"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant

• "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant revolves around Mathilde Loisel, exploring dissatisfaction, social climbing, and the consequences of deception.

Characters

• Mathilde Loisel is the protagonist; a beautiful woman who dreams of luxury but is born into a modest family.
• Monsieur Loisel is Mathilde's husband, a clerk in the Ministry of Education; he is kind, hardworking, and content with his simple life.
• Madame Forestier is Mathilde's wealthy friend, from whom Mathilde borrows the necklace.

Mathilde Loisel

• Portrayed as beautiful and charming, but deeply unhappy with her middle-class existence, constantly dreaming of luxury and opulence.
• Her dissatisfaction stems from a perceived mismatch between her desires and her reality, believing she was destined for a life of wealth and privilege.
• Vanity and a strong desire for social recognition mark the character; she craves the admiration and envy of others.
• She borrows a necklace from her friend Madame Forestier to wear to a ball, hoping to appear wealthy and sophisticated.
• Upon losing the necklace, Mathilde's life takes a drastic turn; she and her husband Monsieur Loisel are forced to work tirelessly for ten years to repay the debt incurred to replace it.
• This experience transforms Mathilde.
• Initially focused on her appearance and social standing, she becomes hardened by labor and poverty, losing her youthful beauty as she does all of her own housework.
• Mathilde undergoes a significant change, from a discontented dreamer to a woman burdened by the harsh realities of poverty.
• Ultimately learns the lost necklace was a fake, highlighting the irony of her suffering and the futility of her aspirations.
• Mathilde's character serves as a critique of the values of appearance and social status, exposing the emptiness and potential consequences of prioritizing them over genuine contentment and honesty.

Monsieur Loisel

• Mathilde's devoted husband is content with his modest life as a clerk.
• He is kind and caring, willing to do anything to make his wife happy, even sacrificing his own desires and comfort, he uses money that he saved up to buy a rifle to instead buy Mathilde a dress for the ball.
• He is less concerned with social status than Mathilde is, finding satisfaction in his work and simple pleasures.
• After Mathilde loses the necklace, Monsieur Loisel dedicates himself to repaying the debt, working long hours and taking on extra jobs.
• He ages prematurely due to the stress and hardship of their financial struggles.
• Monsieur Loisel's character represents the values of hard work and sacrifice, but also a lack of awareness of his wife's true character.
• He loves his wife deeply and is willing to do anything for her.

Madame Forestier

• Mathilde's wealthy friend, whom Mathilde envies for her social status and possessions.
• She is kind enough to lend Mathilde the necklace for the ball.
• At the end of the story, Madame Forestier reveals that the necklace was a fake, worth very little, which is a crucial plot twist that underscores the story's theme of deception and the superficiality of appearances.
• Her character serves as a symbol of the wealth and status that Mathilde craves, but also highlights the deceptive nature of appearances.
• Madame Forestier is a static character, remaining wealthy and seemingly unaffected by Mathilde's struggles.

Plot Summary

• Mathilde Loisel is unhappy with her middle-class existence, as she yearns for riches and social recognition.
• She and her husband receive an invitation to a grand ball, which Mathilde is initially reluctant to attend because she has nothing suitable to wear.
• Her husband gives her money he had been saving for a hunting rifle to buy a dress.
• Mathilde borrows a diamond necklace from her friend, Madame Forestier, to complete her outfit.
• At the ball, Mathilde is a sensation and is admired by everyone.
• After the ball, Mathilde discovers that she has lost the necklace.
• The Loisels decide to replace the necklace, which costs them a fortune: thirty-six thousand francs.
• To pay for the replacement, they take out loans, dismiss their servant, move into a smaller apartment, and live a life of poverty and hard work for ten years.
• After ten years, Mathilde encounters Madame Forestier in the park and decides to tell her the truth about the lost necklace.
• Madame Forestier reveals that the original necklace was a fake, worth only five hundred francs.

Character Relationships

• Mathilde and Monsieur Loisel's relationship is defined by his devotion to her and her dissatisfaction with their life; his love for her drives him to make sacrifices, while her desires lead them into financial ruin.
• Mathilde's envy of and interaction with Madame Forestier highlights the theme of social disparity and the allure of wealth.
• Madame Forestier is kind to Mathilde, which suggests that Mathilde's envy is based on her own insecurities rather than any malice from Madame Forestier.

Character Development

• Mathilde undergoes the most significant character development, transforming from a discontented dreamer to a hardened, working woman.
• Monsieur Loisel remains largely unchanged, maintaining his supportive and hardworking nature throughout the story.
• Madame Forestier is a static character, serving primarily as a plot device to reveal the irony of the necklace.

Themes

• Appearance vs. Reality: The story explores the contrast between Mathilde's desire for a luxurious appearance and the reality of her middle-class life.
• Social Class: The story critiques the rigid social hierarchy of 19th-century France and the importance placed on wealth and status.
• Deception: The necklace itself symbolizes deception, as it appears valuable but is actually fake; Mathilde deceives others with her borrowed finery.
• Consequences of misplaced values: Mathilde's unhappiness stems from her obsession with material possessions and social status, which ultimately leads to her downfall.
• Irony: Mathilde's efforts to appear wealthy result in a life of poverty, making the story filled with irony, and the necklace that causes so much suffering turns out to be worthless.
• It critiques the societal emphasis on wealth and status, suggesting that true happiness lies in contentment and honesty rather than the pursuit of superficial goals.
• The story explores themes of social class, the illusion of appearances, the consequences of desire and dissatisfaction, and the destructive power of pride and deception.

Irony

• Dramatic Irony: The reader knows the necklace is fake before Mathilde does, creating dramatic irony and highlighting the futility of her sacrifices.
• Situational Irony: The outcome of the story is the opposite of what is expected, as Mathilde's attempt to improve her social standing leads to her ruin.
• The contrast between Mathilde's perceived worth and her actual worth is ironic, as she believes she deserves a life of luxury but is ultimately responsible for her own misfortune.

Symbols

• The Necklace: Symbolizes Mathilde's desires, social status, and the illusion of wealth; represents the superficiality of the upper class and the deceptive nature of appearances.
• Mathilde's faded beauty symbolizes the toll that poverty and hard work take on a person, both physically and emotionally.
• The Dress: Symbolizes Mathilde's longing for a different life and her desire to fit into a higher social class.
• The Shawls: Represents Mathilde's actual social standing.
• The Lost Necklace: Symbolizes the loss of beauty and youth.
• The necklace symbolizes the superficiality of appearances and the allure of wealth and social status; its loss represents the destructive consequences of valuing these things above honesty and contentment.

Narrative Style

• Third-person limited: The story is told from Mathilde's point of view.
• The narrator reveals Mathilde's thoughts and feelings, allowing the reader to understand her motivations and desires.
• The narrative style creates sympathy for Mathilde, but also allows for a critical examination of her flaws.

Ending

• The ending provides a twist that undermines the audience's expectations.
• Madame Forestier's revelation that the necklace was fake highlights the story's themes of appearance vs. reality and the deceptive nature of social class.
• The story's tragic ending serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of valuing material possessions and social status over genuine happiness and contentment.