Essay on The Necklace
The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant Essay
Essay on "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
Vanity, The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant
Guy De Maupassants The Necklace
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant Essay
The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant Essay
The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant Essay example
The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant Essay
The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
The Necklace By Maupassant Essay
Themes In The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
How Does Maupassant Use Realism In The Necklace
The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant
1. Essay on The Necklace
Ten years of suffering is the cost of having pleasure for only one night! In "The Necklace," by Guy
de Maupassant presents Mathilde Loisel, an attractive, charming but vacuous and selfish middle
class lady transforms to selfness, poor, satisfied and hard–working lady. Even though, Mathidle owns
a comfortable home and married to a faithful and kind husband, Monsieur Loisel, who seeks her
happiness and satisfaction; she was ungrateful to the things that she had been given, because her
greed and desire of wealth had captured her thoughts and blurred the real meaning of happiness in
her perspective. Mathidle spends most of her time surfing in her day dreams of being wealthy and
suffering from accepting the reality, because her imagination was...show more content...
Guy de Maupassant had suggested clearly through the line of the story the difference between
greed and dreams. Dreaming is pursuing and chasing a goal with passion, hopes, and huge
efforts; while greed is a desire to acquire more than what one needs with a no effort. Mathilde
could bring her dreams to reality by finding a job instead of deciding to stay home day dreaming
of her thoughts. As the author had illustrated in many parts of the story Mathidle was never
satisfied with her assets for example, when her husband offered her all of his saving to buy her a
dress she asked for jewelries and when she had the chance to borrow some. She did not get
contended with Madame Forestier's jewelries, but she kept asking her to show her more until she
noticed the most wonderful necklace of Madame Forestier's jewelries. After losing the necklace,
Mathidle social class was lower, but she seemed happier. In the story, the necklace had symbolized
more than just jewelry or decoration. The necklace was a symbol of the dominant features of
Mathidle's personality such as selfishness, arrogance, superficial, and imitation. Mathidle always
considered her happiness above her husband's happiness. For example she spent the money that her
husband had been saving to buy a gun over a dress to attend the party. Mathile's arrogance and
superficiality had ruined her happiness; she classified people based on their income. She always
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
2. The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant Essay
In Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace," Mathilde is an unhappy French woman who has an
apparent desire to live a more luxurious life. Because Mathilde is unhappy in her marriage, she is not
shy to let her husband know that he is not enough to keep her happy. Throughout Maupassant's story,
we can see the transformation of Mathilde's selfishness, unhappiness, and materialistic nature into a
newly found humbleness after an incident that causes her to learn that there is more to life than
material things. Throughout the first few paragraphs, Mathilde is portrayed as being obsessed with
material wealth, and as being selfish. We can see that Mathilde is materialistic by the words that
Maupassant writes about her and through her actions. Maupassant writes, "She had no dresses, no
...show more content...
And she loved nothing but that; she felt made for that. She would have liked to please, to be
envied, to be sought after" (68). This shows the reader that Mathilde's want for material items is
greater than her desire to serve as a good wife to her husband. Another time we see her love for
material items is when Mathilde says to her husband, "It annoys me not to have a single jewel,
not a single stone, nothing to put on. I shall look like distress. I should almost rather not go at all"
(69). Instead of just owning her materials, Mathilde is constantly letting her materials define her.
It is apparent that Mathilde is not happy where she is and is not happy with her husband.
Mathilde is depicted by Maupassant as feeling "unhappy as though she had really fallen from her
proper station" (68). Mathilde's frequent remarks about her husband also show the reader that she
is not happy. Another time the reader can see that Mathilde is unhappy where she is socially is
when Maupassant writes, "She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and
all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls,
from the worn
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
3. Essay on "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
Freshman Composition II November 1, 2005 The nineteenth century French writer, Guy De
Maupassant, tells an intriguing story in "The Necklace." He depicts the painful life of a beautiful
woman, unhappily born into an average family of clerks. She felt that she was destined to marry
into wealth but sadly found herself settling as she married an average copyist. Unlike the women of
today, women in the nineteenth century were not fortunate enough to have a career of their own;
they were either born into a wealthy family or married a man with money. In "The Necklace", Guy
De Maupassant creatively reveals Mathilde Loisel's dreams of a decadent lifestyle. As her struggles
start to unravel, it becomes obvious that her heartache is solely...show more content...
