Saturday, October 5, 2019

169. Young And Old. Charles Kingsley Poem Appreciation By P S Remesh Chandran

169

Young And Old. Charles Kingsley Poem Appreciation

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum


Article Title Image 1 By Geralt. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Charles Kingsley was a nineteenth century English religious worker who wrote novels and poems. He inspired people to right living and founded the Christian Socialist Movement to promote his ideals. In his poem ‘Young And Old’ he describes the difference in the outlooks of the young people and the old people towards the world. The poem is presented in the form of an old man addressing a little boy, making clear to him how old age changes our outlook, brilliantly portraying the fine contrasting pictures of youth and old age. 

The same world looks lovely and young to a young man and dreary and dead to an old man.

 01. Carl Frederik Aagaard 1880 Lodge on Lake Como.

The world appears lovely, lusty and active to a young man who is teeming with energy, zeal and interest. Because he is young, the world also appears young and living to him. He will find the everyway inviting to lead a thrilling life in it. But the same world would not appear the same to an old man. The same world would appear dull, dreary and dead and inactive to an old man who has spent all the energies in his life. Because his days are over he will take it the world’s day are also over. 

Exaggeration and enlargement of ideas and vision is natural and common to people young.

  02. Hans Andreas Dahl 1900 Joyous Lass.
 
When we are young, the world also appears young in our eyes, though it is already millions of years old. Even old trees would appear to be young and green. That ugly flying bird Goose would appear to be like a Swan, the most beautiful bird in the world. Even an ordinary girl with no mentionable virtues would seem like a queen- proud, lovely and regal in her attitudes and behaviour. Exaggeration and enlargement of ideas and vision is natural and common to all people when they are in the young age. But it is exactly the time to call for one’s riding boots and horse and go round the world to see things and places.
 03. Barend Cornelis Koekkoek 1835 Panoramic Summer Landscape With Travellers And Castle Ruins.

Young blood should not remain stagnant and still like water in a pool. A stagnant pool would soon become polluted; a rolling stone gathers no moss. Young blood must have its course and so, must be flowing and kinetic. The poet reasons that every dog has its day and youth is the day of the dog to go seeing the world. He means that youth is that particular age of man that should be spent on sight-seeing, travel, romance and adventure. We do get an account of how the youth is and how it should be from the poem.

Article Title Image 2 By Menno de Jong. Graphics: Adobe SP.

The blessings of old age when a person has to creep back home to his remaining relatives.

 04. Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov 1868 Early Spring In High Water.
 
In old age one has to withdraw oneself from all excitement, enjoyment and adventure that he has been indulging himself in throughout his young years. In that age the world would automatically appear to be old in the worn-out eyes of the old man. The trees which once looked evergreen would now look withered and brown. The once-interesting sports of the young age would now appear to be stale and non-interesting. The wheels of life have already run down and now one has to ‘creep back home’ for he won’t no more be able walk as easily on his legs as before. When he reaches that age he should return and stay at home among the equally spent and maimed members in his family. 

Human mind in old age will yearn for images common to both young and old ages- landmarks to fix one’s relative position in both ages.

 05. Markus Pernhart 1873 Winter.
 
There had certainly been many things in the world which demanded his constant attention and engagement and he certainly had spent his time to its fill on those things. Now nothing remains qualified and worthy enough in the outside world to receive his life-long love as before. Is there not at least one single thing in the world that remains common to the young years and also to the old years, out of which an old man can get the satisfaction and relief of shuttling between his feelings of young and old ages as if looking at a mirror?

06. Antonio Smith 1874 Crepúsculo Marino.

Human mind in old age will yearn for such images, experiences, remembrances, and feelings, common to and shared by both ages- landmarks to fix one’s relative position in both ages. God is not that unkind. For, he grants the old man the blessing of finding at least one human face at least in his home which he loved when all the world was young and which is still there, ready to receive his love still now as before- that lovely worn-out face of his old woman of long years.
 07. Hermann Ottomar Herzog 1878 Florida Sunset.


