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

A Preluding Interlude

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 I am presently re-reading Shakespeare’s “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” This is one of my favorite plays. Another favorite is Tom Stoppard’s stroke of genius, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” This comedic gem is built around the observation that these two men (Gildenstern and Rosencrantz) have few and small appearances in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, yet contribute an important part to the story. Stoppard brings a question to our attention: what were these two men doing the whole time they were not on stage?

One proficiency of Hamlet is his ability to ask questions as he wrestles with his problems. Stoppard’s play has Rosencrantz and Gildenstern wander into an empty tennis court where they volley at a game of “Questions.” What begins as boredom-bashing fun, suddenly turns deeply philosophical. Of course they walk off with no answers, but most notably, they are unable to tell which one of them is Rosenzrantz and which is Gildenstern! They don’t know who they are! Hilarity in the context of tragedy, where the two just wait for their fate.



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