The Diamond Necklace by Guy de Maupassant - Book Report/Review Example

World Literature 26 April The Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant Introduction: Henri Rene Albert Guy de Maupassant is one of the most popular French writers of the 19th century. He is also recognized as the father of modern short stories. It is believed that he was born at the Chateau de Miromesniel, Dieppe on 15th august 1850. As a poet, he made his debut in Des Vers during 1880. In the same year, he published Soirees de Medan an anthology which was edited by E Zola. Maupassant authored around 300 short stories, 3 travelogues, and 6 novels apart from a volume of verse. His stories specialize in objectivity, sheer comedy and he exercises good control over style. He mainly focuses on simple episodes from daily life that reveals the hidden traits of people. Guy de Maupassant has lived in an era when people have indulged in swanking their wealth. His story “The Diamond Neckalce”, depicts the human condition where they try to tout their wealth by the display of jwellery or other riches, in order to project the image of belonging to the society. The story is about a poor woman who, motivated by her aspirations about a luxurious life, wants to be marrying a rich man but due to a quick of fate gets wedded to a poor clerk. She never receives opportunity to live her life the way she has desired. Thus, she becomes forced to bury her wants as her husband when her husband receives the invitation to a ball, she does not feel excited because she fears her appearance in the present condition on such an occasion may divulge her poor status. Her husband manages to get some money and buys her a pretty gown but still she is unhappy as she did not have any jewelry. Thus, she borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from one of her friends. At the ball, she realizes her dreams of the colorful world where she is the prettiest woman. After the party, she reaches home and glances in the mirror to see her once again with all the glory. To her shock, she finds that she no longer had the necklace. She sets out to search the necklace along with her husband but they could not find it. They decide to replace the necklace with another one of the same kind and go from jeweler to jeweler. Finally, they find one which seemed exactly like the one they lost but it is very expensive. They borrow money from many people so as to acquire the amount and finally they buy it and return it to her friend. They struggle for almost 10 years to repay the borrowed money. Later after years, the lady happens to meet her friend who lends her the necklace and told her about the necklace and how she struggled to replace it. Her friend is shocked at this and tells her that it is just an imitation. From this story, one can understand the vanity of people who lived at that time. The author wants to convey the theme that vanity wreaks misery p on humans and they should not always pursue material pleasures. People who flaunt their wealth are being pretensions and true value is not wealth but happiness and love for each other are. Thus, the main theme of story is the meaninglessness of vanity and the disaster. The character and theme of Maupassant’s story, The Tress of Hair, differs drastically from the former. The story begins by portraying the person as a loon, and his story is depicted as being read from his diary by another person. The story is about a rich man who was a great lover of antiques and past times. Once as he was wandering through the streets, he found 17th century Italian furniture and he was very much attracted to it. He brought it and nurtured it in every ways. As he was examining the furniture, he found a magnificent tress of hair from a secret cavity. He was very much astonished to note the presence of the tress of hair in the drawer. As days passed him gradually fell in love with the tress of hair. He held it in his hands, loved and cared if it as it was his beloved. He had the feel that he was not alone at home despite being alone. He felt that the dead were back, and held, held her in his arms with the feel that she was alive. He believed that she would come back every evening to be with him. He was very happy and travelled all around with her as if she was his wife. He felt that he loved her so much, and that they could not be separated. He was so deeply in love with the imaginary woman that he becomes almost mad. He could not accept the fact that she was an illusionary figure who had nothing to do with reality. He continued to live in his illusionary world. Finally he becomes lunatic when he felt that someone had forcibly separated her from him. Here the manuscript ends and the reader is felt with the doubt whether the tress of hair really existed. He is quite surprised to know that it really existed in the mind of the protagonists, and that human mind is capable of going wild with imagination, which in reality size images. This story is entirely based on fantasy. It is a beautiful meditation on the love for treasured historical objects. At the same time it’s a very powerful and dramatic tale. Conclusion: The story ‘The Diamond Necklace’ deals with life of ordinary people. It mainly focuses on their way of thinking, their desires and hopes. This story is purely based on real life, though it is all about imagination. Human mind takes its liberty to wonder wherever it likes. In fact, there is nothing in this universe which the human mind cannot imagine about. Un like the former one, this story dwells on the power of imagination, and the readers are carried by a series of dramatic situations in it. Read More