New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-11-01
" THE NECKLACE"
A GLANCE AT MAUPAssANT AND THE
SHORT STORY

E A. Bennett, in The Academy and Literature.
Most people are familiar with the story of
The Necklace" Nine Loise is the wife of
poor clerk; she borroWs a diamond necklace
from her rich friend, Nine. Forester in order 10
adorn her beauty at ball. On the way home
from the ball the necklace Is lost, and IL is
never found. The LOisels beg and borrow SO 600
francs to replace the necklace by another ex-
aCty like II, and they say nothing to Nine.
Forestler OF their calamity. For ten years the
Lolsels endure life of the narrowest penury,
and at length the 5000 francs are repaid
Then Nine. Loisel, now a poor creature worn
Out by work. meets the still attractive Nine
Forester. and tells her about the loss and the
substitution, which Mime. Forester had never
discovered. Nine. Forester informs her that
the original necklace was paste and scarcely
worth 500 francs
An examination Of THE Necklace" will dis
close weakness at almost every point where the
plot moves; IL is excellent only when the plot
stands still When Nine Loisel borrows the
necklace the reader is distinctly told that II is a
diamond necklace; he Is misled with delibera-
ton. The manner in which the necklace disap-
pears Is rendered neither probable nor clear, In
Keeping us disappearance 4 secret from Mime
forester, the Loisels acted not as people act in
rear me- bat as puppets act on the stage-for a
particular purpose OF the author In the
earlier part Of the tale VI. Loisel behaves as a
man with some and some IMAGINATION
and such a man would certainly have told Nine
foreSuer at once. But II he had told Nine
FORESTER at once there would have been no
story. Further. that the Loises should be a BILE
with any certainty to choose a necklace exactly
10 match a necklace of which they had only had
possession for day or two is very improba bile.
II Is even more improbable that NJ. Losel should
nave raised the money to pay for Il in so short a
Ume. And it is quite inconceivabIe that Nine
IoteStler ala not open the case when Nine
Loisel returned IL to her and that during ton
years she never found out that Mime. I.osel had
not brought back the Identical trinket which she
had taken away. Thus. again and again. prOba-
pllty ana truth sacrificed to the artificial
necessity of a climax. And the final defect is
mat the tale cannot end where De Maupassant
gieeiul IN the administration OF his smashing
ploW between the readers eyes, has thought
lessly stopped IL. The first and fundame1taI
BUSINESS or the literary creative artist is TO raise
"a "a, question: ana, having raised IL, Ia settle it,
rms question Of the necklace is not settled
Nine Forester had received jewels worth re OOD
francs from the Loisels in place of Jewels worth
'oV francs Obviously, therefore Mime For
estler would dispose of the Jewels buy herself =
paste necklace and hand the balance TO the
Loisels; and the balance even alloVinp FOR
jewellers profits, would perhaps be not less than
.5oU0O francs. In Paris 10000 francs is a great
their prvations. 'eu 4oI
Had Balzac been telling this tale he would
uhoubltably have let the reader know from the
beginning that the necklace was false Snnb
Cdhoor, instead Of detractng from the harrow
ing effectiveness of the narration would have
intensified it. What could be more hsrroWine
imam 10 watch a protracted martyrdom know.
ins an me time that If the martyrs knew what
you knew the martyrdom would cease would
never have occurred? And BaIzac would have
hnlshed the story. In De Maupassant's version
the real tragic significance of he IoiseIs nri
nauohs is withheld from the rea so long that
II can he appreciated only in recollection In
ihe' an considerations OF truth and genuine art
are ignored in order that the reader NAV he
da1zled by the swift flash of a magnesium Iigbt
deluded by a cOnjuring trick. laid fat by a sin.
gle bloW. The lneXcusabe fault of the tale js
that II depends on mere trick, a device hit on
IN chance moment, and executed for the de-
location of the groundlings ana tba 80 u
ton Of the weak in judgment
My excuse for this detailed examination of a
somewhat triffing achievement in art is thar
II he Necklace is the prototype of the very
modern short story. There is a vague idea
abroad that the tricky craft of The Necklace
is the art of the short story" Nine-tenths ~
all magazine stories depend for their effect on
a Trick plot. In GrGb-st. hears the Dhrase.
What a splendid idea for a short story, In
deed, unless a story possesses this trickness
the editors complain that il has no plot And
so the meaning OF the term plot" has baa1
become weird monstrOsity with a distended
climax to which every other part of IFS organ
ism is absolutely subservient. Stories must of
course. have a climax. as camels must have a
humphrey would be indefensbe without one
out they need not consist solely of climax-and
a trick climax at that! Not ingenuity but
form; not hard knocks. but sustained mower
make for excellence in art. AS regards novels
this is fairly well recognized. but the notion
that short stories somewhat different" rar-
sists. Short stories not different
In the sense in which the phrase the art Of
the short story is generally used. there is no
art of the short story The short story Ia not
susceptible of any peculiar and distinctive de6
milton: short story is merely short-story
and there's end on il. Some writer's esDS
cially American writer's. have attempted %
sequestrate the short story and give n a I+tia
republic of its own. They have said that ~ is
subject to special rules, and that of the nronar
short story certain particulars of subject and
that be postulated OF short story Is fts
Notwithstanding else. whatever