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Reading Log

A Destiny's Joke

Reading The Necklace in English is a brand new feeling for me, one that is quite different from reading the Chinese version. But strangely, I can not help comparing the original with the translated one. It may sound ridiculous; however, I regard the whole novel as a joke by enigmatic destiny.

At the beginning of the novel, Mathilde, pretty and proud, is set in a family which can not satisfy her dream. To see an old friend seems difficult for her, because her friend owns everything she has admired. She can not put up with the gap between her friend and her, which reminds her of her plain family and weak husband. It suggests a foreshadowing for her later life, that is to say, her expectation of unique life is doomed to failure.

Then the invitation from the Minister for a great ball seems to be the reversal of her fortune. I feel amused that not only has Mathilde dreamed of such an opportunity to plunge into the official world and meet distinguished people, but also her husband, who knows her very well, encourages her to do so. Then from her friend she borrows the necklace, a so-called glorious diamond necklace. Just as we readers think, Mathilde is excited that she will realize her dream through the ball. Unfortunately, it is just another trap.

As we all know, after showing herself off for the whole night, she loses the necklace borrowed from her friend. She has no choice but to borrow money to buy a new necklace, and then in the next ten years she and her husband work hard to pay for it.  Finally, she loses her beauty, happiness and dream; she totally changes into a common housewife, busy and tired. Destiny plays the role of a stander-by, watching her miserable life and laughing at her vain efforts. It reveals to her in the end that for ten years she has worked so hard for a faked diamond.

Then why does not she talk to her friend as soon as she finds the necklace lost? I think she has no other choice, for her being peacockish proud will not allow her to talk to her friend honestly. Living in a family which could not equate with her friends’, she has suffered a lot; then how can she suffer such embarrassment?

It is the ten-year hard life that turns her into a new Mathilde, a common woman who is satisfied with her plain life. As a result, she can now face her friend and tells the story. Many people hopes that she can get what she has lost from her friends, but I think the lost time and cracked dreams can not be mended. Her pride and dream has gone away with her tears and sweats. Destiny forces her to treasure all she has gained.

28.5.07 15:28