Mr. Loisel was an average guy with an average job at the Ministry of Education as a copyist. He
doesn't seem to be bothered by their basic yet comfortable lifestyle; however, Mathilde is
obviously anguished over the lack of his riches. Mr. Loisel was obviously excited the day that
The Chancellor of Education had invited them to an exquisite dinner. Surely he thought that this
was finally a way that he could provide an outlet for Mathilde's deepest desires. Unfortunately,
instead of being thrilled as he had predicted, Mathilde acted like a spoiled child, throwing the
invitation on the table. "She had no decent dresses, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but
these; she believed herself born only for these" (5). She couldn't have been more manipulative
than when she began to cry about not having anything to wear. Of course Mr. Loisel suddenly fell
into her trap and suddenly decided to give her all of the money in his savings account to buy her a
new dress. Most would assume that she'd be satisfied at this point; her husband has just made a
huge financial sacrifice for her. However, as time drew near to the night of the party, she became
insecure and restless because she thought she would look poor if she didn't have any fancy jewels
to wear; she thought she'd look like a beggar. `I'd almost rather not go to the party (30)", she said.
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
4. Vanity, The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
Abstract
This paper explores the concepts of vanity and falsity throughout society and the short story "The
Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant. In this short story some themes that are displayed are the
falseness of appearances, the vulnerabilities of exaggeration, and the impression of power placed
within an object. Vanity is placed in theshort story through showing that her pride causes her to
have this constant discomfort in her life. Towards the end of the story it shows the consequences
of her vanity or the fulfillment she hope to have. Falsity is displaced by when her and her husband
go to the Education Ministry Ball she poses herself to be rich but in reality she is poor.
Keywords: falsity, vanity
Introduction
In the short story "The Necklace" there are different themes that are displayed, which are
falseness of appearances, the vulnerabilities of exaggeration, and the impression of power placed
within an object. The main character Mathilde Loisel portrays the qualities of being vain and
false. Mathilde vain quality comes from her pride which causes her to have this constant
discomfort in her life. Which later in the story it shows the consequences of her vanity when she
loses the necklace. The falsity quality is when Mathilde and her husband go to the Education
Ministry Ball she poses herself to be rich and elegant but in reality she is poor. These concepts of
vanity and falsity by choice are implemented in today 's society as well as throughout the short story
"The
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
5. The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant
Many authors utilize literary elements to allow readers to predict the plot using details and
visualize scenes using imagery. Two examples of these short stories are "The Necklace" by Guy
de Maupassant and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber. "The Necklace" was about
a materialistic woman who faced consequences because of her envious personality and "The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty" was about a man who experienced daydreams randomly throughout the day.
Although both short stories used literary elements, Guy de Maupassant utilized them for readers to
understand and enjoy the story more than James Thurber.
"The Necklace" was a short story of a middle–class woman, Mathilde, who borrowed a necklace
from a friend to seem...show more content...
But mine was only paste. Why, at most it was worth only five hundred francs!" (Maupassant 204).
At that moment, Madame Loisel, as well as the readers, learned all the debt Mathilde and her
husband went through was for nothing. If she had not worried the consequences from the truth,
the hard labor could have been avoided. This was ironic because throughout the whole story the
necklace represented something expensive and high class when in reality it was a fake. "The
Necklace" can be described as a story with many detailed and vivid sentences, making each scene
come to life in the reader 's mind. Even though there are many of these occurrences, the most
animated example was right after Mathilde and her husband paid for the replacement necklace.
When describing Madame Loisel's hard labor, it was said "She washed dishes, wearing down her
shell–pink nails scouring the grease from pots and pans; she scrubbed dirty linen, shirts, and
cleaning rags which she hung on a line to dry" (Maupassant 203). This created a visualization and
feeling of hard work and exhaustion, which was exactly what Madame Loisel was going through.