Article Title Image 3 By Geralt. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Written in: March 1995 
First published on: 05 October 2019

 
___________________________
Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
___________________________

Image Credits:

 
01. Carl Frederik Aagaard 1880 Lodge on Lake Como.
02. Hans Andreas Dahl 1900 Joyous Lass.
03. Barend Cornelis Koekkoek 1835 Panoramic Summer Landscape With Travellers And Castle Ruins.
04. Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov 1868 Early Spring In High Water.
05. Markus Pernhart 1873 Winter.
06. Antonio Smith 1874 Crepúsculo Marino.
07. Hermann Ottomar Herzog 1878 Florida Sunset.
08. Author Profile Of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.


Tags:

Charles Kingsley, 19th Century Novelists Poets, Young And Old, Right Living, Young Blood, Ideas And Vision, Blessings Of Old Age, Free Student Notes, English Essays Articles Literature, Ageing,


About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:


08. Author Profile Of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.




Friday, October 4, 2019

168. Never Never Nest. Cedric Mount Play Reintroduced By P S Remesh Chandran

168

Never Never Nest. Cedric Mount Play Reintroduced

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum


01. Article Title Image By . Graphics: Adobe SP.

02. Breinig & Bachman Tailors Clothiers Pennsylvania 1895 New Building Closed In 1920 Due To Recession.

Aero planes can be purchased under installment schemes. Large airline companies have been formed this way and when repayments failed whole fleets have been grounded and confiscated by their financiers. Satellites, ships and rockets can be purchased this way and even children born. Nowadays people can purchase anything from a car to hospital treatment through installment schemes. Now banks and loan sharks are there ready, to give money to anyone for purchasing almost everything. But till the installments are completed, the property will not be ours. The title of the play means that neither will an installment house ever become our own till the installments are over nor will the installments ever end during our lifetime.
 
1. INSTALLMENT SCHEMES AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF 1929:

Humans are like birds, craving to build a nest somewhere, and once it is lost, wandering the world grieving homeless.



Cedric Mount’s play Never Never Nest is a satire on purchasing things under installment plans. Nest here means home, the last place to which all human birds return- an apt simile considering the fondness and affection and love these wandering birds who toil in the world for a living have for their permanent final resting places. They are like birds, always craving to build a nest somewhere, lay eggs and raise a family, and once it is lost, wandering through the world, grieving for the home. We do not know whether Cedric lost a home or got a home, but we must know how people value a home. The play is written against the background of the Great Depression of the 1920s which gripped the world, continued through years, and wrecked many industries and businesses, and the lives of people throughout the world. Even though the play is a very short one, the background is broad. That is what the playwright also meant- to open eyes to the background, which the world still dreads to remember. So in this article also, we will explore that dreadful period of recession more, considering certain aspects of the playwright’s life. 

Many things which now sell fast in the market were considered non-essential luxuries by people once.


  
03. 1926-Ford-Coupe Car On Installment.


A house, car, boat, children, family, doctor’s assistance, etc, are everyone’s dream or necessity. When these things cannot be bought due to lack of money, people borrow. In the past, if these things could not be bought, people learned to live without them. Many things which now sell fast in the market were considered once non-essential luxuries by people. Conservative-minded people did not even dare to think about borrowing money for purchasing any of these things. If people wanted to possess these things, they saved money penny by penny or did buy them from the fortune they sure had to spend. Such social convictions and guard were what prevented people from purchasing things on credit and later falling into debt in the past centuries. 

Since the buying power of people will not increase dramatically, production companies devised this system of ‘purchasing now and paying later in installments’.


