“The necklace” by Guy De Maupassant is a short story about being thankful for what you have. In the story a woman named Mme. Loisel feels very disconsolate because she does not have the luxuries or stature of high society. When Mme. Loisel gets the chance to go to a grand ball she buys a nice dress and borrows a diamond necklace. When Mme. Loisel loses the necklace they spend ten years paying it off. By the end of the story, Mme. Loisel learns to be happy for what she has and not dwell on what she does not have. When the story begins Mme. Loisel longs for the riches of high society. We know Mme. Loisel is unhappy with her way of life by the sentences found in the story such as “she grieved incessantly, feeling that she had been born for all the little niceties and luxuries. All the things that other women in her class would not even had noticed, gnawed at her and made her furious” (28). You could say Mme. Loisel pitied herself because of the so little she had. By the middle of the story, Mme. Loisel’s husband had gotten her tickets to a grand ball. He knew she longed for more riches then he could give her so he thought this would cheer her up. “He stopped talking, dazed and distracted to see his wife burst out weeping. Two large tears slowly rolled from the corner of her eye to the corner of her mouth” (29). Mme. Loisel did not wish to go to a ball where she would stick out in her plain, pauper looking cloths. So M. Loisel gives Mme. Loisel four hundred francs to go and buy a nice dress. Still with a beautiful dress Mme. Loisel was unhappy. “It’s embarrassing not to have a jewel or gem – nothing to wear on my dress. I’ll look like a pauper” (30). Mme. Loisel asked her friend Mme. Forestier if she could borrow a piece of jewelry, deciding on a diamond necklace. The day of the ball arrived and Mme. Loisel was overjoyed because she was envied and sought after. “Mme. Loisel was a sensation; she was the prettiest one there, smiling and wild with joy” (31). But then something unexpected happened, Mme. Loisel lost her friends diamond necklace. After retracing their steps and having no luck in finding the necklace, they go to a jewelry shop to buy a replica. Well the replica was going to cost ten thousand francs, so they took out loans and borrowed money to pay for this expensive necklace. The loisels worked hard for ten years to pay off the debt from the diamond necklace. One day Mme. Loisel saw Mme. Forestier sitting with a couple of her friends and she thought, I might as well tell her what happened it’s been ten years. So when Mme. Loisel told Mme. Forestier about how she lost her diamond necklace and bought a new one that looked just like it, Mme. Forestier said, “Why that necklace was just paste.” The theme of “The Necklace” is to be thankful for what you have. Mme. Loisel has defiantly learned this lesson. Mme. Loisel was so swept up in trying to have the riches and luxuries of high society that she did not notice losing her necklace. So she had to work hard to pay off a new necklace and is now worse off than before.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In “The Necklace,” a female character, Mathilde, is living in Paris during the 19th century. She is poor, yet undyingly wishes she was wealthy. One day the woman is invited to a prestigious ball within her city. She immediately she contacts a rich friend and borrows a fabulous necklace. Once the night is all said and done and she returns from the ball, she realizes that the borrowed necklace is lost. She reacts by lying about the necklace and buying her friend a new one. With her financial situation the way it is she goes spiraling into debt and never recovers. Later, once Mathilde admits to her friend that she lost and replaced the necklace, it is revealed that the borrowed necklace was a fake worth very little.…
- 342 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
She sees and has realized that having someone you love, love you back unconditionally is much more rewarding than having a diamond necklace or a big, over the top, fancy dress while Madam Loisel is sitting on her window seat sulking and complaining about all the things she doesn’t have. Nothing is ever good enough for her and she just wants more and more. She doesn’t seem to appreciate any of the many things her husband does for her, and how much he truly loves her. She doesn’t take the time and look at the things she has to be grateful for in her life, making her so much more ungrateful than…
- 560 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In the beginning of “The Necklace”, Mathilde is not satisfied with her life, for she is stuck in a middle-class lifestyle when she desperately feels that she is “born for every delicacy and luxury.” (de Maupassant) In the nineteenth century, the wealthiest people commonly threw elegant balls, and invited many of their friends. If de Maupassant decided to have this…
- 179 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
