Ball of Suet: Selected Short Stories by Maupassant

Chapter 9 Necklace (1)
A woman borrowed a necklace from a friend to attend a prom, but accidentally lost the necklace.She and her husband worked hard for ten years to repay the debt, and it was only at the end that they realized that the necklace they borrowed was fake.The ironic ending is the greatest satire on the vanity of the act.

There are some girls who are very beautiful, graceful and charming, but fate deliberately plays tricks on them and makes them born into the ordinary working class.There are many girls like this, and she is one of them.She could neither get an inheritance nor a large dowry, so marrying a man of wealth and status was tantamount to a dream.As a result, when her family asked her to marry a small employee of the Ministry of Education, she had no choice but to obey.

Without money, there is no way to dress up, only plain clothes.But she was not reconciled, she felt that she should live a noble life.Because things like family and status are not important to women, their beauty, charm and attractiveness are the most important.Whether they are talented or not, and whether they are elegant or not are the only criteria for judging their quality.If the girls in ordinary people's families also possessed these advantages, they would not be inferior in the slightest even in front of dignified ladies.

She thinks that she has the beauty of the country and the city. She should wear jewels and jade on her head, and wear silk and satin, but the reality is that she can only live a very poor life.The gap between ideal and reality was too great, and she felt extremely painful.Her house is filled with very simple furniture, and the tables, chairs and benches are dilapidated.None of the clothes she was wearing was crumpled.She felt that it was too painful to live like this.If it was another woman of her class, she would feel that all this was normal and would not feel painful.But she doesn't think so.She feels that this is not the life she should live, so she is very wronged.There was a little Breton woman who used to come to her house to help with the rough work.Every time she saw that woman, she would lament her unfortunate fate, and at the same time fantasize unrealistically about a life of prosperity and wealth.She imagined that oriental curtains hung on the walls around the reception room at home, and a large bronze candelabrum shone brightly, making the whole reception room brilliantly lit.She also fancied that the heating in the house was very strong, and two tall servants in shorts and stockings were dozing on the easy chairs, dazed by the heating.She also fancied that she had several parlors in her house, furnished with elegant furniture and precious trinkets, and hung with velvet curtains.In addition, she also imagined that there are several inner living rooms in the house, where the atmosphere is elegant and filled with intoxicating fragrance, and it is the place where she talks with her close friends at 5 o'clock in the afternoon.Of course, those close friends are not ordinary ladies, they are all celebrities in the society and have a prominent reputation.

During the meal, she and her husband sat at a round table.The tablecloth on that round table hadn't been changed for three days. Sitting there, she lost her appetite.But her husband opened the lid of the soup pot, looked at the stewed meat in the pot, and said happily: "It's so fragrant, this must be the most delicious food in the world." At this time, she would imagine that she came to At a grand banquet, the table is set with silver utensils that reflect people, and the walls are hung with tapestries woven with magical birds and ancient figures.She thought of the expensive dishes that kept being laid out on the table, and of herself sipping delicious grouse wings or sea bass while her boyfriend whispered sweet words into her ear.

Jewelry, beautiful clothes and other things that women like, she doesn't own any of them, but she loves these things to an obsessive degree.She has always felt that she should have those things, because she has a beautiful face that no one else can match.Deep in her heart, she has always longed for her beauty to attract the attention of others and become the object of pursuit.

She had a very wealthy girlfriend, and they had once studied together in a convent.Now, she doesn't want to be a guest at this friend's house anymore, because every time she comes back from a friend's house, her heart will be very uneasy, and she can't figure out why she has the same background as that friend, but now the gap between rich and poor is so large so big.She was sad, in pain, and cried all day long.

However, one evening, the husband came home with a large envelope in his hand.He said cheerfully: "Look, this is specially for you, I think you will like it."

She hastily opened the envelope, and saw an invitation card with these words printed on it:
Mr and Mrs Roisseul:
Minister of Education George Rampono and his wife will hold a party on January 1 (Monday) at the headquarters building. We hope you will be there.

Minister of Education George Rampono and his wife

After reading the invitation, there was no excitement on her face, which was beyond her husband's expectation.She threw the invitation on the old table in a rage, and whispered, "What do you mean bring it?"

"My dear, I thought you would be very happy to see it. You stay at home all day, never go out, let alone visit anyone's house. This evening is a very good opportunity for you. This Invitations, I managed to get them. Only a small part has been sent to the employees of the headquarters, but everyone really wants them. All the official people will be at the party, so you will be able to meet them when the time comes. "

Anger was already burning in her eyes.She glared at her husband and yelled at him, "Tell me, what should I wear? You obviously want to embarrass me!"

