The Necklace

The short story titled “The Necklace” is about a man and his wife who is very greedy and wants more than what she needs. When she gets invited to a ball, she demands a new dress and a new necklace. She borrows a necklace from her friend which looks like it has “diamonds” on it and then loses it. She takes ten years to pay it back, only to find out that the diamonds on the necklace weren't real. The short story “The Fisherman and His Wife” is about a fisherman who finds an enchanted flounder, who he lets free. When he returns to his home, his wife demands that he wishes for a cottage. After that she keeps on wanting more and more until she demands of her husband to ask the enchanted flounder to make her the controller of the sun and moon. Once
In paragraph 20, the following quote supports the theme. “‘Yes,’ said the man, ‘if this can only last we shall be very well contented.’” “‘We will see about that,’ said the wife.” This quote supports the theme because it shows that the wife does not appreciate what she just got and she wants more, though she does not need it and it won’t keep her happy. In “The Necklace” the author shows the theme through the characters in paragraph 2 in the following quote. “She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury.” This supports my theme because even though she has a better life than most, she still yearns to be rich and to be accepted by the higher class and that will never bring her joy. The actions of these characters express the theme because both of them want things that will not make them
In the beginning of the story, the fisherman and his wife live in a hovel and don’t have a lot. When he crosses paths with an enchanted flounder, his wife forces him to wish for more and more power. “‘Well, wife, this is fine for you to be king! Now there is nothing more to wish for.’ ‘O husband!’ said the wife, seeming quite restless, ‘I am tired of this already. Go to your fish and tell him that now I am king and I wish to be emperor.’” (paragraph 54-55) This supports the theme because she keeps wanting more even though it will not make her happy because there is more that she will end up wanting and quite possibly getting. In “The Necklace” the author uses the plot to exemplify the theme. The story starts off with a man and his wife, and they get invited to a ball. She gets a new dress and isn’t satisfied with the jewellery she has, so she borrows a diamond necklace and loses it. She and her husband spends 36,000 francs to get a new necklace to replace the one that she lost. After this, she finds out that it was a fake. “‘Oh my poor Mathilde! But mine was an imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs!’” (paragraph 119) This supports the theme because if the wife hadn’t been so greedy and unappreciative, she wouldn’t have been in the situation she was in. The plot of the story expresses the theme because they both rise up the social ladder, and then come flying down because