The Necklace

The Necklace: Analysis

"She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury." This is a description of the woman who is the main character of the "Necklace" by Guy De Maupassant. The story takes place in 19th century France with a woman named Madame Loisel and her husband who is a minor clerk in the Ministry of Education. She lives a simple life as a working class woman who is always dreaming of a life of luxury. One night her dream comes true as she attends a banquet wearing a borrowed necklace which she soon loses. As a result, she spends the next ten years living in poverty paying off the necklace replacement finally finding out afterwards that the one she lost was an imitation. Though this story is about the misfortunes of a few characters, the words also have a message for all people. Maupassant created a central idea that people should be happy with what they have instead of wishing for better things that are out of reach. Madame Loisel is Maupassant's main example in giving his central idea. She is someone who is always dreaming of a life she cannot have and is never thankful for what she has considering she is still above the poverty line. Her having a hired cook is a good example for where she is on the economic ladder. Maupassant's central idea continues as Loisel first wishes she had a dress to go to the banquet and then wishes she had jewels and diamonds. If she had been happy for what she had then none of the unfortunate events that unfolded would have happened, but she is always dreaming of more than what she has. The section in which she states "She imagined silent antechambers, heavy with Oriental tapestries, lit by torches in lofty bronze candelabras…". As a result of her behavior, she persisted in borrowing a diamond necklace that, unbeknownst to her, was not real. Her lack of responsibility led to her losing it and the working class life that she had. Even though she may have avoided her fate by asking her friend about the authenticity of the diamonds, the whole problem would have been easily avoided if she was just happy for the dress she had. The author makes the main character go into a worse situation than before in order to convey the "she should have been pleased with what she already had" idea. He hammers the reader by describing an aged and worn out woman who did not live by Mauppasant's moral idea. He realizes that people will be shocked at the troubles that befall this woman and most likely believes all readers will take heed of the message he intends to bring.