of all those rich people by not dressing in the newest fashions or wearing any expensive jewelry. Mathilde needs to look the part if she is to assimilate properly among the French aristocracy. The necklace is intrinsically linked to the woman's self-worth and social status--a marker of wealth and prestige, which allows her access to the social circles occupied by upper class bourgeoisie or nouveau riche that would otherwise have been denied as a member of the middle-class. She suffers from a crisis of identity, which inevitably leads to her downfall. 

Enthralled by delusions of grandeur, success and fortune, Mathilde opts to wear the most splendid fashions and garments. So, she asks her friend to borrow a lavish necklace for the party and wearing it becomes a symbolic conduit of her newly obtained social status. She receives many compliments by the party-goers and is given an honorable social reception. However, that feeling of euphoria is short-lived and transformed into full-blown panic when she loses the necklace on the way home from the party. The story takes a dark turn and Maupassant systematically unfolds her and the husband's fall into financial ruin to pay back the friend for losing the necklace, which is very expensive to replace. 

For those who have not read this story yet, go seek it out and then come back to this review because there will be spoilers. You can find it easily enough online...

Okay, have you read it yet? No? What are you still doing here! Please go read it already!!!  

Wonderful, you finally got around to reading this story. If not, don't say that I didn't warn you:

Now, the flawed ending. Granted, Maupassant makes us sympathize heavily with Mathilde and her husband's tragic fate. However, did it never occur to either of them to first consult with Mathilde's friend after losing the necklace instead of taking on the unnecessary burden of paying her back? While I cannot fault them for their good intentions, are we to believe that they would endure ten years of pain and suffering without ever communicating with this woman? Moreover, the woman did not even contact Mathilde once about returning the necklace during the entire time span so you would think at some point they would stop and properly assess the situation?! Ugh. A gaping plot-hole that is difficult for me to overlook.

Nonetheless, this was still a quick and worthwhile read. Maupassant is a talented writer, working within the constraints of brevity dictated by form to deliver a highly polished and unobtrusive short-story.