The Necklace, the Piece of String and the Devil

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enormously frustrating to be accused of something, knowing that you are innocent but unable to convince others of the truth of your innocence. Psychology Today explains, “Being publically accused of a crime one did not commit could lead a person to jump off a bridge. Once the information is out there, defending yourself, clearing your name, fighting suspicion and tolerating disdain is a horrible predicament...If the accusations are not true, the person is in a situation that is similar to being bullied. Even if one is rich, successful, famous or “has it all,” the psychological devastation can be ruinous. If you are not believed, if you cannot fight back with the true story, if now you are distrusted and under scrutiny, the sense of helplessness is overwhelming.” ("False Accusations, Scapegoats, and the Power of Words." Psychology Today) As Psychology Today points out, words have power, once accusations are made, the damage is done and we are all vulnerable.

In this final story, The Devil, we meet the peasant farmer, Honore, and his mother, Mother Bontemps, who at the age of ninety-two is dying. Honore has wheat that needs to be harvested but he doesn’t want to wait for his mother to die before he brings it in. The doctor insists that he cannot leave her alone to die and demands that he hire La Rapet, the old laundry woman who often sits with those who are dying. Honore doesn’t want to spend the money because he fears that his mother, who has always been strong, could linger for some time. He goes to see La Rapet because the doctor demands it. He strikes a deal with La Rapet, telling her that the doctor says his mother will not last until morning. Rather than paying her by the day, he negotiates to pay her a flat fee to stay until his mother is dead. She agrees and comes to sit with his mother. When Honore comes home in the evening she returns to her home agreeing to return the following morning. When she returns the next day and inquires if his mother is dead, Honore tells her that his mother is doing better. As the day wears on, it preys on La Rapet’s mind that she may go broke waiting for the old woman to die. She is so upset that she may have made a bad bargain with Honore that could oblige her to stay for weeks, she tells the old lady that every time she sits with someone while they are dying, they see the devil minutes before they die and elaborates that, “He has a broom in his hand, a saucepan on his head, and he utters loud cries.” (De Maupassant 234) She then wraps herself in a sheet, puts a pot on her head and jumps up shrieking, which terrifies Mother Bontemps, causing her to die. “When Honore returned in the evening, he found her praying. He calculated immediately that she had made twenty sous out of him, for she had only spent three days and one night there, which made five francs altogether, instead of the six which he owed her.” (De Maupassant 235)

This story causes me to feel compassion for Mother Bontemps. She is helpless and at the mercy of the avarice of Honore and La Rapet. I relate to her because I have the experience of losing my mother. I can’t imagine treating her so callously. I was blessed to be able to sit at her bedside, not having to entrust her to someone else’s care. La Rapet would be anyone’s worst nightmare in a similar situation if they had to leave a loved one in someone else’s care. This story brought to my mind the numerous news stories I have seen of the elderly who are abused by the people who are supposed to be caring for them. Seeing the vulnerability of the elderly and how they are often treated with disregard motivates me to help them whenever I have the opportunity.

De Maupassant doesn’t show that his characters learn anything from their situations because he considers them base and unable to do so, but we can learn from their plights. In the story, The Necklace, we can learn two things from Matilda’s predicament. First, we should be content with what we do have rather than focusing on what we don’t have. The second thing we can learn is that Benjamin Franklin is correct in saying, “honesty is the best policy.” The Loisel’s could have avoided a lot of misery if they had been truthful. One analysis about The Piece of String, states that a “theme that emerges from the story that definitely teaches the reader a lesson is to not judge someone too harshly. Hauchecome is judged to be a thief, and a liar by the village because he is wrongly accused of stealing a purse containing 500 francs. Hauchecome, once accused, cannot shake the perception of the town that he is a thief, even in the face of proof. The purse is returned, people still believe that he was the culprit.” (“What is the Moral of “The Piece of String”” ENotes) The story, The Devil, is a good example of what the Bible says, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil”. (New American Standard Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10) Had Honore valued his mother above money, and been willing to pay La Rapet fairly, perhaps she wouldn’t have had the incentive to kill his mother.

According to Psychology today, people who lack empathy may have the mental condition, psychopathy. Research shows that nearly a quarter of the prison population suffers from Psychopathy compared with only one percent of the rest of the population. ("The Neuroscience of Empathy." Psychology Today) This study seems to imply that the ability to feel empathy is necessary for mental health. It was of interest to me to learn that Guy De Maupassant suffered from mental illness due to an advanced case of syphilis and was institutionalized after he attempted suicide. In another Psychology today article, new research shows that “both compassion and altruism can be cultivated with training and practice.” ("Compassion Can Be Trained." Psychology Today) So it seems that in the same way a gas gauge is a good indicator of how full a gas tank is, our reactions to someone else’s troubles, even those of a fictional character, can be an indicator of our mental health.

Works Cited

Guy De Maupassant book cover. Digital image. Booktopia. N.p., n.d. Web.

"The Piece of String Themes - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 17 July 2015.

"Stereotypes | Simply Psychology." Stereotypes | Simply Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2015.

"Why Do We Root for the Underdog?" Psych Central News. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2015.

"Empathy, Sympathy, Compassion: What’s the Diff?" Positive Education.