  
04. A 1920 Studebaker Car On Installment.


Production volume brings down production costs in industries. When greater production and sale of products can be assured, market prices will normally come down and more people will become able to purchase these products. Since the buying power of people will not increase dramatically, production companies in the beginning of the 20th century devised this innovative system of ‘purchasing now and paying later in installments’. Production quantity of ovens, radios, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, gramophones, pianos, refrigerators and cars increased, their market prices came down, and people began to purchase them under installment plans. Soon these things became no more luxuries. Installment plans of manufacturers began to be taken for granted by people which continues to be so even today. Sales multiplied and the fact is things became affordable. 

Mr. Henry Ford remained obstinate to the idea of selling his motor cars in installments.


  
05. A Camera On Installment.


One of the most conservative industrialists of those times was Mr. Henry Ford. He was a very considerate and generous person who also cared to run the Ford Grocery Stores on the side for exclusively helping his factory workers in Detroit. He remained obstinate to the idea of selling his motor cars to people in installments. He even refused part credit even to his dealers. Finally even he too succumbed to the temptation and the changing marketing trends in the car industry and began to give cars on installment plans. Ford Weekly Purchase Plan allowed people to own a brand new car on an initial down payment and the rest was to be paid in weekly installments, saving from their family budgets. 

The atmosphere in those times was filled with questions addressed to women and they finally succumbed.

 
Housewives were the primary targets the manufacturers aimed at. They were asked in advertisements and by company representatives in person, why they paid rent when they could buy a house in installment scheme and live in one of their own, with the installment amount equaling the rent amount. Why labour in their kitchen when they could have an oven? Why manually labour on washing and drying when they could have a Laundromat in easy terms? Why walk when they could drive brand new cars which others in their street with even lower incomes own? Why go to photographer’s studio for pictures when they could possess their own cameras and take pictures at their leisure, repaying with the exact sum they spend on photographers? Why not purchase Mark Twine’s Complete Works and pay in portions with the money they spend for library memberships? Why not clothe their husbands and themselves decently with installment purchase and make up the expenditure by infiltrating higher social circles of esteem early, rise in esteem and get hold of the resultant lucrative job opportunities? The atmosphere in those times was filled with questions like these addressed to women and they finally succumbed. 

Some sold their cooking oven for the down payment for purchasing refrigerator in installments.


   
06. Mark Twain Books On Installment.


People very much like to use new utensils and appliances in their homes. Even where the old ones efficiently work, they will wish for brand new ones using which is a pleasure. Using new appliances saves the money spent on repairing the old ones. Sometimes, new appliances can be bought with the money spent on repairs of old ones for two or three years. Using new articles will also most often reduce the cost of operation and maintenance, like a new radio or television using the latest technology consumes less electricity. Readymade food will save time spent on cooking. So on and so on were the many arguments carried on my installment scheme managers before house-hold women in the 1920s. It was a dam burst of arguments from installment managers to household women. So, some sold their cooking oven for the down payment for purchasing refrigerator in installments. We needn’t wonder how they managed cooking in their houses without ovens; they purchased brand new ovens simultaneously in installments. 

Finally installments came to be paid not from savings but from earnings, all earnings went to marketers, and there was no money for milk, food, groceries and hospital.

 
In the olden days, i.e., till the advent of the twentieth century, people purchased these things out of their savings, taking its time. So these people were secure in life financially. But now, i.e., after the 1890s, after the advent of the installment age, all savings were spent to pay installments on things already purchased, gradually eating into money reserves, and finally getting people to the position that installments were to be paid not from savings but from earnings. All earnings went to marketers and sellers and there was no money left to pay for milk, food, groceries and hospital treatment. Every agreement which accompanied an installment sale had small prints which the purchaser ignored to read but which invariably stipulated that the article belonged to the seller until paid for in full. When default in repayments occurred, the things were confiscated without refund of whatever amounts were already paid, the whole amount being adjusted against the use of the article. To avoid this confiscation, other assets were sold to pay the defaults and this vicious circle engulfed the people of the 1920s and 30s. 

