Pearls - Henry James

Have you ever owned a pearl? If I placed in your hand a single pearl would you know if it was the real thing or just a good imitation of one? A story written by Henry James deals with this question. The story goes something like this . .

There once was an actress who owned a number of fake jewels, crowns, necklaces, diamonds, and gold; for you see, these would be worn with the actress's many different costumes that made up her wardrobe. Among the necklaces, there was a string of pearls large, white, and round. One day, this actress was proposed to by a country minister whose first wife had passed away leaving behind not only her husband but a young son whose name is Arthur. The actress accepted the minister's proposal, and after changing her stage wardrobe for that of a minister's wife the jewels and such were put away and forgotten about. Many years later the minister and then his second wife passed away leaving behind them one son, Arthur.

As many of us know well, after a loved one dies they leave behind things they have accumulated over the years that must be dealt with generally by the family members. This being the case of Arthur who gratefully had the help of a cousin by the name of Charlotte that assisted him in the many decisions pertaining to all the items left behind by his parents, including the fake jewelry. Arthur was the one who discovered them and had Charlotte look at them. To her they all looked "odd"; to Arthur they looked "awful, cheap glass diamonds as big as potatoes".

There was something about the old theater pieces that attracted Charlotte. She continued to turn them over in her hands. Arthur paused, then he asked: "Do you care for them? I mean, as a remembrance?" "Of you?" Charlotte said quickly. "Of me? What do I have to do with it? Of your poor, dead aunt, who was so kind to you," he said virtuously. "Well, I would rather have them than nothing." "Then please take them." His face expressed more hope than generosity. "Thank you." Charlotte lifted two or three pieces up and then set them down again. They were light, but so large and false that they made an awkward gift."

Among the jewels, Charlotte found a bag, small and made of silk; within was a necklace made of large, white, round pearls. As Charlotte pulled the strand out of its bag she noticed that the pearls looked different from the rest of the fake jewelry. The rest of the fake jewelry looked just as Arthur said, "cheap"; but this piece not only looked different, but it felt different; it was heavy; could it be worth something? Charlotte shared these observations and thoughts with Arthur. She had him take the pearls in his own hands and share with her what he saw and felt. Arthur handled the strand of pearls and felt their weight with very little interest. "Worthless, I'm sure - it's paste." "But they're heavy," Charlotte insisted. "No heavier than anything else," he said, as if amused at her simplicity. Charlotte studied them a little, feeling them, turning them around. "Couldn't they possibly be real?"

Time passes by and Charlotte had put each piece of the fake jewelry away including the strand of pearls until she pulled them all out again to wear with a friend, Mrs. Guy, to a play. The outfit's the two friends were planning on wearing to the play were dull and drab and needed some life. Now what better way is there to improve the look of an outfit than with some jewelry even if it was only costume jewelry? Charlotte brought her friend the many different pieces he had inherited from her step aunt commenting that "Perhaps they're to bright, they're just glass and paste." "Larger than life! Mrs. Guy was excited. "They are just what we need. They'll give me great ideas!"

The following morning Mrs. Guy approached Charlotte with the question from where she had acquired the jewelry. Charlotte responded that she had inherited them from her step aunt who had passed away. Mrs. Guy asked, "She left them to you?" "No; my cousin, her stepson, who naturally has no use for them, gave them to me as a remembrance of her. She was a dear, kind person, always so nice to me, and I was very fond of her." Mrs. Guy listened with interest. "But it must be your cousin who is a 'dear, kind person.' Is he also 'always so nice' to you?" "What do you mean?" asked Charlotte. "Can't you guess?" A strange feeling came over Charlotte. "The pearls -" she started to say. "Doesn't your cousin know either?" Charlotte felt herself turning pink. "They're not paste?" "Haven't you looked at them?" Mrs. Guy continued." Charlotte should have gone by her gut instinct".

Mrs. Guy had Charlotte join her later on that day; when Charlotte entered the room where Mrs. Guy was located she saw the strand of pearls about Mrs. Guy's neck and all Charlotte could do was stare at them. " What in the world have you done to them ?" "I only handled them, understood them, admired them and put them on," Mrs. Guy answered proudly. "That's what pearls need. They need to be worn - it wakes them up. They're alive you see. Charlotte felt dizzy.

If among your jewelry there are pearls, and you have been wondering if they are the real thing, you don't have to go to a jeweler, you can test it for yourself. Firmly hold the pearl between two fingers and gently but very carefully and slowly bite down on the pearl with your front teeth letting them slide slowly close over the shell of the pearl. A true pearl has a gritty feeling to it; a fake one has the feeling of smoothness. It is hazardous though because you don't want to swallow it or worse, choke! So be aware!