Maupassant

Mr. Langdan met the young girl at a party at the deputy section chief's house and fell in love with her from then on.

Her father, a tax collector from other provinces, has been dead for several years. Later she followed her mother to Paris. Her mother wants to marry her and often goes to several middle-class families nearby. Although they are poor, they are decent, steady and kind. This young girl seems to be a perfect example of a well-behaved woman. Every smart young man dreams of entrusting his life to this typical woman. Her simple miri, Malaysia has a chaste angelic charm; The faint smile that never leaves her lips seems to be the light in her heart.

Everyone praised her; Everyone who knows her praises her again and again, saying, "Whoever marries her is definitely happy. I can't find a better one than her. "

At that time, Mr. Langdan was a chief clerk in the Ministry of the Interior, with an annual salary of 3,500 francs. He proposed to her and married her.

His happiness with her is beyond description. She is diligent and thrifty, so their lives look rich. She is extremely caring, considerate and gentle to her husband. Besides, her own temptation is so great. Although they have known each other for six years, he loves her more than those first days.

He accused her of having only two hobbies: the love of drama and the love of fake jewelry.

Her friends (she knows the wives of several small officials) can often get her a box and invite her to see the popular plays at that time, even the new plays for the first time; Whether her husband likes it or not, she always takes him with her. But after a day's work, this pastime will only increase his fatigue. So, he begged her to find a wife she knew to accompany her to the theatre, as long as she could send it back. She didn't think this method was appropriate, refused to agree anyway, and finally reluctantly gave in to please him. He thanked her beyond words.

However, this hobby of going to the theatre quickly aroused her demand for dressing up. Yes, her dress is as simple as ever, elegant and simple; Her gentle beauty, charming, humble and smiling beauty seems to have gained new charm from her simple dress, but she gradually developed the habit of wearing two big rhinestones on her ears to pretend to be diamonds. She also wears a fake pearl necklace, a gold bracelet and a comb with colored glass diamonds instead of precious stones.

Her husband is a little dissatisfied with this fake hobby. He often said, "honey, for a person who can't afford real jewelry, beauty and charm are her ornaments." Moreover, this is the rarest jewel in the world. "

But she smiled gently and always replied, "What can I do? I like this. This is my weakness. I also know that you are right; But a leopard cannot change his spots. Of course I prefer to have real jewelry! "

While twirling the pearl necklace with her fingers or making the cut surface of the gem shine, she kept saying, "Look, how well it is done. Just like it's true. "

He smiled and said, "You have the same taste as gypsies."

Sometimes, at night, when they are alone by the fire, she will take the Moroccan leather box containing Mr. Long Dan's so-called "bargains" to the coffee table and begin to look at those fake jewels with great interest, as if there is an endless secret pleasure inside. She must also hang a necklace around her husband's neck so that she can laugh heartily after hanging it, and then loudly say, "Look how funny you are!" " "Then I threw myself into his arms and kissed him crazily.

One winter night, she came back from the opera house, shivering with cold, coughing the next day and dying of pneumonia a week later.

Langdan almost went to the grave with her. He was so disappointed that his hair turned white in less than a month. He cried from morning till night, and the unbearable pain tore his heart out; Memories, smiles, voices and the charm of the dead kept appearing in his mind.

Time has not alleviated his sadness. Often at work, when colleagues are talking about the news of the day, they will suddenly see his cheeks bulging, his nose wrinkled and his eyes containing two bags of tears; He made a sad face and began to sob.

He left his dead wife's bedroom intact. He shut himself up at home and misses her every day; All the furniture, even her clothes, were in the same place as the day she died.

But life is getting harder and harder for him. His salary is in his wife's hand, which is enough for all the expenses of the family. Now he's alone, but that's not enough. He wants to know where she got such great skills that he can drink first-class wine and eat fine food every day. Now he can't get his meager income at all.

He borrowed several debts and looked for money like a desperate man. Finally one morning, there was still a whole week before the end of the month, but I didn't even have a penny in my hand. So he tried to sell things. He immediately thought of his wife's "bargains" because he still bears a grudge against these "fake colors" that once made him angry. Even seeing them every day will damage the memory of the people he loves.

He searched for a long time in the pile of fakes she left behind, because she kept buying them back until a few days before her death, and brought back a new thing almost every night. He decided to sell the big necklace that she seemed particularly fond of, because although it was a fake, it was well-made and probably worth seven or eight francs.