The details about her nails, for example, form an image of physical wear down. This was
significant because in the beginning of "The Necklace" it was explained that Mathilde cared deeply
about her outward appearance. Because of the expensive necklace they replaced, her
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
6. Guy De Maupassant's The Necklace
Often people think the grass is greener on the other side and to many the other side is just a
fantasy, but some change who they are just to live their ideal life. The biggest problem is
deciding if it's worth it. In Guy de Maupassant's " The Necklace " Mme. Loisel is ashamed of the
life she lives as a clerks wife and envys those of the elite class. She wishes to be one of them and
will stop at almost nothing to make that wish come true. But on the night that it finally does she
loses a borrowed necklace which she believed was very expensive. She must replace it by buying a
new one then spend the rest of her life paying it off and once she finally has her wish is nothing more
than a memory. Through connecting the characterization and the theme, Guy de Maupassant's " The
Necklace " shows that readers should be happy with what they have and not always want for more.
...show more content...
Loisel is a dynamic character. As she starts in the beginning all she cares about is wealth and
possessions however after she gets a taste of it she changes. Once she loses the necklace her and
her husband must spend many years of their lives paying the debt the built in return of the necklace.
She didn't have a bad life just not the one she wanted. If she had just been happy with it by the end
she wouldn't have turned out miserable. She should have been great–full for what she had and
treasured it.
The theme plays a huge role in the message the author tries to deliver. It is said to be don't change
yourself to someone you're not just because it makes you seem better. Mme. Loisel bought a
gorgeous dress and wore a luxurious necklace to the party. Neither of which were hers. She made
her self look like someone she wasn't and played the part well. If she had gone in her own clothes
and jewelry and had the same issue then it wouldn't have been such a drastic replacement. By
changing herself to fit in with the elite she caused many of the next years of her life to be full of
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
7. Originating in France, 'The Necklace' is a short story written by French writer Guy de Maupassant in
the late nineteenth century; the period where literary movements realism and naturalism dominated
French fiction. Maupassant played a significant role in both the realist and the naturalist movement
through his depiction of the setting as well as the main character's motivation of life. The short story
reflects upon the rigid patriarchal society during the late nineteenth century, demonstrating how the
wealth of a person can lead to their generosity and greed; thus affecting their lifestyles. Through 'The
Necklace', Maupassant aims to depict the conflicts between the upper–class and the lower class and
how their inner desires vary. This essay...show more content...
When Maupassant conveys Madame Loisel's dream he narrates, "She dreamed of great drawing
rooms dressed with old silk" The premodifier "great" once again refers to the theme of greed,
shown throughout the story. Although she is living in a steady life, Madame Loisel always
desires for better. Maupassant can be seen as a misogynist here as Madame Loisel is portrayed as
a greedy woman who does not know how to cherish what she currently has. She continues to
complain on her plain and ordinary lifestyle even though there are many more underprivileged
people living in the society. Women continue to be characterized negatively through Madame
Loisel's expectations on her meals. Instead of appreciating her husband's effort in cooking the
meal, "she dreamed of elegant dinners, gleaming silverware" The repetition of the verb phrase "she
dreamed" moreover suggests Madame Loisel's desperation to achieve her endless desires for
luxury. The dependent clause shows her depreciation of her husband's hard work, suggesting that
she puts wealth and fortune over her relationship with one of her closest family members.
Maupassant can be seen to be misogynistic by conveying Madame Loisel as an antagonist whose
greed does not purely affect her thoughts towards her ordinary lifestyle; but also her neglection
towards her family
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
8. The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant Essay
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
?The Necklace?
The theme of Guy de Maupassant story ?The Necklace? seems to be suggested
by the line, ?What would have happened if Mathilde had not lost the necklace??.
Mathilde Loisel grew up in poverty and had no expectations in life. When she got
married, her and her husband would sit around the dinner table and imagine they were
eating a luxurious meal. They would imagine using shiny silverware and eating their
meal on marvelous plates. Together, they had nothing. Mathilde had no clothes, no
jewels, and only one friend. One day her husband came home from work and handed her
an invitation they had received to attend a ball. Her husband thought that she...show more content...