Thousands and thousands of families vanished without a trace. No one knows where they went.


  
07. Clothes On Installment.


Thus Pianos and Kelvinators found their way into poor man’s homes this way. They all hoped they could repay this debt out of their earnings and savings. But they did not think that tomorrow their wages may plummet, or that they may loose jobs. Nor did they expect something like the stock market crash of 1929. Economic depression engulfed the world for the next several years. Unemployment increased, incomes plummeted down and those who had debts became bankrupted. Things sold in installments were confiscated by the sellers and sold in auction, which included houses and home utensils. People simply took to the streets with no possessions at all. Only those people who were reluctant and conservative enough not to buy things without saving enough money and paying in full escaped from debts and survived this depression. Thousands and thousands of families vanished without a trace. No one knows where they went. It was proved plainly that hard times ahead should also be anticipated when we buy things in advance, agreeing to pay for them later. 

2. THE PLAY NEVER NEVER NEST:

Had she written Two thousand Pounds on the cheque instead of Two hundred Pounds?

 
Jack and Jill in the play own a car, a house, a piano and a radiogram, all purchased on installment plan. One day, Aunt Jain is visiting them. She is surprised to see that the couple is leading a very luxurious life, with all modern comforts. In her knowledge, knowing their background, they can never live that way. She asked them how they could live in such luxury with all those amenities. She is told that it was to her that they owed all this luxury. She wonders how that could happen. She had given them a wedding present of only Two hundred Pounds. How can they purchase all these things with just Two hundred Pounds? Then she began to worry. Had she by mistake written Two thousands Pounds on the cheque instead of Two hundred Pounds? Then she was told by Jack that everything was purchased on the installment plan. Why should one be a tenant who pays rent for a house when one can be the owner of one? 

Pay off the doctor’s bills so that at least the child would be theirs.

But Aunt Jain does not like the smell of things. She refuses to neither sit on the furniture in the house nor travel in Jack’s car. How can one do it decently when their prices have not been paid for fully? Cash down, is her motto. She advises the young couple also to follow her motto. Before returning, she handed Jill a cheque and asked her to pay off any one single bill fully, so that at least one article in the house would really belong to them. Jill is only wise to follow the advice. She paid the doctor’s bills completely so that the child at least would really be theirs. Their child also was born in the installment plan since the hospital charges for the delivery also were paid in the installment plan. 

The three main elements in the play.


  
08. Mr. Henry Ford's Views On Installment. From The Henry Ford Org.


The conservative attitude of a few people who always remain suspicious of new discoveries and marketing plans in the world, the easiness with which people from the working class fall into the ruthless greed of market-commercialism and consumerism, and what happens to people who passes through turbulent times of general impoverishment, are the three elements incorporated in the play. The fact is the playwright Cedric also vanished without a trace in such a turbulent time of general impoverishment. Can a very good writer who is fairly better known in social circles and the publishing field totally vanish with a family if he had any without leaving a trace? 

3. WHAT HAPPENED TO CEDRIC MOUNT, THE AUTHOR, IN THOSE TIMES?

Those who recovered from the Great Depression found themselves in the midst of the First World War.

 
Cedric Mount’s plays were almost all published in London in the 1930s. We know the ten years from 1929 to 1939 were the period of the Great Depression from which most people in most countries never recovered. Even those who were persevering to rise up again from that crushing blow found themselves to be in the midst of the Second World War, another mountain of havoc that fell upon the people of the world. The people who lived in those times could not purchase many things which they so much needed for want of money. Wreck of businesses, industries and agriculture made millions of people take the beggar’s bowl. Unemployment reduced families to nothingness. So many families vanished from the face of the earth. Those who borrowed could not repay and all their assets were sold in auction. The life of everyone who had debts was lost for ever. Only those who were moderate in spending or had a fortune to spend survived that period of hell. 

Did he also vanish with those thousands sucked into the vortex of that economic depression?


