The Necklace By Guy de Maupassant The story

The Necklace By: Guy de Maupassant

The story in brief Beautiful Mathilde Loisel the wife of a clerk, longs for a life of wealth and glamor. when she and her husband get an invitation to grand ball she, borrows a friend’s diamond necklace to wear. Her night is a triumph to her but ends disastrously when she loses the necklace. M. And Mme Loisel borrow heavily to buy a replacement necklace , never telling the lender that the original was lost. For ten years they slave suffer and grow old , paying for the mistake only to find that the original was fake. “ Honesty is the best policy “

Characters grow and changes throughout a story, revealing these changes in their actions and words. Flat characters are those who don’t change through the story. Round characters are those who change and develop and their development affects the action and events of the story. Characters

Loisel enjoys everything and is satisfied with what he has. He dotes on his wife and is happy to make sacrifices for her. He has become reckless and depressed but shows resolute nature that is consistent. Find examples. Loisel

Unlike her husband, who is cheerfully grateful for what he has, Mme Loisel is unhappy. She feels a person of her sensibilities should be rich, adored, and pampered. She believes that her beauty gives her the natural right to enjoy the luxuries and privileges reserved for the wealthy. When she learns about the party, she rejects it because she doesn’t want to appear inferior to the other guests. She accepts her husband's generosity when he offers her the money he had saved to buy herself a dress, but with no show of pleasure or gratitude. But when she turns to borrow a diamond necklace from a friend, she is completely grateful to be granted the permission to borrow it. Madame Loisel

Her big night proves to be both a triumph and a disaster; she is adored and sought after, but the loss of the necklace ruins her. It at first depresses her, then makes her determined and practical in outlook. Mme Loisel

Mathilde is not satisfied with what she has, so she reaches above her station in life for something that proves to be false. This yearning for something illusive leads to her misfortune and shows her that what she has longed for is not worth the price she has paid. Mme Loisel

A symbol is an object, a person, a place, or an experience that represents something else, usually something abstract. In this story, for example, a fancy evening dress is a symbol of class and distinction. A symbol may have more than one meaning, or its meaning may change from the beginning to the end of a literary work. Symbol

At the beginning, to Mathilde, it symbolizes wealth and the good life, all that she believes she deserves to have and that will make her happy. A diamond is the most valuable gem and its sparkle has the same allure as the life she believes she wants. Then the meaning of the necklace symbol changes. It is no longer a symbol of wealth and glamour; it is a symbol of panic and despair. It comes to represent the oppression of money, in their case, heavy debt, which controls their lives and stripes them of all comfort. Finally, it is exposed as a worthless bauble(trinket; a small ornament), not worth the destruction of the lives of those who once valued it. The Diamond Necklace

It is the feeling or atmosphere that an author creates in a literary work. The mood can suggest a specific emotion, such as excited or fearful. For example, in “The Necklace, ” the author carefully chooses his words to build up a mood of emptiness and despair. (disconsolate, shivering, ashamed, drabness, Rue de Martyrs, wearily, all over) Why do you think the author included such a foreboding, hopeless description right after Mathilde’s triumph? Mood

Irony occurs when an outcome is the opposite of what is expected. In order to appear wealthy for one night, the Loisels lose what they have and are plunged into poverty and discomfort. Irony

At the end of the story, Mathilde who despises hard labor and anything unglamorous discovers that she has sacrificed the best years of her life to replace a necklace that she discovers is fake. Someone who prided herself in such taste and appearance could not even tell the difference between the artificial and valuable. What type of irony is this? Irony

Any Questions? Thank you