The Necklace by Shmoop

The Necklace, a la Shmoop: Diamonds Aren’t a Girl’s Best Friend. Meet Mathilde . . . . . .a woman who just can’t seem to be happy about anything. In fact, she spends most of her time. . . . . . envying everybody with a sweeter life than her own. . . . . .which includes just about everybody on the planet. Poor Mathilde can’t catch a break. When she finally does get the chance to hang out with the rich and famous. . . . . .she loses a borrowed necklace. . . . . .which makes her life more miserable than ever. It sure looks like our author is trying to tell us something. . . . . .but what? What’s the moral of The Necklace? Is he suggesting that we should be happy with what we’ve got? Mathilde didn’t appreciate what she had. . . .and that led to a whole bunch of trouble. Is DeMaupassant saying we should stop wanting what we don’t have? Or is he just encouraging us to be ourselves? If Mathilde had just slapped on a dress from her closet. . . . . .and skipped the fancy jewelry. . . . . .well, we would have had a different story. Another possible moral to the story. . . . . .could be the importance of telling the truth. If Mathilde had just told Madame Forestier she had lost the necklace. . . . . .she might have lost a friend. . . . . .but could have kept her maid. . . . . .and a few francs in the bank. So, what do you think is the moral of The Necklace? Is it: Be happy with what you’ve got. . . Don’t try to be anyone but yourself. . . or… Tell the truth, even when it’s really, really hard? Shmoop amongst yourselves.