He put it in his pocket and walked down the street to the Ministry, intending to find a reliable jewelry store.

He finally saw a family and went in. He was a little embarrassed at the thought of showing his poor face and selling such worthless things.

"Sir," he said to the businessman, "I want you to evaluate this thing."

The man took it, looked at it carefully for a while, then weighed it, picked up a magnifying glass, called his buddy over, muttered a few words, and then put the necklace on the counter to see how it looked from a distance.

Such a fuss made Mr. Langdan very uncomfortable. He opened his mouth and was about to say, "Oh! I also know that it's not worth much, "the jeweler first said," Sir, it's worth fifteen thousand francs; But you have to tell me its source before I can buy it. "

The widower's eyes were wide open, and he stood there, suddenly confused. Finally, he stammered, "What did you say? ..... You didn't miscalculate. " The other party misunderstood the reason for his surprise and said coldly, "You can ask elsewhere to see if others are willing to pay a higher price. In my opinion, it's worth 15 thousand at most If you can't find a better place, come to me again. "

Mr. Langdan has completely become a fool; He needed someone to think about it, so he picked up the necklace and went out.

But when he got to the street, he wanted to laugh instead. He thought, "What a fool! Fool! What if I had sold it to him? There is also such a jeweler who can't tell the difference between true and false! "

He walked into another jewelry store on Heping Street. When the boss saw this jewel, he immediately shouted:

"ah! I know this necklace. It is sold from us. "

Mr. Langdan was very alarmed and asked:

"How much is it worth?"

"Sir, I sold twenty-five thousand francs. I'm going to pay 18 thousand francs to get it back, but according to the law, you have to tell me how you got it first. "

This time, Mr. Langdan was so surprised that his legs went weak and he sat down. He said, "but ... but look carefully, sir. I always thought it was ... fake. "

The jeweler asked again, "Sir, would you like to tell me your last name?"

"Of course. My last name is Langdan. I am a clerk of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and live at Martyrs Street 16. "

The merchant opened the ledger, checked it, and said, "This necklace was indeed delivered to Mrs. Langdan's address, Martyrs Street 16 on July 20, 876."

Two people, you look at me and I look at you. The clerk was almost crazy with surprise. The jeweler suspected him to be a thief.

The jeweler went on to say, "Would you like to leave this with me for 24 hours? I can give you a receipt. "

Mr. Langdan stammered, "Of course." He folded the note, put it in his pocket and went out.

He crossed the street, walked on, found the wrong way, turned around and walked back, arrived at the Tuileries Palace, crossed the Seine River, took the wrong way again, and returned to the Champs Elysé es without a clue in his mind. He wants to think it over and find out what is going on. His wife can't afford such an expensive thing-of course not. So, this is a gift from someone else! Gifts! Who sent it? Why did you send it?

He stopped and stood in the middle of the street. Terrible doubts crossed his mind. Could it be her? So, the rest of the jewelry is also a gift! He felt the ground shaking and a tree fell in front of him; He stretched out his arms and fell unconscious.

When I woke up, I found myself in a drugstore, which was originally carried by passers-by. He asked someone to take him home and then shut himself in the house.

He cried sadly until dark, biting his handkerchief to avoid crying out loud. Finally, he was tired, sad, unable to support himself and fell asleep in bed.

A ray of sunshine woke him up, and he got up slowly, ready to go to the Ministry. After such a blow, it is difficult to work again. He thought about it and thought that he could ask the section chief for forgiveness, so he wrote a letter. Then, he thought he should go to the jewelry store again. When he thought of this, he blushed with shame. He thought about it. In any case, he can't leave the necklace in that shop. So he got dressed and went out.

The weather is clear and the blue sky covers the smiling city. A few idlers were loitering in the street with their hands in their pockets.

Mr. Langdan watched them pass by and said to himself, "How happy people with property are! When a person has money, he can even get rid of his troubles. He can go anywhere he likes, travel and have fun! Ah! If only I had money! "

He found that he was hungry because he hadn't eaten since the night before yesterday. But his pocket was empty, so he remembered the necklace again. Eighteen thousand francs! Eighteen thousand francs! This amount is really not small!

He walked to Heping Street and began pacing back and forth on the sidewalk opposite the jewelry store. Eighteen thousand francs! Twenty times in a row, he almost walked in, but every time he was ashamed to stop.