  
09. Hot Water Bath On Installment.


It was at the time of the culmination of this havoc that Cedric Mount’s play Never Never Nest was written. Even though Cedric’s plays were published in print and are still available to read, not a piece of his biographical information is available now, wherever we search in including the information repositories like the American Library of Congress, Wikipedia or any other data base in the Internet. How this happened is yet to be explained. We only know that besides Never Never Nest, he also wrote plays like Twentieth Century Lullaby (1935), Cavalcade of Christmas (1935), The Long and the Short of It (1938), Jonah: A Biblical Play, Dirge without Dole and Such Sweet Sorrow. Did he also vanish with those thousands of human beings, sucked into the vortex of that economic depression? 

4. THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF INSTALLMENT SCHEMES.

Businesses and industries which are on the brink of ruin survive, come back and flourish through installment sales.

 
Many people look at installment buying as a sin. Compared to direct cash sales, it has had many benefits and advantages in the industrial, business and consumer fields. Things can be enjoyed and used even before paying for them. Because amounts have to be paid each month or each week, people who otherwise are not in the habit of saving money will become healthily thrifty. If controlled to the limit of repayment period not exceeding the saleable time or even the life time of a product, it will not cause undue inflation and wreck the economy. Since demand increases, production and supply will increase proportionately, bringing down cost. Even though interest for financing will have to be borne by purchasers, they will be more than compensated for by the reduction in prices. Businesses and industries which are on the brink of ruin survive, come back and flourish. Generation of jobs and eradication of unemployment is a result. Things which only could be enjoyed by the rich, aristocrats and the privileged classes could be accessible to all, eliminating effectively class distinctions through consumerism. Industries and businesses in countries like America survived and prospered solely due to introducing installment system for sales. If this system is removed, their economy may even suddenly collapse. 

Mortgaging more than one third of future earnings leads to stillness in industry and business and loss of purchasing power of the working class.


  
10. Typewriter On Installment.


Automobiles, homes, household equipments, furniture, ornamental items, pleasure items and clothes are the major items, in the decreasing order of their percentages, which people buy under various installment schemes. Mortgaging future earnings and salaries is what is actually going on in the name of installment schemes. Financial experts warn that mortgaging more than one third of future earnings will ultimately lead to stillness and collapse in industry and business, for it would lead to loss of purchasing power of the working class eventually. Saving money, keeping it in bank and buying things when there is enough money is the method they advise, but it is not practical because the whole society cannot be taught and trained to be thrifty and it is also not in the human nature to be thrifty. 

More than 30 % of all purchases are under installment and 2800 million dollars outstand as installment debt any time in America alone.

 
Automobiles, television sets, home furniture, washing machines, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, jewellery, clothing and homes are the major installment purchases in the world. Many of these things may be pointed out as unnecessary luxuries by many, but not all people will agree. ‘More than 30 % of all things purchased in this world are under installment plans. 2800 million dollars outstand as installment debt any time in America alone.’ Banks have entire departments and fleets of financial officers for dealing with this scheme alone. Large financing companies exist for this sole purpose. People’s wish for enjoying things before paying for them supports these huge companies, leading to trillions of dollars of business. Some economists consider this scheme as systematic exploitation of the working class, leading most of them to being in debt in their old age or when earnings and salaries fall. In their estimate unnecessary over-production resulting from industrial greed is what results in this mortgaging of mankind. 

This situation of depression, wreckage and collapse occur periodically, perhaps in every twenty years as a cycle.


  
11. Washer & Dryer On Installment.


When repayments faltered and articles were confiscated, retailers sold them in auction, flooding the market with second hand articles, constricting normal market and toning production. Manufacturers suffered nothing except shrinking of their markets. It was retailers who were affected badly. Manufacturers came up with relief measures and intervened, only because for fear of loosing distribution networks and sales channels. Loss of purchasing power of consumers made even confiscated items unsellable and many retailers had to close shops permanently. It has been predicted that because of the inborn fallacy of this installment system, the situation of depression, ruin and caving in will periodically be repeated, most probably every twenty years as a cycle.


