“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant is a timeless classic symbolizing different themes and meanings. The necklace itself symbolizes the effect of how greed and pride overshadows Matilde’s life, which lead to a series of conflicts. From the beginning to the end of the story, the theme shows that materialistic things do not always make people happy and to appreciate the things in our lives. In the story, the necklace sets a tone of irony because it represents wealth and the upper class, but in the end, it leads to Matilde’s life of poverty and suffering. In the critical essay “The Necklace: A Critique of Class-Consciousness” by EA Gamini Fonseka, his story shared similar and different views to mine. Fonseka gives great examples of irony, …show more content…
Mathilde believed that pursuing material values would lead to happiness, but after she lost the necklace, it only created a life of suffering that attributed from her thinking. Even though Mathilde led a comfortable life, she failed to see what she had because she was a common woman and not a member of the higher class. In the critical essay, EA Gambini Foneska also wrote, “In that society, despite one’s beautiful features and ability to speak intelligently of various interesting subjects, one has to live in a villa in a posh region, move in places of prestige, eat at grand hotels, travel in elegant cars, and wear rich clothes and jewelry, in order to earn respect from the elites” (Fonseka). This correlates with my view of how Mathilde created a façade of who she was. Mathilde disguised her appearance by belonging to the upper class at the ball. She had insisted on wearing the necklace to showcase her wealth and influence, even though she didn’t have both. Both of our view is similar to what Guy de Maupassant is trying to make regarding the nature of life. Our society cares too much about clothes, money, shoes and cars. These things don’t hold importance to us in the long run, but we failed to realize see that. People like Mathilde often lose their personality trying to fit in to a lifestyle that they can’t attained. This common theme is shown in French 19th century society in the story, and it is still true in today’s 21st century. Another similarity is the theme
That is to say that in “The Necklace,” Mathilde’s perception of herself as a woman of higher social standing lead to her losing the one thing she had going in life, her true beauty. “It is Madame Loisel 's desire to be part of the upper class which sets the story 's events in motion” (Hatboro and Horsham). Mathilde is described as a beautiful woman who finds her life to be not up to her standards because she is not a part of the higher class. “She had no
In “The Necklace”, Mathilde Loisel is a woman who cannot tolerate her lower-class status, believing “herself born for every delicacy and luxury”(82). Mathilde’s vain materialistic goals, make her bitter and unhappy. The main point of irony in the story is the fact that Mathilde borrows the necklace and looses it. The necklace was very expensive, or so she thought, so she ended up in poverty
Guy de Maupassant and Chinua Achebe show their opinions on materialism through the thoughts of their characters in their stories. In “The Necklace”, Mathilde, an avaricious and narcissistic character, believes she possesses “...no dowry, no hopes, not the slightest chance of being appreciated, understood, loved, and married by a rich and distinguished man” (de Maupassant 373). The author, Guy de Maupassant, mocks Mathilde’s attitude towards her life, claiming “...She suffered constantly, feeling that all the attributes of a gracious life, every luxury, should rightly have been hers” (de Maupassant 373). By showing Mathilde’s thoughts, the author shows how materialism can cause someone to unappreciate the life that they have, even when it is exceptional compared to
Mathilde never seemed satisfied with what she had. She envied the upper class and felt she should have what they have. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling” (Maupassant). This desire to belong in the upper class caused her only to focus on what she did not have. When her husband surprises her with the invitation to the ball the only thing she can think about is not having the proper dress for the occasion. “She looked at him with an irritated eye, and she said, impatiently: “’And what do you expect me to put on my back?’” (Maupassant). It seemed
The short story“The Necklace” by Gui de Maupassant follows Madame Loisel and her husband who are living in the middle-class during the rise of the middle class in Paris, France.There are many different examples of irony throughout the short story, demonstrating Maupassant's talent at commenting on the society in which he was immersed in. The theme of “The Necklace” is revealed through the character Madame Loisel, irony, and symbolism.