After about an hour of deliberating with her friend about what to
jewelry to wear, Mathilde found it. Under all the other pieces of jewelry lied a diamond
necklace. Mathilde was ecstatic. Never before had she seen such a beautiful piece of
jewelry. She decided this was what she was going to wear. The entire way home she
dazzled the necklace. She knew that she would stand out in the crowd at the ball. The
night of the ball came and Mithilde looked great. Her and her husband showed up at the
ball and everyone was amazed at how good Mithilde appeared. Mithilde was not used to
all the attention she received that evening, after all she just a poor young lady. The
evening ended and everyone went home. Mithilde decided that one last time she would
look at herself in the mirror before getting out of the clothes. When she did, she noticed
the necklace in which she admired so much was gone. Weeks went by and no trace of
9. the necklace showed up. Mithilde and her husband had to borrow thirty–six thousand
francs from people they knew to buy another just like it. Mithilde put the new necklace
in a box and gave it to her friend. Her friend never looked in the box, so she did not
know the necklace was not the same she let Mithilde borrow. Mithilde and her husband
were deeply in debt. For ten years they worked day in and day out until finally the debt
was paid
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
10. The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant Essay
Guy de Maupassant's, "The Necklace," is a short story about how a vain woman, Matilda, and her
husband, Loisel, borrow a necklace, lose it, and then return it. Even though Matilda had no means of
being loved and married by a man of money, she loves material items more than her husband because
she suffers everyday in her apartment and dreams of things she should have. According to Olin H.
Moore, "Maupassant, following the classicists, concentrated his attention upon the rational adult"
(JSTOR 98). Maupassant putting his attention on rational adults as characters make the story seems
more realistic. The story is more realistic by using an unhappy and materialistic woman, a
hardworking and loving husband. Loisel does everything he can for his...show more content...
"The problem of the physical world is given a great deal of attention by Maupassant" says John
Dugan (Google Book 11). Authors typically will use elements of daily life and what is occurring
in their life, to help make their stories interesting. Doing this gives the characters and setting a
realistic dimension. Though Matilda is narcissistic through most of the story, she learned a
valuable lesson through losing her friends necklace. She was forced to "learn the heavy cares of a
household, the odious work of a kitchen" (Maupassant 164). She learned that in order to have
money, you need to work for it. She had been working so hard to pay off the necklace that her
friend, Jeanne Forestier, did not recognize her. Later in the story she wonders what her life would
be like now, if she never lost the borrowed necklace. When Matilda tells Jeanne that she had to
work ten years to pay back all the money she owed for the necklace, she says "But it is finished,
and I am decently content" (Maupassant 165). Finally, Matilda is content, until Jeanne tells her
that the diamonds in the necklace were paste. If you were to borrow something from say, a friend,
that looks to be super expensive, it probably is not, because they wouldn't let you borrow it if it
were. If Matilda were to have told her friend that she had lost her necklace, Jeanne would have been
upset, but would not have expected her to buy a
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
11. The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
In Guy De Maupassant's "The Necklace," Mathilde is a 19th century French woman who desires a
wealthier lifestyle than she can acquire. She is completely indulged in the material possessions of
life and is focused on the items she does not have rather than what she owns. It seems her happiness
is entirely dependent on wealth and status. She neglects her husband and is never content with what
he can offer. Eventually, Mathilde's struggles of envy, selfishness, and materialism drive her to
poverty.
De Maupassant demonstrates Mathilde's constant desire for other's possessions. Mathilde is
envious of the wealthy in every aspect of her life. De Maupassant describes her as a woman who
is "as if by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerks" (68). The lack of wealth has led her to
be miserable. De Maupassant shows this by saying, "[s]he suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself
born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries" (68). She could never be happy because she was
constantly observing the things she does not have. The envy even affects her social life with
friends, and De Maupassant shows us that "[s]he had a friend, a former schoolmate at the covent,
who was rich, and whom she did not like to go see because she suffered much when she came back"
(68). The wealthy lifestyle is constantly on her mind; "...she thought of dainty dinners, of shining
silverware..." (68). She also imagines "the long salons fitted up with ancient silk, of the delicate
furniture carrying priceless
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
12. The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant Essay example
"The Necklace"
The late Irish poet Oscar Wilde once stated, "In the world, there are only two tragedies. One is not
getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." This quote accurately describes human nature
to the extent that man is never fully satisfied with his current possessions. In fact, most people
who rely on materialistic items for happiness are typically desolated and miserable. This story is
based on an archaic view on women, where women have no caste or hierarchy. The people grade
women based off their looks and beauty. Money "practically makes nobility" (Shmoop). It "enables
the user to pay for the high life" (Shmoop) and confine the person with luxurious items known to
man. Money controls the life of people,...show more content...
She even married a minor clerk, to her distress, who cannot provide what she desires. The way she
speaks to him comes off very distasteful and leaves a sour feeling. He likes plain things and
seems rather happy for where he is in life, opposite of her. The husband is actually a weak
character giving in to others, just like Malthide. Their life was simple. Her home was simple, as
well, just like her life. She owned cheap belongings. Except, she didn't want that. No, she wanted the
most expensive items perched in her home, rather than average items.
