The Necklace

by Guy de Maupassant · 1884

The Necklace, first published in 1884, is Guy de Maupassant’s celebrated short story about Mathilde Loisel, a modest clerk’s wife who dreams of aristocratic luxury. When her husband secures an invitation to a prestigious ball, Mathilde borrows a dazzling diamond necklace to appear affluent. The night of admiration turns tragic when the necklace is lost, forcing the couple into years of hard labor to replace it. Maupassant’s elegant prose exposes vanity, social ambition, and the crushing weight of pride, culminating in an ironic twist that reveals the true cost of pretense. Set in Belle Époque Paris, the tale remains a staple in classrooms and literary anthologies for its moral lesson on appearance versus reality.