[First prepared in September 1990 as a lecture to literature students]

First published on:


___________________________
Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
___________________________

Picture Credits:

01. Article Title Image By . Graphics: Adobe SP
02. Breinig & Bachman Tailors Clothiers Pennsylvania 1895 New Building Closed In 1920 Due To Recession
03. 1926-Ford-Coupe Car On Installment
04. A 1920 Studebaker Car On Installment
05. A Camera On Installment
06. Mark Twain Books On Installment
07. Clothes On Installment
08. Mr. Henry Ford's Views On Installment. From The Henry Ford Org
09. Hot Water Bath On Installment
10. Typewriter On Installment
11. Washer & Dryer On Installment
12. Author Profile of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives

About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

10. Author Profile of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.


Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.

Tags:

Cedric Mount, The Never Never Nest, Installment Plan Scheme, Credit Basis, Great Depression 1929, Economic Recess, One Act Plays, Playwrights, Modern Drama, Mortgaging, First World War Literature,





Thursday, October 3, 2019

167. The Diamond Necklace. Guy De Maupassant Story Reintroduced By P S Remesh Chandran

167

The Diamond Necklace. Guy De Maupassant Story Reintroduced

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

 
01. Article Title Image By Bat Sheva Sida. Graphics: Adobe SP.


02. Guy de Maupassant In 1888 Foto By Félix Nadar.

Maupassant (Moppasaang) was a French short story writer. His stories have fine twists towards their end, like O. Henry's. In The Diamond Necklace, he ridicules the vanity and ostentation of women and their lust for wearing costly ornaments. The story conveys the plain message that no one shall borrow ornaments for wearing in a party. Rather, do not go to the party. A tear and a slight laughter, mostly tears- that’s his policy in writing stories. Many a people has wept and laughed reading them.

She loved to have heavy furniture and delicate food but had only hard food and delicate furniture.

 03. Social Gatherings In France In 1867 By Frédéric Bazille.


Mathilde (Mettilda) in the story in fact has no mettle- spirit or courage. She was the wife of Loisel who was a clerk in government and had only a limited income. Though poor, she was very handsome and loved the luxury and riches which were denied to her in her life. She imagined she was a high-born, rich, aristocratic lass and dreamed about living in magnificent houses with very large halls, perfumed rooms and quite a number of servants. The tone and style of the story-telling is such that rather than pitying her, we will ardently pray to God to grant her all those blessings she wishes for. Poverty is sadness, and prosperity and riches are what the world wishes for, to live in happiness always. If someone is poor, no one will know about her grief and yearning for riches and happiness, until some great writer like Maupassant comes and tells it this way. She loved rich clothes and ornaments and liked to have heavy furniture and delicate food. But she only had hard food and delicate furniture in the house. The poorness of her home tormented and insulted her continuously as it does us also. Therefore Mathilde was dissatisfied in her life. 

People partying to keep away cold and loneliness and for gourmet food and wine
!

 
04. Poor People's Life In France In 1882 By Willy Martens.


France was a great country with great cities, dotted on their brinks with slums of poor people, with riches and poverty, opulence and suffering, and wisdom and folly existing side by side. And it was cold too. People would not have firewood to burn in their hearths, nor coal, to keep away the cold. Parties kept away cold and people went there. As women were not working, generally, it was their only outdoor activity and relief. And there was food and wine in plenty. And there was dancing. And there was holding hands.
 05. Rich People's Life In France In 1890s By Hans Zatzka.


The generous and the most benevolent of people invited all to their parties and the rich snobs too. So parties were a favourite of people and were the major social events in villages and towns. Where else would people go at a time when the Lumière Brothers- Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean- had not grown up and Cinema had not yet born on 12 February 1892, just two years before Maupassant passed away? 