On the other hand there is Madame Loisel, which is a character that just feels that it is her duty to be what the society expects of all women. She feels that she has to be in the high class, that she is worth a lot and that all because of her beauty should adore her. She also had an opinion that if she wants something she has to get it or it is the end of the world. In addition, her believe is that her just deserve, also for whom she is, expensive cloths, and expensive necklace.…
- 637 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
He, a lowly clerk at the Ministry of Education, provides Mathilde with a comfortable life, but just not enough for Mathilde. She dreams of more than modesty. Mathilde feels burdened by her poverty and regrets her station in life. She often spends hours daydreaming of extravagance. Even while her husband expressed pleasure at the dinner she prepared for him, she dreams of a fancy feast on china. When her husband presented her with an invitation to a formal party hosted by the Ministry of Education, she was angry, annoyed and irritated, as she had nothing nice to wear. When asked how much a suitable dress would cost, she told him 400 francs might do it. Her husband silently protested, as he was saving that amount to go hunting with friends the following summer, but gave it to her anyways. As the day of the party drew near, Mathilde was clearly upset. When approached by Monsieur Loisel she said she had no jewelry to wear. Monsieur Loisel suggested fresh flowers, but she balked at the idea. Then it dawned on Loisel for Mathilde to ask her friend Mme. Forester. Mme. Forester agreed to lend her some jewels for the party. When Mme. Loisel comes across the diamond necklace and Mme. Forester agrees to lend it to her, Mathilde is overcome with joy at the site of it around her neck in the mirror, kisses her friend and ran off to show her husband. At the party, Mathilde is the most beautiful woman there, and is noticed by everyone and she adores the attention. At 4am she finds her husband sleeping in another room. He drapes her shoulders with her wrap and asks for her to wait inside while he fetches a cab. Mathilde is too embarrassed by her wrap and follows him outside instead. They walk for a while and finally hail a cab. It is not until they arrive home that Mathilde discovers the necklace is no longer around her neck. Panicked, she waits at home as…
- 3175 Words
- 13 Pages
Better Essays -
First, Mme.Loisel is a lower to middle-class women we know this because the author on page 1 it says “She was distressed at the poverty of her dwelling, at the bareness of the walls, at the shabby chairs, the ugliness of the curtains.” This shows that she hates that she is poor and that she wishes to be rich and have nice things. Another piece of evidence from the text that shows she hates being poor is when the author says “she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry that peopled the walls with ancient personages and with strange birds flying in the midst of a fairy forest.” on page 2. All of the evidence leads me to think that her flaw was her trying to be rich and not be happy with what she has and her pride.…
- 243 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
After the party, Madame Loisel loses the necklace, resulting in tireless work, loans, and night jobs for her and her husband in order to pay back the equivalent of the price. The couple finally succeeds when all the money is paid ten years later, only for Mathilde to discover that the necklace was ironically a fake, and worth a very small percentage of what the couple paid. The theme of this story is that an overemphasis on material wealth can shrink the spirit and leave one open to the changeability of fortune. The situational irony highlights this moral because the Loisels would never have had to exhaust themselves if Madame Loisel wasn’t so obsessed with riches and wealth. From the very beginning of the story, she wastes her time dreaming of luxuries such as fine silks, beautiful furniture, and gourmet feasts. Even when she is at Madam Forestier’s house to try on necklaces to borrow, she is never satisfied until she has seen the very best. Madame Loisel’s preoccupation with appearance clouds her judgment as well. As soon as she realizes that she has lost the necklace, she should simply come clean to Madam Forestier. Instead, she is too concerned with how her reputation will be affected, so she keeps quiet. She later pays the price for this when she discovers that the necklace is “false [and]…worth five hundred francs at most.” The life that she gets instead as punishment during the ten years in debt is even more difficult and meager than her life to begin with, which stresses how fame and fortune is so fleeting and unimportant in the scheme of…
