Mathilde tells Jeanne about the loss and replacement of the necklace and of the hard times she has endured on Jeanne's account, blaming her for the misery of the past decade. After all the loans are paid off, Mathilde encounters Jeanne by chance on the Champs-Élysées however, Jeanne barely recognizes her owing to her shabby clothing and unkempt appearance. Loisel and Mathilde move into a shabby apartment and live in poverty for ten years, with him taking on night work as a copyist to earn extra money and her sacrificing her beauty to work as a charwoman. Mathilde gives the necklace to Jeanne without mentioning the loss of the original and Jeanne does not notice the difference. Loisel uses an inheritance from his father to cover half the cost and borrows the rest at high interest.
At the Palais-Royal shops they find a similar necklace priced at 40,000 francs (approx. Unable to find it or anyone who knows where it may have gone, they resign themselves to buying a replacement. Once she and Loisel return home, though, she discovers that she has lost Jeanne's necklace. Mathilde enjoys herself at the ball, dancing with influential men and reveling in their admiration.
The only item she borrows is a diamond necklace. She spurns Loisel's idea of wearing fresh flowers but takes his suggestion of borrowing some jewelry from her friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Even after Mathilde does so, she is still unhappy because she has no jewels to wear with it. $2,531.20 USD in 2022) – all the money he had been saving to go hunting with his friends – so she can buy a dress. Upset at her displeasure, Loisel gives her 400 francs (approx. Mathilde refuses to go because she has nothing to wear and wishes not to be embarrassed. After much effort, he secures for them an invitation to a ball sponsored by the Ministry of Education. Her husband is a low-paid clerk who tries his best to make her happy but has little to give. Madame Mathilde Loisel has always imagined herself an aristocrat, yearning for wealth and admiration despite having been born into a family of clerks.
The story was first published on 17 February 1884 in the French newspaper Le Gaulois. It is known for its twist ending (ironic ending), which was a hallmark of de Maupassant's style. " The Necklace" ( French: La Parure) is a short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant. La Parure, illustration of the title page of the Gil Blas, 9 September
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