It did not occur to her husband that she would ask such a question.He stammered, "I think what you're wearing to the theater is fine..."

She actually started to cry.The husband really didn't expect this to happen.He stopped talking.The wife shed two lines of tears."Honey, what's the matter with you?" he asked.

She tried her best to control her emotions, wiped the tears from her face, and replied very calmly: "Nothing. It's just that this kind of party is not suitable for me, because I don't even have a decent dress. You still give the invitation to Your colleagues. Whoever's wife has beautiful clothes, give it to him!"

He was a little overwhelmed.After a while, he said: "Matilde, can you tell me about how much a dress that can be worn to this party and other occasions will cost? To buy a dress like this , it’s not a difficult thing!”

She quickly calculated the amount of the money.But she didn't say it immediately, because she knew that this young clerk was always frugal, and he might immediately refuse because the amount of money was too large.She thought for a while, and finally stammered: "I don't know exactly how much it will cost. But I think that with four hundred francs, everything can be done well."

Hearing this number, his face turned slightly pale.Because, recently, he happened to have saved a sum of money, and the amount was exactly the same as what his wife said.He saved money to buy a gun.Armed with a gun, he could go hunting on the plains of Nanterre with a few friends.Those few friends, who went to the plains to hunt larks almost every Sunday, had become experts in hunting.He could have a lot of fun hunting with them.

However, he said to his wife: "Four hundred francs? Well, I will give you the money. But I have one request. You must buy a very nice dress."

The days passed quickly.The day of the party is approaching.Madame Roissel was in a scowl all day.She seemed to have a lot of worries, and her temperament became irritable.Why is this?Isn't her beautiful dress ready?

One night, her husband asked her, "Honey, what's the matter with you? Why have you been a little confused by your temper these days?"

She said: "What should I wear to a party? Everyone else wears jewellery, but I don't wear anything. How embarrassing! Thinking about it makes my heart go crazy. Forget it." , I still won’t go.”

The husband said: "How nice to wear a few flowers! Dressing up like this is very emotional in this season. Moreover, flowers are very cheap. You can buy two or three very beautiful roses for less than ten francs."

She didn't listen to his words.She said: "How can you do this? No... I think the most shameful thing is to show poverty in front of those rich women."

Suddenly, her husband yelled: "Why are you so stupid? Isn't Mrs. Forester your friend? You can borrow some jewelry from her. It's fine if you don't. You have a good relationship and she won't refuse you." of."

"Yes, this is really a good idea, why didn't I think of it?" She shouted excitedly.

The next day, she went to find her friend.She uttered all her troubles.

Without further ado, Mrs. Forresger took out a jewelry box from the mirrored wardrobe and put it in front of Mrs. Roissel.She opened the jewelry box and said to Madame Roissel: "Choose whatever you want, my dear."

Bracelets, a necklace of pearls, and a fine gold crucifix of Venetian manufacture, appeared one after the other to Madame Roissel.She put these jewelry on herself and looked at them in front of the mirror, not knowing which one was more suitable for her.She kept asking Mrs. Forester if she had any other jewelry.

Mrs. Forester replied, "Of course I do. I don't know what jewelry would suit you, so pick your own."

Suddenly, a string of extremely beautiful diamond necklaces packed in a black velvet box caught Madame Roissel's eyes.Deep in her heart, a very strong possessive desire arises spontaneously.Her heart beat wildly because of it.Her hands trembled, and the necklace was held in her hands.She put it on, pushed the neckline of the dress down, and shone it back and forth.

Although she wanted this necklace very much in her heart, she still said slowly: "I like it very much, can you lend it to me? I only need to borrow this one."

"Okay! No problem!"

She was so excited that she jumped up first, then hugged her girlfriend's neck and kissed her.After that, she beat the treasure in the palm of her hand and hurried home.

The party arrived as scheduled.At the party, Madame Roissel was the center of attention.She was the most beautiful woman at the party.Her elegant posture and decent conversation attracted the attention of all men.They asked about her, begged to be introduced to her.The officials in the minister's office also liked her very much and wanted to dance with her.The minister also put more attention on her.

She was intoxicated with happiness, frantic to the extreme, and she danced gracefully.Her good looks won her over and she was successful.She thought nothing of it, she was completely intoxicated by this victory.People around praised her, greeted her graciously, and pursued her enthusiastically.She has completely achieved the victory that women envy in their hearts. This kind of victory is so beautiful and so thorough.She was surrounded by such an atmosphere of happiness, she was extremely happy.

(End of this chapter)