In "The Necklace," which best describes the reaction of Mathilde and her husband when they realize that the necklace is missing?

a. They are shocked and panicked

b. They are unconcerned and relaxed

c. They are calm but sad

d. They are worried but optimistic

A They are shocked and panicked

The best option is indeed letter A. They are shocked and panicked.

Explanation:

"The Diamond Necklace" is a short story by Guy de Maupassant. Mathilde is a woman who is dissatisfied with her situation in life. Even though she has good taste, she is not rich. Even her furniture bothers her because she wishes she could afford more beautiful pieces. When her husband tells her they were invited to a ball, she feels mortified for not having any fancy jewelry to wear. Her husband then suggests that she borrow from a friend.

After the ball, Mathilde realizes she has lost what she believes to be her friend's diamond necklace. It is fake, but she and her husband are not aware of it, so they are shocked and panicked. Study the excerpt below:

"What is the matter?" asked her husband, already half undressed.

She turned towards him, panic-stricken.

"I have ... I have ... I no longer have Madame Forestier's necklace."

He stood up, distraught.

"What! ... how! ... That's impossible!"

They looked in the folds of her dress, in the folds of her cloak, in her pockets, everywhere. But they could not find it.

[ ... ]

They stared at each other, stunned. At last Loisel put his clothes on again.

"I'm going back," he said, "over the whole route we walked, see if I can find it."

He left. She remained in her ball dress all evening, without the strength to go to bed, sitting on a chair, with no fire, her mind blank.

Her husband returned at about seven o'clock. He had found nothing.

He went to the police, to the newspapers to offer a reward, to the cab companies, everywhere the tiniest glimmer of hope led him.

She waited all day, in the same state of blank despair from before this frightful disaster.

Loisel returned in the evening, a hollow, pale figure; he had found nothing.