She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved; she felt that she was made for them.

She had longed so eagerly to charm, to be desired, to be wildly attractive and sought after.

She was unhappy all the time...desiring something else, something better, something richer.

She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains.

She was prettier than all the other women, elegant, gracious, smiling, and full of joy.

She danced madly, wildly, drunk with pleasure, with no thought for anything, in the triumph of her beauty, in the pride of her success.

She was the prettiest woman present, elegant, graceful, smiling and wild with joy.

She left at about four o'clock in the morning. Since midnight, her husband had been dozing in a small, deserted room.

When she sat down to dinner at a round table covered with a three-day-old cloth, opposite her husband, who took the cover off the soup tureen...

The Necklace