In the following excerpt, Bement offers an interpretation of Maupassant's development of the plot of "The Necklace," believing he may have considered the implications of both greed and innocence to form his story.

We have no clue as to where the idea for ["The Necklace"] originated; it might have sprung from the sight of a paste necklace in a shop window. The keen eye of the storyteller, lighting on it, might have been arrested with the germ of an idea, upon which his imagination set to work. Suppose a person were to buy a necklace at a fabulous price, believing it to be genuine? As the writer played with this idea, some objections must have offered themselves. "What of it?" Maupassant might well have asked himself. "What would it mean? What significance does it have? How is it related to my experience, or to the experience of...