ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

The Necklace (Maupassant) 28197 Views


Share It!


Description:

How would you feel if you lost a diamond necklace that you borrowed? We don't know your life, but we'd feel pretty crappy about it. In "The Necklace," Matilde borrows a necklace to look rich for a ball—and loses it. She and her husband spiral into debt from the cost of replacing it, only to realize...well, watch the video to find out the rest.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

The Necklace, a la Shmoop: Diamonds Aren’t a Girl’s Best Friend.

00:11

Meet Mathilde . . .

00:12

. . .a woman who just can’t seem to be happy about anything.

00:18

In fact, she spends most of her time. . .

00:20

. . . envying everybody with a sweeter life than

00:23

her own. . .

00:24

. . .which includes just about everybody on the planet.

00:30

Poor Mathilde can’t catch a break. When she finally does get the chance to hang

00:34

out with the rich and famous. . .

00:37

. . .she loses a borrowed necklace. . .

00:39

. . .which makes her life more miserable than ever.

00:43

It sure looks like our author is trying to tell us something. . .

00:46

. . .but what?

00:47

What’s the moral of The Necklace? Is he suggesting that we should be happy with

00:52

what we’ve got? Mathilde didn’t appreciate what she had.

00:57

. .

00:57

. . .and that led to a whole bunch of trouble.

01:00

Is DeMaupassant<<not totally sure on pronunciation – does Deb know?>> saying we should stop

01:03

wanting what we don’t have?

01:07

Or is he just encouraging us to be ourselves? If Mathilde had just slapped on a dress from

01:13

her closet. . .

01:13

. . .and skipped the fancy jewelry. . .

01:16

. . .well, we would have had a different story. Another possible moral to the story. . .

01:20

. . .could be the importance of telling the truth.

01:23

If Mathilde had just told Madame Forestier she had lost the necklace. . .

01:29

. . .she might have lost a friend. . .

01:31

. . .but could have kept her maid. . .

01:33

. . .and a few francs in the bank. So, what do you think is the moral of The

01:37

Necklace? Is it:

01:39

Be happy with what you’ve got. . .

01:41

Don’t try to be anyone but yourself. . .

01:43

or… Tell the truth, even when it’s really, really hard?

01:48

Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Up Next

Utopias Becoming Dystopias
29763 Views

This video defines utopias and dystopias, and investigates how a utopia might become a dystopia. Can a seemingly perfect world actually be a dystop...

Related Videos

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123036 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105891 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1255 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...