“The Duchess and the Jeweller” was first published in 1938. Please stand by, while we are checking your browser...Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property.If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware.If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. In the story, both the Duchess and the jeweler have agendas, and both are corrupt in their judgement. As with most of Woolf’s other writings, the story addresses the British class system and the ambitions of all those dependent upon this system. Taken from her The Complete Shorter Fiction collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises how significant the setting is. They both lust after wealth and material success even though they occupy different positions in the social hierarchy.The Duchess is a woman of lavish lifestyle and yearns for more comforts at any price whereas Oliver is a self-made man who yearns to earn enough reputation and money to join the ranks of his customers.The Duchess has a pearl necklace that she wants to sell and approaches Oliver for the same. Oliver is young, ambitious and single and thinks that if he can woo Diana, he might end up realizing his ling held ambition.In a way, the transaction is akin to a fake necklace for a place in high society. The high-ups were coming down because of their moral decadence and the commoners were coming up. " It was an age of change. He has wealth, possessions, jewels, and the respect and envy of others. The Duchess is more of a stock figure, entering Bacon's office with "the aroma, the prestige, the arrogance, the pomp" of any of her kind, explicitly represented as "all the Dukes and Duchesses swollen in one wave." Richest jeweler in England; proud of his success.
Oliver Bacon, the jeweler, is really the only developed character in the short story. The story is a strong rebuke (criticism) of the aristocratic society that celebrates the vices of materialism, lust, greed, and opportunism. Oliver is doubtful about the authenticity of the pearls but is willing to accept it just to garner some goodwill with the Duchess.Moreover, the Duchess is inclined to invite him to a dinner party with her husband and her daughter, Diana. It involves bartering of necklace for Diana’s hand in marriage. The setting is London, an appropriate stage for the culture clash between the upper-crust Duchess and the self-made, nouveau riche jeweler. Virginia Woolf's short story "The Duchess and the Jeweller" focuses on a wealthy London jeweler and his purchase of ten false pearls from the Duchess of Lambourne. Often recalls his childhood when he was very poor. However, in the end, Diana decides to marry someone else and it breaks Oliver’s heart and dreams. Oliver inspects and confirms that it is a fake but goes along with the Duchess’s ruse and accepts her offer.There are moments when he struggles with his conscience to go ahead with the entire deal but eventually the lust for power and recognition triumphs over faltering ethics and morality.He escorts Diana to the dinner and tries to win her over.
Oliver is doubtful about the authenticity of the pearls but is willing to accept it just to garner some goodwill with the Duchess. The Duchess has a pearl necklace that she wants to sell and approaches Oliver for the same.