"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
Mathilde Loisel is a charming and pretty woman who has always believed herself destined for greater things than her life has brought her. The feeling that she deserves the luxuries of life and is yet unable to afford those “delicacies” causes her to suffer continuous feelings of jealousy and longing. After marrying a clerk who works at the Ministry of Public Instruction, Mathilde settles into a life of mediocrity, longing for women to envy her and men to pursue her. Finding these desires unfulfilled, Mathilde even begins avoiding her wealthy friend Madame Forestier, a former schoolmate, because returning from her friend’s house of opulence causes Mathilde to suffer even more deeply when she returns to her own modest abode. One evening, Mathilde’s husband arrives home with what he believes will be joyous news for his wife. The couple has been invited to a grand ball and celebration at the palace of the Ministry, and the invitation has been difficult for Monsieur Loisel to procure. Yet