Mathilde's story
The French writer Guy de Maupassant (1850 - 1893) is often called the inventor of the modern short story. He wrote many popular books of short stories showing adults that stories were for them as well as for children. The Necklace tells the story of Mathilde Loisel who is not happy with the ordinary life she leads. She dreams of having lots of money and mixing with the rich and famous. Then, out of the blue, Mathilde gets a chance to live her dream for one single evening. But the price she has to pay for this one happy moment is unexpected and terrible.
Title
The title of a book, film, play or short story is very important because it is often the first thing that a reader, theatre-goer or film fan notices. A title is there to grab someone's interest and make them want to discover more. Titles can be clever, witty and interesting but a good title must always say something about what follows. A short story writer has very little space or time to tell his story and he should make his title as short and snappy as the story itself. The Necklace is a very good title. There can be no doubt about what the story is. What will happen to the necklace in the title is the idea that grabs the reader's attention.
Exposition
Exposition is a literary technique where the writer gives the reader background information. Usually authors get this bit of their story out of the way quickly so that they can get on with the story itself. Exposition almost always concerns people or places.