"The Necklace" is a short story written by French author Guy de Maupassant, first published in 1884. The plot follows a woman named Mathilde Loisel who is unhappy with her lower-class life and longs for luxury and social status. One day, her husband, a clerk in the Ministry of Education, brings home an invitation to a fancy party. Mathilde is excited but realizes she has nothing to wear that would be suitable for the occasion.
Desperate to make a good impression, Mathilde borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from a wealthy friend. At the party, Mathilde is a sensation, but her happiness is short-lived. After the party, she realizes that she has lost the necklace. The Loisels replace the necklace by taking out a large loan and buying an identical one to return to their friend.
The couple spends the next ten years of their lives working hard to pay off the debt, living in poverty and sacrificing everything they can. When Mathilde finally encounters her wealthy friend again, she confesses the truth about losing and replacing the necklace. To her surprise, the friend reveals that the original necklace was a fake, worth only a fraction of what they paid to replace it.
The story ends with Mathilde realizing the terrible price she and her husband paid for her vanity and greed. They lived a life of hardship and poverty for ten years, only to find out that the necklace they had sacrificed everything for was a fake.