However, he is hungry, very hungry, and he has no money. He suddenly made up his mind to rush to the jewelry store across the street to give himself no time to think.

When the businessman saw him, he quickly stepped forward, smiled and politely moved a chair. Those guys came along, smiling at Langdan with eyes and mouth.

The jeweler said, "I've asked around, sir." If you don't change your mind, I can pay at my price immediately. "

The clerk stammered, "Of course it hasn't changed."

The jeweler took out eighteen big bills from the drawer, counted them and handed them to Rondan. Langdan signed a small receipt and put the money in his pocket with trembling hands.

I was just about to go out when I turned around, lowered my eyes and said to the smiling businessman, "I … I have other jewels … all inherited from … the same person. Would you like to buy it? "

The businessman bowed and said, "Certainly, sir."

One of them ran out and had a good laugh. The other man blew his nose hard.

"I'll get it for you," Langdan said solemnly, as if nothing had happened.

He called a carriage and went back to get the jewels.

An hour later, he returned to the jewelry store. By this time, he had not eaten breakfast. They began to study and evaluate them one by one. Almost all of them are sold in this shop.

Langdan is also fighting for the price now. He lost his temper and asked people to show him the books. As the amount increased, his voice became louder and louder.

Large diamond earrings of 20,000 francs; A bracelet of 35,000 francs; Brooch, ring and pendant are sixteen thousand francs; A jewel with emeralds and sapphires is fourteen thousand francs; A gold chain used as a necklace and a diamond hanging on it are 40 thousand francs; The total * * * amounts to one hundred and ninety-six thousand francs.

The businessman said in a joking tone:

"The owners of these things have invested all their savings in jewelry."

Lang Dan said solemnly: "This is also a way to save money, not special." He made an appointment with the buyer for an expert review the next day, and then he came out.

In the street, he saw the Vendom memorial column and wanted to climb it like a lottery pole. He felt as light as a swallow. As long as he jumps, he can play with the towering statue of the emperor at the top of the column.

He went to the Wazan Hotel for lunch and drank a bottle of twenty francs.

After dinner, he called a carriage and went for a ride in the forest of Boulogne. He looked at the cars and horses coming and going with some disdain and couldn't wait to shout to the pedestrians, "I have money, too." I have two hundred thousand francs! "

He remembered the Ministry of Internal Affairs and called a carriage to take him there. He swaggered into the section chief's office and said:

"Sir, I'm here to resign from you. I got an inheritance of three hundred thousand francs. " He went to shake hands with his old colleagues and told them his future life plan; Then go to the English cafe for dinner.

He happened to sit next to a gentleman who seemed to have great status. Itchy in his heart, he couldn't help showing off, so he told the gentleman that he had just got an inheritance of 400 thousand francs.

For the first time in his life, he enjoyed going to the theatre and spent the night with several prostitutes.

Six months later, he got married again. Although his second wife was very disciplined, her temper was difficult to serve, which brought him a lot of pain.

Jewelry is a short story by French writer Mo Bosang. It tells the story of a husband's psychological change after discovering that his wife's "fake jewelry" is true. Jewellery is a moral novel. Lang Dan once had a happy little family. He sincerely loves his wife, and her wife also passionately loves Rhondan. The solution to the mystery of the authenticity of jewelry is a heavy blow to Long Dan. In an instant, "true and false" have changed places: fake jewelry has become real jewelry, and sincere love has become false love.

This novel inherits Mo Bosang's consistent writing style: ingenious conception and layout, drawing materials from ordinary daily life, and making the novel vivid and attractive through fascinating plot arrangement. The novel reveals the evil side of money in capitalist society and the vanity of ordinary citizens in front of money. The novel vividly embodies Mo Bosang's creative characteristics through detailed psychological description of characters and unexpected ending arrangement.

/kloc-In the late 20th century, hypocrisy, selfishness and greed prevailed in French society. Although Mo Bosang's attitude towards bourgeois civilization at that time was contradictory, he was most keenly aware of the poverty, meanness and hypocrisy of bourgeois civilization, which made him particularly sad:

In capitalist society, people "live under the dictatorship of remuneration" and "kneel in front of money idols". In such a society, pure love is rare after all. He once sang several sweet romances (short stories such as Happiness and Madan Girl). However, this realist writer reveals the abnormal phenomenon of love and marriage caused by the capitalist system, and works such as inheritance, will and jewelry are footnotes of abnormal marriage in the money society.