Malthide dreams of being with the rich people. Her minor husband brings home an invitation to a
prestigious dinner for the rich one day. Instead of being ecstatic, as he thought she would be,
Malthide breaks down. Malthide believed that she was in a situation in which she could not
spend her time at the dinner. She had no expensive dress or jewelry to wear so that she could like
the others, but she possessed beauty and grace. Her husband offered her the dress she had, but she
could not accept it, as it was cheap. Her false value of what one "should evaluate themself"
(Cummings), only caused her more grief. In the end, she bought a dress and borrowed a necklace
from a rich friend of hers. However, after the dinner party, she was missingthe necklace that she
borrowed. Malthide and her husband bought a replacement for it, which costed a fortune for them.
They had to suffer the consequences of
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
13. The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant Essay
Discussion Questions for "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
1.Describe the character of Mathilde. On balance, is she as negative as she seems at first? Why does
Maupassant consider her efforts to help the debt "heroic?" How does her character create the
situation that causes the financial penance the Loisels must undergo?
Mathilde did not learn her lesson. She just remember the day of the balls as something beautiful to
remember, but finally she still being the same jealous and avaricious woman. She did not feel for her
husband effort and love. The roll that Maupassant create is gave to Mathilde a humility lesson.
2.Are Mathilde's daydreams unusual? How might a case be made that Maupassant fashions the
ironic conclusion to demonstrate that...show more content...
The little thing that made Mathilde different to another woman was that she demanded to have
expensive things dreaming out of the reality. Maupassant gave a lesson of being honest because she
was not a bad person or a character that can response bad about the new of lost her necklace.
3.What sort of person is Loisel? How does his character contribute to the financial disaster?
Loisel is a lovely and strong man Faithful to wishes of his wife. He did not want to be honest with
Maupassant and his response of just tried to pay the necklace was not the best option.
4.Describe the relationship between Mathilde and Loisel as shown in their conversations. Does this
relationship seem to be intimate, or is it less personal and more formal?
They did not look as a partners. Loisel looks so nice with her, but her response of his love and
pleasure is with contempt almost with disgust.
5.The speaker states that small things save or destroy people (paragraph 105). How does "The
Necklace" bear out this idea? What role might fate play in this scheme of things, or is chance the
more important governing
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
14. The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
In Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace," readers experience Mathilde Loisel's life–changing event.
Coming from nobility, de Maupassant tells the story of luxurious desire through the eyes of the
middle class woman Mathilde. Mathilde constantly dreams of living the life of the upper class, and
this prohibits her from acting in reality. Mathilde's internal struggle for a sense of social royalty
shows readers how quickly selfish pride destroys a person's life. Throughout the course of "The
Necklace," Mathilde changes from an arrogant and prideful housewife to a modest and humble
companion. At the beginning of the story, Mathilde is portrayed as a bitter woman who thinks she
is entitled to a more luxurious life. While eating dinner, Mathilde thinks to herself: "She had no
dresses, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but that; she felt made for that. She would so
have liked to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after" (68). In this instance, Mathilde
cannot focus on what she is currently involved in because she is so obsessed with living a higher
life. The reader infers that the consumables of the upper class is consuming her thoughts. One
evening, after sulking to herself, as usual, her husband comes home with an invitation to a party
which she reacts to questionably: "Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she threw the
invitation on the table with disdain, murmuring: 'What do you want me to do with that'" (69)? As the
readers sees,
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
15. The Necklace By Maupassant Essay
In the story "The Necklace" written by Guy de Maupassant, Madame Loisel's attitude and
perspective on life changes for the good. At the beginning of the story she is very needy and
ungrateful, "She had no evening clothes, no jewels, nothing. But those were the things she
wanted: she felt that was the kind of life for her" (Maupassant 226). Madame Loisel "burst out
weeping" when she was informed they were attending an evening event without a nice dress to
wear (227). She was handed 400 francs that her husband was saving for a rifle. She was to buy a
nice dress for the event. Although she buys an evening dress, she still thought she looked to poor to
attend the event. She had asked to borrow a necklace from a friend, but she lost it later that
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
16. Themes In The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
Introduction
The "Necklace" is a unique story, which serves as a lesson for all to learn; since life is
unpredictable, we ought to be content with what we have and who we are, no matter the
circumstances. The story by Guy De Maupassant, was well written and with clarity, transition
from one scene to another was brilliant, and speaks a volume about the significance of
contentment. The story which talks about Madame Loisel the wife of a clerk, and how her desire
and greed to be like the upper class, led her and her husband to ten years of rigid labor in order to
replace the missing necklace she borrowed from a friend to attend an extravagant party.
