Chapter 7: The Necklace (The Necklace)

Before the loss of the necklace the Loisels lived a quiet, modest life. The husband was a petty clerk who was content with his "good potpie", though Matilda was always unhappy about their poverty. After the necklace was lost, they bought a replacement for thirty-six thousand francs. M. Loisel used the eighteen thousand francs left to him by his father and borrowed the rest from usurers and lenders, making "ruinous promises".

To pay off the debt they sent away the maid, moved to rooms in an attic and lived a life of hardship for ten years. Matilda did the "odious work of a kitchen", washed floors and haggled over every sou, while her husband worked evenings and nights as a bookkeeper and copyist. At the end of ten years Matilda "seemed old", with red hands and a hard, rough manner. A single evening of pleasure thus cost them their youth, comfort and savings.

The lost necklace brought the Loisels ten years of debt, poverty and hard labour, and made Matilda old before her time.

The real cause of her ruin was her vanity and discontent. She was never happy with what she had and longed for luxuries. She felt there was "nothing more humiliating" than a shabby look among rich women, so she borrowed a very costly-looking necklace to make an impression at the ball. Her carelessness, and then her failure to tell the truth to her friend, made matters worse.

She could have avoided it by being content with what she had and wearing natural flowers, as her husband suggested. Even after losing the necklace, she could have gone to Mme Forestier and told her the truth at once. Then she would have learnt that the necklace was false and worth only a few hundred francs, and the long years of suffering could have been avoided.

If Matilda had confessed, Mme Forestier would have told her that the necklace was not real. In the end she says, "Mine were false. They were not worth over five hundred francs!" So the Loisels would not have had to buy an expensive diamond necklace, borrow thirty-six thousand francs or spend ten years in debt. Matilda might have felt embarrassed for a short while, but she would have kept her health, her beauty, her money and her peace of mind.

Mme Forestier would have told her that the necklace was false and worth only about five hundred francs, and Matilda would have been saved from ten years of misery.

Sample answer. I would have informed my friend about the loss immediately and honestly. I would have apologised and offered to pay for it or to replace it, if necessary, on a fair and reasonable plan agreed with her, and I would not have taken heavy loans in secret. Honesty would have saved me from long years of worry. I would also have learnt not to borrow things of value just to impress others.

No, English is not their language. The story is set in Paris and the characters must be speaking French. The clues are the French titles and forms of address (M. for Monsieur and Mme for Madame), the French money (francs and sous), the French first names such as Jeanne, and the Paris places named in the story, such as the Palais-Royal and the Champs-Elysees. The writer, Guy de Maupassant, is French, and we are reading the story in translation.

Their language must be French, as shown by the names, titles, money and places.

Sample answer. Honesty is the best policy because the truth may be uncomfortable for a moment but it saves a person from long suffering. In this story Matilda did not tell Mme Forestier about the loss. She wrote that the clasp was broken and that she would have it repaired, and replaced the necklace secretly. As a result she and her husband lost ten years of their lives paying for an imitation worth five hundred francs. If she had been honest, she would have been saved. An honest person also earns trust and respect and has a quiet conscience.

Sample answer. Contentment gives peace of mind. Matilda had a husband who loved her and a home, yet she suffered "incessantly", longing for luxuries she did not have. This discontent made her borrow a necklace to look rich, and it led to her ruin. People who are content enjoy what they have and are not made miserable by comparing themselves with others. This does not mean that we should stop working hard to improve our lives, but we should not give up honesty and comfort in a hopeless race for show.