The Necklace-Cinderella in Reverse!
In many stories or movies, the Grand Ball oftentimes signifies the turning point for the female protagonist. In the classic Cinderella fairy tale, Cinderella went to the ball with the ‘magic wand’ assistance of Fairy Godmother and danced with the Prince. When she left prematurely at the stroke of midnight, the Prince searched for Cinderella and the befallen glass slipper finally found its owner. The rest is fabled history.
In My Fair Lady, Eliza was the belle of the ball when she danced with the prince. It was the turning point for her as it signified she no longer needed Professor Higgins and his English lessons and coaching.
On the other end, we have Mathilde. As the main character in the story The Necklace the ball was also the turning point of her life but it was in the other direction-by a cruel twist of fate, her life change for the worse all because of that one night of fun and frolic.
This short story by Guy De Maupassant remains as intriguing today as when it was published in the 19th. Century. The story of this unfortunate Cinderella is so poignant that we root for her to get back to her original status in life but to no avail. The necklace changed all that.
The problem started because she did not want to confess to her friend that she lost the borrowed necklace. She could have told her that and accept the consequences. But no….
Mathilde was proud in her own way. Call it false pride, if you want. She could have thought that her friend would never forgive her. She could have feared that her friend would never trust her again with another piece of jewelry. For that foolishness of pride, she and her husband decided to tell a lie that the clasp of the necklace was damaged and they were getting it repaired. In truth, they wanted to buy a similar-looking necklace to replace the one that Mathilde lost.
For the next few days they feverishly took out all their savings, begged and borrowed to buy the replacement necklace. That was only the beginning of their misery.
For the next ten years, Mathilde and her husband slaved. Mathilde had to let the servant go, shift to poorer quarters to live in an attic and have to do all the domestic chores. The husband took two to three jobs to pay off the loans. The chores took the toll of Mathilde’s fair youth and beauty.
After ten long years, the loans were all paid back. Then came the shocker of shockers, Mathilde found that the diamond necklace was actually ‘paste’.
So what does the story tell us?
Always be truthful and humble. If you are wrong, confess. Never have false pride. Also, everything is negotiable and all you need is a positive attitude.
Quote of the Day:
“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
Heartsong
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