Theme
The theme that I observe in "The Necklace", by Guy De Maupassant, is a pleasure seeking and
conceited wife of a clerk. The wife Mathilde who was married to a clerk that could not cater to her
elaborate life style created a for her a decent or luxury life due to scarcity can only imagine those
beautiful and expensive things start to develop self–indulgence and pride. Exercising the concept of
self–indulgence, envy her rich friend (schoolmate) and decide not to pay her a visit since after
going back to her own house is left with unsettling memories (Barnet et al, 2011). In addition,
Mathilde egotism and self–indulgence led her and husband to a life of intense labor and poverty, in
order to...show more content...
Likewise, the narrator talks about the story from his point of view and not Mathilde, which also
signifies a third person narrator. "She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies
and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the
walls, from the worn–out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains" (Barnet, Burto, Cain,
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
17. The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant
If you're greedy you can lose more than you actually gain, and being honest is always the best
course of action. "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant shows both of these. You are shown a
beautiful woman named Mathilde Loisel who is greedy and thinks she deserves more than she
has. Her husband knows this and takes her to an expensive ball. She had borrowed a diamond
necklace from her friend only to lose it late in the night. Mathilde Loisel and her husband go deeply
into debt to replace the necklace and must work for ten years to pay off the debt. Once the debt is
paid Mathilde Loisel tells her friend and learns that the original necklace was sixty eight times
cheaper than the replacement. If Mathilde Loisel had been honest with her friend
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
18. Session 3 Literary Analysis Paper
Vivian Camacho
Colorado Christian University The Truth About "The Necklace"
One of the most important values in life is the beauty of freedom that comes with living a simple
life, yet many take every moment of their lives for granted. "The Necklace", by the author, Guy
de Maupassant, written in (1884), is an exceptionally good story about one person who is
discontent. A story about a beautiful woman, named Mathilde, who is at the center of this
narrative. On another level, it is a story of one person can bring a series of problems for being
"discontent". One day, her husband surprised her with an invitation to a ball. However, Mathilde
wasn't excited about the request because she didn't have an "appropriate" gown to wear to the event,
thus she had to buy a brand–new dress. In addition, she borrowed a necklace from her friend,
attended the ball, had a memorable experience and by the end of the night she discovered that she
had misplaced the "necklace". Mathilde, became distressed trying to find a way to replace it, in
which it positioned her in a financial predicament. Ten years after replacing the necklace, she learned
that it was "fake" and realized that she struggled financially nearly her whole life for nothing.
Mathilde would not have suffered if she initially considered wearing the dress she had, and didn't
borrow her friend's necklace. The irony and conflict support Guy de Maupassant's theme of how
being untrue and unsatisfied invites misfortune into one's life.
The mood of this story can be best described as "misery". Guy characterizes Madame Mathilde as
a woman who is seemingly unhappy with her situation in life. The author illustrates an indication
that Mathilde is miserable with her life by articulating, "Mathilde suffered ceaselessly, feeling
herself born to enjoy all delicacies and all luxuries" (para. 3). The mood of Mathilde expressing
"gloom" supports the thesis because she does not appreciate living a "simple" life. "Madame
Loisel" is a humble and dedicated husband, who "values" life as it is and works hard to support his
wife Mathilde. On a contrary, Mathilde is an entirely different person from her husband, she desires,
living a magnificent life of
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
19. How Does Maupassant Use Realism In The Necklace
In the short story 'the Necklace' Guy de Maupassant employs the use of literary realism for his
readers to understand his view on social hierarchy in France during the 1900s. Maupassant achieves
this by making several references to everyday, mundane activities; and the allure of Paris's
aristocracy. Maupassant uses an abundance of linguistic techniques which often make the theme of
the Necklace; a contrast between an enchanting lifestyle to a common life of the middle class.
