Affair of the Diamond Necklace

The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was an incident in the 1780s (1781) at the court of Louis XVI of France involving his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The reputation of the Queen, which was already tarnished by gossip, was ruined by the implication that she had participated in a crime to defraud the crown jewellers of the cost of a very expensive diamond necklace. The Affair was historically significant as one of the events that led to the French populace's disillusionment with the monarchy, which, among other causes, eventually culminated in the French Revolution.

Background

In 1772, Louis XV decided to make Madame du Barry, with whom he was infatuated, a special gift at the estimated cost of 2,000,000 livres (approximately $14 million in 2015 USD). He requested that Parisian jewelers Boehmer and Bassenge create a diamond necklace which would surpass all others in grandeur. It would take the jewelers several years and a great deal of money to amass an appropriate set of diamonds. In the meantime, Louis XV died of smallpox, and du Barry was banished from court by his grandson and successor.

The Necklace

"The Necklace" or "The Diamond Necklace" (French: La Parure) is an 1884 short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant. It is known for its twist ending, which was a hallmark of de Maupassant's style. The story was first published on 17 February 1884 in the French newspaper Le Gaulois.

"The Necklace" has been adapted to film and television several times.

Plot

Madame Mathilde Loisel has always imagined herself in a high state of aristocracy. However, she is born relatively poor. She marries a low-paid clerk who tries his best to make her happy but has nothing. Through lots of begging at work, her husband is able to get a couple of invitations to the Ministry of Education party. Mathilde then refuses to go, for she has nothing to wear, and wishes not to be embarrassed.

Her husband is upset to see her displeasure and, using all the money that he was saving to buy a hunting rifle, gives Mathilde 400 francs to use. Mathilde goes out and buys a dress, but even with the dress she is not happy, as she is without any jewels to wear with it. The pair does not have much money left, so her husband suggests that she should buy flowers to wear with it. After Mathilde disagrees, he suggests borrowing something from her friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde goes to Madame Forestier and picks out her fanciest piece, a stunning diamond necklace. She looks at it with covetousness. After attending the party, Mathilde discovers that she has lost the necklace. She tries to find a quick way to replace it. She goes to a shop and discovers the price of a similar necklace to be 40,000 francs, eventually purchasing it for 36,000 francs. The couple has sold everything they owned and getting loans, but the long path of financial struggles begins as Mathilde falls into debt.

The Diamond Necklace (film)

The Diamond Necklace is a 1921 British silent historical drama film directed by Denison Clift and starring Milton Rosmer, Jessie Winter and Sara Sample. It was based on the story The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant.

Cast

References

External links

Diamond Necklace

Diamond Necklace may refer to:

Diamond Necklace (film)

Diamond Necklace is a 2012 Malayalam romance film directed by Lal Jose, starring Fahadh Faasil, Samvrutha Sunil, Gauthami Nair and Anusree in the lead roles. Gauthami Nair and Fahadh Faasil won Filmfare awards for their roles. Composer Vidyasagar won a Filmfare award too.

Plot

Arun Kumar (Fahadh Faasil) is a young Oncologist working in Dubai. He lives off of plastic money (carrying around a wallet full of credit cards), drives swanky cars and enjoys life to the hilt without worrying about the future. The risk of such a lifestyle comes into focus when we see his car being towed by the creditors. Next we get to see that his upmarket lifestyle is like a house of cards.

The focus is on his relationship with the people around him. There is Savithri Akka (Rohini), his boss in the hospital who, in a sense, spoils him with sisterly affection. Lakshmi(Gauthami Nair), a newly recruited Tamil nurse in his department may be the first girl Arun is seriously smitten by. Lakshmi came to Dubai to fulfill her mother's dream of building a hospital in their village, as her father died due to lack of proper treatment.