莫泊桑的小说《项链》被作为高中语文教材里的一篇课文，很不错

女主人公是一个小公务员的妻子。一次，接受了部长举办的晚会的邀请。罗瓦赛尔太太由于虚荣心作祟，向一个贵妇人借了一条项链。后来这条项链不慎在舞会上丢失，罗瓦赛尔太太为了赔给朋友一模一样的项链，落入高利贷的陷阱，就此开始了艰辛的生活，葬送了十年的青春。最后，当她在还清欠款后，偶遇那位贵妇人时，妇人却告诉她那条项链其实是假的。
英文介绍：The story takes place in Paris. One day, Pierre gets an invitation to a palace ball. He thinks it important to him, and decides to go to the party with his wife Mathilde. But Mathilde is worried, because she has no new dress and no jewellwey to wear. Her husband spends 400 francs on a new dress and she herself borrows a diamond necklace from her good friend Jeanne. The young couple go to the ball and has a very good time here. On their way back after the ball, Mathilde finds that the necklace is no longer around her neck. They rush back to the palace and look for it. But they can’t find it; it is lost.The young couple borrow a great deal of money and buy a necklace that is exactly like Jeanne’s. It costs them 36000 francs. So they have to work day and night to pay back the money they have borrowed. After ten years of hard work, they at last pay back all the money, but now Mathilde looks so old that Jeanne even can’t recognize her when they meet.When Jeanne hears the story, she tells Mathilde that the necklace she has borrowed isn’t a real diamond necklace. It isn’t valuable at all. It is worth 500 francs at the most.

主人公玛蒂尔德为了参加一个舞会，向朋友佛来思节夫人“借项链”；舞会上，主人公大出风头，却乐极生悲，“丢项链”；为了赔偿别人的项链，路瓦栽夫人含辛茹苦，“赔项链”；凑足了项链的价钱，却欠下了一笔需整整十年拼命劳作、省吃俭用才能偿还的债务，于是她不顾一切“还债务”；最后，当她松了一口气，却得到这样一个消息，她借的项链原来是假的。

，《项链》写的是一个小公务员的妻子玛蒂尔德以十年的含辛茹苦去赔偿一条借来的假项链的悲剧故事。作者对女主人公虽有美好的姿色却无力打扮自己的无奈处境表示遗憾；对她为一条假项链差不多葬送自己及其丈夫一生的不幸遭遇表示同情和惋惜；对她和她丈夫偿还项链的诚实品德和奋斗精神进行了肯定。小说也对女主人公的虚荣心进行了批评。同时，对贵族阶级的穷奢极欲和不惜弄虚作假的生活方式作了抨击和暴露。