The Necklace ~ Guy de Maupassant

The Necklace, written in 1884, tells the old tale of the consequences of greed. Mathilde Loisel is the wife of a simple French Clerk. They are doing well enough to have a servant or two. They have plentiful meals, even if the table cloth is on its third day. Her husband delights in her, and tries to make her happy. While it could be a delightful life, of course, since de Maupassant is writing it, this is a recipe for disaster.

The characterization of Mathilde is a study of showing versus telling. By never coming out and accusing Mathilde of greed, de Maupassant shows each of her discontents. She was born for more, in her mind. She fretted over her home. She noticed the table cloth had been on the table for three days. She was not a fan of the soup of the day. When her husband, anxious to please, obtains an invitation to the event of the season, she is angry. What will she wear?? Her dear husband gives her the funds to purchase a gown, but then she is displeased she has no jewelry.

He suggests that she borrow a piece from a friend, which she does indeed do. But when the necklace is lost, there is a price to pay.

Mathilde’s change at the end of the story is both sad, and satisfying in an “I told you so” kind of way. This is also a good story to study the plot twist ending, but I would give it away here.

Road Trip!

https://repeatsamb.blogspot.com/2021/03/atozchallenge-2021-theme-reveal.html – Anne is taking us through an alphabet of patterns.

https://balconysunrise.wordpress.com/2021/04/16/new-year-celebration/ – Meena is looking at Nostalgia this year, and will awaken some of your own.

https://uniquelymaladjustedbutfun.blogspot.com/ – Jamie is sharing short fiction.

This month I am participating in the A to Z blog challenge. http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

The challenge involves 26 posts in April, all somehow connected to the alphabet. My theme for the month is short stories. The Story Factory needs market research, of course, so I will be reading a short story for each letter of the alphabet and trying to learn some new techniques for my story writing. My lacks seem to be characterization and emotional experience, so I am mainly looking for stories to teach me those things. Feel free to make suggestions in the comments if you know of an amazing story. Another component of the challenge is the blog road trip, where we visit each other’s blogs, leave comments, etc. While I would like to visit a couple of blogs every day, it is more realistic to do Road Trips on Sundays. (Of course, my ongoing, 52 bad story challenge is still on, as well as the 2021 creative hours in 2021.