The Necklace

Summary

Mathilde Loisel is a beautiful woman born into a family of clerks who feels "destination" has cheated her out of a life of luxury. When her husband secures an invitation to a prestigious ball, Mathilde is miserable because she has nothing "grand" to wear. She buys a dress and borrows a stunning diamond necklace from her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier. For one night, Mathilde is the star of the ball, living her dream. However, the dream turns into a nightmare when she realizes she has lost the necklace. To avoid disgrace, the couple spends their life savings and takes out massive loans to buy a $36,000 replacement, which they return to Forestier without telling her of the loss. For ten years, they live in grinding poverty to pay back the debt. Mathilde loses her beauty and youth to hard manual labor. One day, she runs into Forestier and confesses the truth, only to learn the crueles…