The Necklace - Guy de Maupassant
Read the prescribed text in the official Pearson anthology (printed pages 32-37).
Explore the ways in which the relationship between Mathilde and her husband changes during The Necklace.
The table below lists key moments in the story to help you select and organise your ideas.
| Point in the story | What happens between the couple |
|---|---|
| The invitation | Her husband brings the invitation home expecting to delight her, but she reacts with resentment and tears. |
| The new dress | He turns pale at the cost, because he has saved that sum for a gun, but agrees to give her the money. |
| The search | When the necklace is found to be missing, he goes back over the route they walked and tries other ways of finding it, but returns without it. |
| The years of hardship | Both work to repay the debt: she does the heavy housework, and he works in the evenings and copies documents late at night. |
| The final revelation | Mathilde learns the truth from Madame Forestier while her husband is not present. |
In your answer, you should consider:
Support your answer with close reference to the text, including brief quotations.
13 exam-style questions on Edexcel A IGCSE English Language 5.2.7 The Necklace. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.