- 1345 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Most people know of the short story written by Guy de Maupassant, “The Necklace”, but under this short story, the author is also trying to convey to us something ironic that happened during his period. In the story, the author describes the vanity of a zilch through its protagonist. A not rich, but also needy lady, Mme. Loisel. To talk about the character of Mathilde Loisel, one needs to acknowledge a few quotes to understand her personality.…
- 307 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
At the beginning of the story, as M.Lantin falls in love with the woman, the author seems to describe the woman thoroughly as being one of rare find. The author states that, “Everyone sang her praises”(Maupassant 69). The story makes a big deal that “the young girl seemed to be the very ideal of that pure good woman to whom every young man dreams of entrusting his future” (Maupassant 69). She was clearly a woman with unique beauty, even described as modest with shy charm. Many, especially M. Lantin, knew her as this type of woman; so they thought. The author did a good job in building up the woman as very desirable, loving, and seemingly perfect. In addition to her high status of virtue, Maupassant describes her as having a strong interest and passion for the theater, as well as an obvious obsession for fine jewelry. Through out much of the story, her husband is confident that the jewels are not real. Conveniently with-in their marriage, she was also extremely skillful in managing their budget closely, which likely built up a perceived trust and security in the relationship between Monsieur and Madame Lantin.…
- 699 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Her husband gave her the money he could to buy a dress. She was still unhappy as she had no jewelry, not a single ornament to wear. Her husband suggests she borrow some from her friend Madame Forestier, who was much richer than they were. She borrowed a beautiful diamond necklace. Upon the first sight of the necklace her heart throbbed, her hands trembled because it's beauty.…
- 1211 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
She had given up on a marriage with love, but only marrying someone that can get her into a higher class. Therefore losing Madame Forestier’s necklace ruined her future as they will have to pay a huge amount of money, which they can’t afford. Madame Loisel gave up her family and future just to maintain her reputation in front of the others. Her pride stopped her from telling the truth, ending up with ten years of hard work for an imitation…
- 684 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Madame Loisel is unhappy because she is ashamed of her social standing. Madam Loisel has always dreamed of a luxurious life with servants and such, and is unhappy because she is not wealthy. She becomes even more upset when she is invited to a ball. It upsets her because she thinks she has nothing to wear which is appropriate for the occasion. Then she is upset because she doesn't have appropraite jewelry. However the base of both of those complaints is that she is unhappy in her social standing. She was a pretty and charming girl, who thought that she should have been born into a life of luxury. But instead, she was born with parents who were "employees."…
- 363 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Loisel have been given tickets to a great ball and then was given 400 francs for a dress all because she is to embarrassed to go in a gown that they go to the theater in. Her husband likes to see her happy and comfortable so he wanted a gun to shot with his friends in the summer but gave it all to her to get a new dress. Her husband requested that she found a nice dress that she can wear to other outings after the dance. The sacrifices that her husband makes for her is incredible but Mme. Loisel doesn't sound very grateful for them I found while reading this story.…
- 804 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
One should be satisfied with anything good they have. In the short story “The Necklace”, written by Guy de Maupassant, Madame Loisel is unhappy with her life and always wants more. Madame Loisel feels that she should have been born for luxury. She wants to have all these expensive items, such as jewelry. Her husband surprises her by getting her an invitation to the Minister of Education and Madame Ramponneau.…
- 1070 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Mme. Loisel’s struggle with her self image is apparent during this part of the story. At last, she has a nice dress and a fine necklace and has a grand time at the event. This is the end of her first struggle with self-image. Then, when the necklace is lost, she begins a new struggle with her self image to save her self from being seen as a thief. She and her husband go through great lengths to buy a replacement necklace and are forced to sacrifice many of their previous comforts. After ten years of…
- 497 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays