Yes, we all have heard of that famous Guy De Maupassant
short story “The Necklace”. You have not? Well,
I too had not, till a week ago. It was a typical Sujatha type short piece
of fiction with an interesting premise. Could have very well also fitted into
the Kumudham orupakka kadhai scheme of things.
For those who are not ‘intellectually’ stimulated to have
any interest on the Maupassant types, the story goes like this – A vain
glorious woman with a poor, henpecked husband. No prizes for guessing who is
the hen. Always envious of her richer friends and derisive of her financially
incapable husband. Husband is stark poor, some government department clerk
or something. Husband invited for an important office party. Big guns will
attend and husband somehow manages an invite just to show off to his wife. Fate
strikes here.
Husband asks wife to accompany. Wife sobs and swoons. Says she cannot attend
a richman’s party without an appropriate party gown. Husband splurges on a
month’s savings of him to buy her one. Wife still sobs. Says she can’t attend
without an appropriate dazzling piece of jewellery. They both decide that the wife
would borrow one from her best (& more important, rich) friend. Borrows one
diamond studded necklace and makes it to the party. Manages to be the cynosure of all
eyes there. Her day made at the party, returns home. And lo! Discovers
that the necklace is lost!
Terrified at the prospect of disclosing this to the rich
friend, the couple count the options. First, they ask for some time from the
lender for the return of the jewel. That granted, they sit down and think and
think about how to manage the hopelessly large sum that would replace the
jewel. Left with no options, they decide to sell off their house. The chastened wife takes up employment as a maid, husband moonshines as a cobbler and
all that soul-wrenching stuff later, manage to buy an exact replica of the
ornament in diamond and return the same to the rich friend. A life-time’s savings
lost but what is savings before honour?
Story does not end here. Wife meets friend after 10 years.
Wife is now a ragged, miserable-looking hag looking twice her age. After some
small talk, wife recalls that incident. Blurts out all that happened that
fateful day and why penury has made her
what she appears now. All for that lost necklace. All for that piece of honour.
The friend hears her out with consternation and bewilderment. And the story
ends with these words of the friend – “O my poor, dear Matilda. Why, mine were
only imitation. At the most they were
worth five hundred francs!….”
The Necklace! Worth a measly 500 francs. The necklace that
turned upside down the lives of a hard working man and his proud,
envy-sodden wife. The necklace that made
a 1000 word riveting story. The Necklace…..
It is here, I take the story of the necklace forward myself.
A kind of sequel to the original Maupassant. In fact, I have made up two sequels, choose as you please. Let me consider two scenarios … For Indianness
sake, Matilda, the wife is Mary. The rich friend is Florence and Mary’s husband
is Henry . (I know this has been tried out by Archer - multiple endings for a single plot but what the hell, surely he is not going to sue me, he knows better!)
Sequel scenario I
“…….Oh, my poor Mary. Why, mine were only imitation. At the most they were worth five hundred
rupees !...”
Mary was having a
near heart-attack.
“What?”
“I told you, Mary. Mine was a little imitation. I never keep original diamond jewellery at
home. I keep them all in the bank locker. But ten years back, when you asked to
borrow it, I did not have the heart to tell the truth. So I just went ahead and
lent you the imitation for the party. After all you were borrowing it only for
a few hours and hardly anyone would’ve noticed”
Mary was in a daze. Ten years. Ten years of blood and sweat.
Ten years of washing dishes and sweeping floors. Ten years of living without
your own roof upon your head. A decade spent in abysmal poverty. And how can she forgive
herself for the destruction she brought upon her toiling husband! Ten years….
She quickly recovered and composed herself. Now she had to think fast. Years of hard
labor had not in one bit taken away from Mary the dream to dream rich, think
rich and be rich. Ten years. …How much that damn necklace cost? Ten lakh rupees?
Must have been fifteen. She didn’t keep
an account and did not remember. Ten lakhs, fifteen lakhs, all mere numbers. Effortlessly gobbled up by the tsunami of a ten year long wretched life. She thought
for a moment. And then asked,
“ Florence, Is this true? You are not kidding? This is no
time to play tomfoolery with your
dearest but poor friend of long time!”
“Why, no Mary. It was an imitation. Now I understand what
you went through all these years. It was providence that made us meet today.
No, you need not even ask. I would return the original diamond jewellery you
replaced ten years back”
The words were Beethoven’s fifth playing in Mary’s ears. She
could not believe what was happening. Fifteen lakhs! Now she can be back to
what she had always wanted. Having a house of her own with five maids, a lovely
garden, a car, air-conditioning…Why she can even ask her husband to quit
working…. Er…., well, she can at least consider that option.
“Florence, you are such a darling. Can I visit you tomorrow
to have that ornament back?”
“By all means. Well….,
er… wait. I have to search for it. Can’t exactly remember where it is lying.
You know, my husband has this sickening habit of transporting all that
resembles diamonds to the bank locker. Probably, this too is sleeping safely
inside the locker, my poor husband, how does he know which is fake and which is
genuine? Give me a week. I am going on a short holiday to France with my husband tomorrow. I
shall return next Tuesday and trace the thing out. Wednesday, you can come and take
it”.
So it has to be a week days later. Mary sighed. Well, a seven day
wait is nothing considering the stakes. They had one more round of coffee and cookies
and parted, Mary promising more than once that she would come a visiting next
Wednesday.
A week passed. A week,
that seemed as long as a year for Mary.
She could not sleep or eat for those seven days. She did not even tell her husband of
what happened. The poor husband simply did not have a clue. He did spot a
flicker of radiance and gaiety on her wife’s face but didn’t bother to ask what
it was due to. He certainly did not want to hear that she had decided to attend
another party, suitably adorned and attired.
Wednesday, sharp by 10 o’clock, Mary knocked on the doors of
Florence. Florence herself opened the door.
“ Mary, how nice to see you. You look beautiful”.
“Thank you Florence. Can I have the jewel now?”
“ Oh, sure. Now what a week I had in Paris, Mary, you must listen..
The sights, the sounds of France are a once-in-a lifetime experience. You must
some day visit Paris.”
“ Oh really? Glad that you had a whale of a time on your
Paris vacation. Now, I am really in a rush. My husband will be back from night
duty any time. Can I have that jewellery please?”
“ Ah, yes, the jewellery. I am bringing it. Now Mary, Air
France really offers some nice discounts if you travel in the off-season. And
you know what they had on board for dinner? Fabulous gourmet and the best of
wines. The tour company too was fantastic. Mary, I strongly recommend you visit
France with the same company…”
Mary desperately wanted to cut her short. Her mind was
transfixed on that glittering diamond jewellery she had laid her eyes on 10
years back. She could not even recollect how magnificent it looked. All she
remembered was the nerve-wracking 15 minutes from the moment the ornament was
packed and handed over by the jeweler to Florence’s residence 10 years back. Why
she hardly remembered anything about how the piece looked, she now realized.
“…..and the Siene by night!” Florence went on and on. “ An
awesome experience. But Mary, you know, the Eiffel Tower is a bit over-rated. I
would any day prefer…..”
“Florence, can I have the jewellery now?”
“Yes, the jewellery. I forgot. Glory…” she called out for
her maid. “Glory, in my bedroom, top drawer of the right side cabinet, there is
a blue jewellery box. Will you please. bring it now”, she ordered. “Trustworthy
maids are hard to come by Mary, these days..” she went on. Mary nodded in a
daze. She should know. She did not want
to interject with something inappropriate that she herself was a maid, with a
trust-worthy quotient of 65% as per self-assessment.
Presently the blue box was brought. Opened. A white shining ornament was carefully prised
out. Florence held it between her fingers, raised it and showed it to Mary From a distance. And then again carefully replaced it inside the box and shut it closed.
“This is the one, Mary?”
For all she tried, she could not remember anything. “Yes, exactly. How beautiful!” she blurted out. With another
hundred thanks and promises to catch up later, she latched on to the blue box
and rushed out. Even before she exited the door than the sweet dream of a ten maided air-conditioned house with a lovely garden played again softly in her
mind.
“Peter”, Florence called out no sooner than Mary exited.
Peter, the husband of Florence, sauntered in.
“You did exactly as I told you, Florence?” he asked.
“Yes, my dear.
But…isn’t this cheating? How can
I do this to an old friend…?”
“You are a fool, Florence.
And a naïve one at that. Just
forget about it. Don’t ever think about
it again”
“But what if she found out?” – Florence.
“Found out what?” – Peter.
“That it is a fake?”
“So what if she found out? Is there any proof? Is there any
proof that she handed you the original when she returned the jewellery 10 years
back? You just handed her back what she returned then. It was all lying in a
locker, unopened. If it is a fake now, it WAS a fake then. Tables
turned on her”
“But Peter, some how this does not seem alright, Peter..”
“ it is alright, my dear. After all, who knows what did she
return a decade back? I did not even check it out for its genuineness.”
“And, where is that damn original thing now?”
“In the locker. As
always. I hope it is an original anyway. It should be. My instinct says so.
After all, we are none-the-poorer even if it is a fake. If it is an
original, we profit. If it is a fake, we lose nothing. Glad that you told me of your little
unexpected meeting with Mary a week back. But how could you even blurt out to
her immediately that it was an imitation you gave her for the party? You must
have consulted me in the first place before telling her that."
“ I could not think along those lines, Peter”.
“Anyway, no damage done. Just relax. If we get an original
from the locker, we are richer. If we don’t, we continue to remain as what we
are now. Which is rich.” Peter trooped into the bedroom.
Still not convinced, Florence went back to her bedroom for
some rest. She could not decide one way or the other. Mary was not a great
friend, so what the hell, she thought. And fifteen lakhs
doesn’t hurt. Irrespective of the source
of the slush. Time, perhaps, for another vacation to the Antartica…
Sequel Scenario II
“…….Oh, my poor
Mary. Why, mine were only imitation. At
the most they were worth five hundred rupees !...”
Mary’s heart stopped. Has she been found out? Is this a ploy
by Mary to trap her and force her to admit what she had thought the world has
forgotten? She shivered and sweated at
the same time. She hoped, for God’s sake, Florence did not find anything
unusual about her ashen face.
“..Er…Florence, what are you saying? I did return a brand
new, genuine, 24 karat diamond studded necklace to you that day?”
“You did, Mary, but what I lent you was an imitation!”
Mary was flabbergasted. She did not have the nerve to admit even now, after a decade. That, the cause
of her family’s decade-long suffering
and hard labour, that damn piece of jewelery she returned to Florence on that fateful day was, after all, not an
original, but an imitation itself! Yes. Not even Henry knew about it. She has
the original safely stashed away, under the neem tree of her backyard soon
after she purchased the piece from the jeweler. Why, just yesterday she checked
it out. Safely nestled. Under the neem tree.
On hindsight, Mary had to admit that it was a sudden flash
of genius that made her switch the original with the fake at the point of
returning the piece to Florence ten years back. She just banked on providence
that Florence would never find out. And she was right. She never did!
Now Mary was caught in a terrible dilemma. She had two
options – admit that what she originally replaced was in itself a fake or go
ahead and reclaim the “original” Florence thinks she has in her possession now.
The first option was no option at all, she realized. How could she admit that
she cheated? A non-option, she quickly discarded it. And the second option? Again nerve-wracking. How could she now NOT
ask for something she is expected to ask? Damned if she asks to return now, for
it would be of no worth. Damned if she doesn’t, since that would arouse the
suspicion of Florence. Which sane soul would not ask for a return of something valuable
pledged by mistake?
She had to think fast. And still appear normal. She tried.
And then came out with this thing.
“Well, Florence, would it be too much if I ask you to return
the original piece I replaced a decade back?”
Florence appeared to
hesitate. Mary’s heartbeat increased. What if Florence finds out NOW that it
was all along a fake? But then, there
was nothing to prove. It was all word of
mouth, an unwritten code of loyalty between friends. But she need not have worried. Florence presently said "Why, Mary, it is my duty. You had pledged your life for
this damn thing. What is friendship if
honesty is absent? I would return the piece you had returned, next Wednesday,
after I come back from my France vacation. Should be lying in a locker, I need
to check out and retrieve it.”
Mary saw no reason to press ahead for an early release of
her treasure. After all, it was a fake. Seven days does not matter. In fact, it
does not matter at all, if she even forgets to redeem the prized treasure.
But then she remembered that she had to show some anxiety.
So she tried this appropriate-sounding response, “Well, Florence, I thought it would be helpful if I can redeem
it tomorrow, for I am mired in debt and each day’s interest counts, but okay,
what’s a week between friends? I will wait for a week”
“It is only providence that made us meet today, Mary. I will
trace that piece out soon after I return from France. It is probably sleeping in a bank locker now. You
know, my husband Peter has that nasty habit of stashing away anything that
resembles a diamond into a bank locker. Now I have to go to the bank and
scrounge through the contents of the locker and find that piece out. Okay,
let’s then settle at Wednesday next, Mary.”
So it’s another seven days before the charade is enacted
again, thought Mary. Okay, so be it. As long as the original is safely cocooned away under that neem tree. 'Nobody is going to dig under that neem tree', Mary
thought, 'not in my life time…'
On Wednesday next, Mary promptly forgot to call on Florence,
until Florence herself phoned and enquired as to why Mary did not turn up
yet. Mary cursed herself on this little
indiscretion and promptly lied that she
was on her way. Caught a call taxi perforce and landed on Florence’s door, all
along ruminating on the fate that made her spend 300 bucks on a taxi to claim a
fake diamond necklace that would probably go at 200 bucks today.
“Here is your necklace, Mary”, Florence handed
over the jewellery. Her lungs full with emotions of honesty. Equally
reciprocated by a massive feeling of feigned gratitude in the lungs of the
receiver. Further pleasantaries were exchanged, coffees consumed and good byes traded. Having been thrust upon this
goddamn worthless piece of fake, Mary ruefully trudged to her house. But still
thankful that what she did originally ten years back was, after all, justified
from the angle of poetic justice and that the fruits of her 10 year labor is now safely buried
under the neem tree. She would dig that
out soon and surprise her husband , she thought. Maybe, the husband can take an
early retirement. The thought disturbed her, her husband’s early retirement and
she decided that she would shelve that proposal for the time being. If nothing, she can have that five maided house and air conditioning and a car
with that treasure she has buried deep under the neem tree. She did not dare to
dig out the diamond all these ten years lest she be questioned on the source of
her new-found wealth. Now is the god-sent opportunity. An unwitting smile lit her face. She went to
sleep peacefully that night, despite the Rs.300 loss during the course of the
day, with that ear to ear smile intact.
Now epilogue common to both the scenarios:
In fact, the smile also never left the face of that jeweler
on Big Market street ever since he
palmed off a strikingly similar looking fake of a diamond necklace to Mary ten
years back. He had profited out of that deal and he still gets a feeling of
ecstasy on his coup a decade ago.
