Tale of Gluttony

A husband loved his wife and a wife loved her husband. They had children and were happy.

One day the husband met a merchant who convinced him to buy a beautiful necklace. He meant to gift it to his wife but was charmed by the white jewel and wanted to keep it for himself. The husband fashioned the stone into a pendant he could wear.

Each passing day his love for the jewel spiraled to the point of madness. His wife could not comfort him and he treated his children with disdain. The family suspected the gem to be the culprit and stole it.

The husband's frantic search was an initial lighthearted affair.

Then, he killed his daughter. The father realized his fatal error and swore off the jewel, hoping to reconcile with his family and beg forgiveness. However, his wife believed, with good reason, that the person she married was dead.

The opera concluded with the husband slack-jawed sitting in a daze, unthinking, limp, sinking further into that dazzling white jewel.

A standard tragic comedy.