Mathilde wanted to be rich and live a luxurious life. She did not just want to be rich but she thought that she deserved to be rich. Before she got married she was living a decent lifestyle,she even had a maid for the house “She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born every delicacy and luxury.” (1). One night Mathilde and her husband got invited to go to a fancy ball. But she did not have any jewelry to wear so she borrowed a necklace from her friend. After the party she realized that the necklace was gone. She and her husband had to go out and buy the same necklace but for thirty six thousand francs. They had to be in debt for more than ten years. One day she decided to tell the woman that she borrowed the necklace from that she lost her original one and this is another one. ‘“Oh my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at very most five hundred francs!...”’(8). Mathilde and her husband were in debt for most of their lives and lived in poverty. The irony in the story is Mathilde wanted to be very rich but ended up the poorest of the poor and the necklace she lost was imitation and she ended up paying so much more money to replace it than she actually
Now consider the role of Mathilde Loisel in “The Necklace”. She constantly grieves about her simple life and fantasizes about extravagant life style with rich people and food surrounding her. Her husband is a simple man and is satisfied with his life. He appreciates her for the food which is cooked and never complains. Being in the Ministry of Education their lifestyle is modest. Mathilde is not satisfied on the other hand even when her husband proudly announces that they have been invited at a formal party held by the Ministry of Education. The irony in the story is more or less the same with regard to the female characters. Mathilde cries and gets her prize in the form of a dress but she is never satisfied. She wants jewelry as well. The necklace that she borrows from Madame Forestier teaches her a lesson of life. Since she is not familiar with the real jewelry she picks the cheapest one from her collection and wears it to the party why she loses it. Upon not finding the jewelry her husband takes the pain of selling everything out just to purchase an identical necklace worth 40,000 francs which leaves them poverty stricken for the next ten years during which her husband does three jobs and
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
When her husband gave her the invitation to the ball, which was a perfect place to meet the rich people, Mathilde got mad and cried. It was a shame since she has nothing to wear. Mr Loisel gave his money to Mathilde and she got an elegance dress. But she didn’t stop and wanted to have jewels. Mathilde met her friend, Madame Forestier and chose an gorgeous diamond necklace. Of course, she became the prettiest woman in the ball, with everyone stared at her, as if she was the most attractive woman ever. She felt fascinated, just like her dream came true. But then a tragic came to her. She lost the necklace! Mathilde and her husband tried to find the necklace, but they found nothing. Mathilde lost her hope and had aged five years. The Loisels finally decided to replace the diamonds for 36 000 Francs, spent all of their money and accepted to pay the debts. It was such an unfortunate situation. After Mathilde lost the necklace, she was described as “ And, clad like a poor woman, she went to the fruiterer, to the grocer, to the butcher, a basket on her arm, haggling, insulted, fighting for every wretched halfpenny of her money”. (Maupassant 8). The family was suffering from poverty and have to pay the debts continuously. Mathilde changed immediately and did everything. They have worked so hard to earn every single penny for their life, to survive and pay all those debts. The third person limited
Mathilde finds herself dissatisfied with her life. She craves for riches and glamour. Instead of appreciating what she has, Mathilde craves for jewels and high class commodities. One day, her husband receives an invitation to a formal party, which would give Mathilde a chance to experience the luxuries of high society. However, she seems upset because she does not own a formal dress to wear to the ball. Mathilde’s husband feels compassion for her and gives her his savings to buy a new and elegant dress. The night before the ball, we noticed Mathilde’s greed when she complains that she has no ornament to put on. She arrogantly tells her husband, “It's so mortifying to look poverty-stricken among women who are rich” (Maupassant). For this reason, he then advises her to borrow some jewelry from her friend, Madam Forestier. Blinded by greed, Mathilde follows her husband’s advice and borrows what looks like a diamond necklace. At the ball, she has a great time. However, when she and her husband get home, she realizes she has lost the diamond necklace. Worried by the consequences of losing a diamond necklace, Mathilde’s husband decides to buy a new necklace by using his inheritance, getting loans, and borrowing money from acquaintances. They return the necklace to Madam Forestier and focus on paying their debt. After 10 years of hard labor and misery, they eventually pay all their debts. At the end of the short story, Mathilde finds out that the diamond necklace she borrowed was fake. Ultimately, we see how greed drove Mathilde to misery and
Similarly, in “The Necklace” the author uses imagery and setting to show why Mathilde feels ashamed of her background, which essentially leads to the downfall of her youth. As Maupassant described her as a “pretty and charming [girl]” (Maupassant 1). This creates the notion that pretty girls are suppose to be born in a wealthy family. Also, the creation of a line is established with saying that the poor do not match up to the wealth or looks of the upper class. As the story continued, Mathilde wanted a new gown to
Nicole, G8B In the world that we live in, a world full of different, unique people, there are many distinctive characteristics a person can have. Some are good, and consequently, some are bad. There are many of these bad characteristics that can overcome people and lead to their downfalls. When someone's bad characteristics outweigh their good characteristics, as is the case in The Necklace, their downfall is practically inevitable, unless they change their ways soon enough.
This financial pressure Hester brought upon herself is also sensed throughout the family, explaining the constant whispers of “we need more money”. In comparison to “The Necklace”, the circumstances described through the setting of Mathilde’s life is very similar. Mathilde has a very comfortable life- always having food on the table and having her own servant. However, like Hester, she is not content with what she has and desires more, always comparing herself to others’ financial state. Guy de Maupassant describes Mathilde’s situation to be neither wealthy nor part of social class. She feels as though she deserves to be a member of the more lavish society. Thus, does everything in her power to create a wealthier lifestyle for herself as “she was one of those pretty and charming girls, born by a blunder of destiny in a family of employees” (Maupassant, pg.1).This shows Mathilde’s confidence in herself to believe she was born to be wealthy. However, “She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood, loved, married by a man rich and distinguished” (Maupassant, pg.1). In the first couple of lines of the story, Guy De Maupassant introduces Mathilde, whom internally believes is destined for a wealthy and luxurious life. Yet, Mathilde was born in a middle class family and is unsatisfied with her lifestyle
The internal conflicts established in “The Necklace” were a result of Madame Loisels perception of happiness. Because of her ungrateful and dejected views on life, she didn’t realize nor recognize true merriment. In the text, Guy De Maupassant shows how Madame “..was one of those pretty and charming girls born as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of
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