Pride goes before a fall: to become the star among stars.

 
 
06. Rich People In 19th Century France. Nothing Else To Do, So Eavesdropping By Vittorio Reggianini.


One day her husband brought home an invitation to a great party, to be given by the Minister for Education and Lady. Without proper dress and ornaments, Mathilde could have chosen not to go, but she wanted to go and appear there very impressive too, like a star among the guests. Thousands of such incidents happen in this world each week and no one notices their folly, until one comes across this story. Mathilde borrowed a beautiful diamond necklace from her rich school mate and childhood friend Madame Forestiere and she was the star at the party. But, that necklace was lost in the midst of her merrymaking. The frantic search by the husband and wife for it during the night needn't be mentioned here, except that it was futile.

Ten years of poverty, hardship and suffering and she became a fragile little inconsequential being like others.

  
07. A Scene From A Maupassant Work 1903 By Unknown.


Now we see the spectacle of punishment for sin. Mortgaging almost everything they had and signing promissory notes and I. O. Us, they collected Thirty six thousand Franks and succeeded in purchasing an exact replica of the lost one. When the necklace was returned, Madame Forestiere did not even casually glance at it, but threw it into a heap of others the like, the significance of which we are yet to know. To make good of their loss, the couple took to a very hard economical living. They changed their home to a low-rent room, the servant was sent away and the lady herself did cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping. The husband did extra night jobs to repay debts. After ten years of poverty, hardship and suffering, the last Frank was repaid. But within that time, Mathilde had lost her beauty, charm and health. The beauty of her hands and face were lost and she became a fragile little inconsequential being like the other ten thousands of the French in those times. Now she is a ghost of her old self.

It was like the wife and husband had toiled ten years to purchase a necklace.

 
08. A Scene From A Maupassant Work 1903 By Walter Dunne.


One day, after ten years, she met Madame Forestiere on the street, more beautiful and pretty than ever. She was startled to see Mathilde in such a shape and asked her who made her that way. “You”, was the reply. Mathilde then told her the story of the loss and replacement of the necklace. The bewildered Madame revealed that her necklace was a clever imitation, costing no more than Five Franks. Now the readers, who already have been grieving with the sinner in her misery, have a hope at last. Forestiere may return the Thirty six thousand Frank-necklace to her poor school mate, as she is a Madame. That will be the compensation. It would be like the wife and husband had toiled ten years to purchase a necklace. Mathilde has paid for the great mistake in her life. We truly sympathize with her. We now feel she was ‘more sinned against, than sinning’. 

Life and works of Guy De Maupassant:


  
09. Maupassant Work Acted By Simone Simon And Kurt Kreugerin 1944 By RKO Pictures.

This Part Is Under Edit.


10. Article Title Image By GLady. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Written: Not known
First published on: 31 October 2012

An audio recording of The Diamond Necklace, 19 min 26 s long and 13.17 MB is available under public domain at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/The_Diamond_Necklace.ogg

___________________________
Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
___________________________
 

Picture Credits:

01. Article Title Image By
Bat Sheva Sida. Graphics: Adobe SP.
02. Guy de Maupassant In 1888 Foto By Félix Nadar.
03. Social Gatherings In France In 1867 By Frédéric Bazille.
04. Poor People's Life In France In 1882 By Willy Martens.
05. Rich People's Life In France In 1890s By Hans Zatzka.
06. Rich People In 19th Century France. Nothing Else To Do, So Eavesdropping By Vittorio Reggianini.
07. A Scene From A Maupassant Work 1903 By Unknown.
08. A Scene From A Maupassant Work 1903 By Walter Dunne.
09. Maupassant Work Acted By Simone Simon And Kurt Kreugerin 1944 By RKO Pictures.
 
10. Article Title Image By GLady. Graphics: Adobe SP.
11. Author Profile of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

 
11. Author Profile of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.

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