Maupassant uses this to make it seem as if the stories of daily life and the struggles that come with
it are sometimes more meaningful than grander stories of dragons and princesses. The fact of the
matter is that Maupassant adapts his writing for his readers desires. The Necklace was written
during the post–romantic era, when common folk wanted to believe, and to read that they weren't
the only ones who yearned for precious, materialistic objects and the acceptance of those above them
(the noblemen and aristocrats'). In this essay I shall illustrate how the writer uses literary realism in
his short story to manipulate his ideas towards the reader.
Firstly, in the exposition of the Necklace Maupassant sets the scene of the story and lets the readers
learn a little about the characters background, he uses literary realism to make the character feel
common and relatable to the readers, he makes Madame Loisel (the main character) seem ordinary
as Maupassant withhold mentioning her name; "She was one of
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
20. Literary Analysis Essay of 'The Necklace' by Guy de Maupassant
'The Necklace' is a morality tale written by Guy de Maupassant where he portrays the life of a
beautiful but dissatisfied girl named Mathilde who desires to live a luxurious life despite being born
into a clerk's family and marrying a clerk too. Mathilde's discontentment in life instigates her to
pretend someone rich that she is not. Moreover, it leads her to severe trouble that caused ten years
of hardship to Mathilde and her husband. So, this suffering is a punishment for Mathilde which
taught her a lesson and changed her dramatically over the course of the story by making her a
person of completely different personality for whom appearances...show more content...
But later in the story her discontentment caused her to terrible problem and sealed her fate. The
necklace of Madame Forestier has been lost. It is her discontent that caused her to borrow the
necklace which she lost. But it is an irony of fate that Mathilde and her husband faced 10 years of
hardship for nothing but a fake necklace which cost "at most only five hundred francs." (6) For this
necklace they repaid a debt of "thirty–six thousand francs." (5) If Mathilde and her husband had
admitted to Madame Forestier about the truth of losing the necklace then the consequences would
have been different and they would have avoided the hardship. This relates with another morality
of the story which is to tell the truth. Thereafter, by learning a lesson from her doings there was a
great transformation in Mathilde's character from beginning to end of the story. After giving the
diamond necklace to Forrestier she knew they have to live a "horrible" (5) life "of the needy." (5) .
Thus "with sudden heroism" (5) she decided to repay the debt taken for that necklace and
"dismissed their servant, changed their lodgings and rented a garret under the roof." (5) The woman
who valued her youth and beauty the most lost it and became the woman of "impoverished
household–strong and hard and rough." (5) But sometimes she
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
21. The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant
"The Necklace", by Guy De Maupassant has a strong theme that shows that self–absorbed actions
have repercussions.
Earlier on in the text Mme. Loisel gets a new dress that her husband worked hard to buy for her.
But then in lines 6 through 9 on page 30, she says, "It's embarrassing not to have a jewel or gem –
nothing to wear on my dress. I'll look like a pauper: I'd almost rather not go to that party." This
quote clearly shows how demanding Mme. Loisel really is Because she has just received a very
kind gift from her husband and she's basically telling him it's not enough for her. When she states
this she could really hurt her husband's feelings, and jeopardize or threaten their relationship.
Mme. Loisel's selfish judgment gave her the courage to ask her friend Mme. Forestier to borrow a
jewelry piece. But then on page 30 on lines 1–2 states, " She turned despairingly, 'I... I... I don't have
Mme Forestier's necklace.'" This has put Mme....show more content...
Loisel didn't have the heart or guts to tell her friend about the misfortune she has encountered
instead she goes to buy a diamond necklace in place of the old one for Mme. Forestier. In later
years Mme. Loisel Is still working to pay off the luxurious necklace when she discovers some
comforting but disappointing news that the necklace was nothing more than "paste" better known
as costume jewelry, or junk jewelry. this is shown in the last three lines of the text on page 34
which directly states, " Oh, my poor Mathilde. But mine was only paste. Why at most it was worth
only five hundred francs." This journey that all started with a selfish remark got Mme.Loisel to
open her eyes quite a bit at the mess she made for herself. In lines 16–18 on page 34 states, "I
brought you another just like it. And we've been paying for it for years now. You can imagine that
wasn't easy for us who had nothing." Mme.Loisel expresses through these lines the unsettling
repercussions she had to face because of her self–regarding and greedy
Get more content on HelpWriting.net