The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

"Guilty, guilty."

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In the movie, “Papillon,” Steve McQueen played the part of a criminal who was imprisoned for life for crimes against the French state. The movie portrayed the dreams he dreamed while in prison. In one dream, he stood before a tribunal for a crime. He pleaded with the judge that he was not guilty of the crime for which he was being tried. The judge relied that he was not being tried for that crime, but for a crime which is the most heineous crime of the human race. Papillon asked what crime it was. He replied ‘The crime of a wasted life.” Papillon wept, “Guilty, guilty.” The judge pronounced the sentence of death.

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