Title: “The Necklace”

Author: Guy De Maupassant

Setting:

 Paris France
 Rue des Martyrs street
 Champs Elysees Avenue
 Ministry of Education in France

Summary:
.......Even though Mathilde is pretty and quite charming, she has none of the advantages of
upper-class girls: a dowry, a distinguished family name, an entree into society, and all the little
fineries that women covet. Consequently, she accepts a match made for her with a clerk,
Monsieur Loisel, in the Department of Education.
.......Her home is common and plain, with well-worn furniture. The young girl from Brittany who
does the housework is a constant reminder to Mathilde of her own status as a commoner. But
she dreams of having more: tapestries, b ronze lamps, footmen to serve her, parlors with silk
fabrics, perfumed rooms, silver dinnerware, exotic food, jewelry, the latest fashions.
.......One evening, her husband presents her an envelope containing a special surprise. He is
sure it will please her. Inside the envelope she finds a card inviting her and her husband to a
social affair as guests of the Minister of Education, Georges Rampouneau, and his wife at the
palace of the Ministry of Education.
.......But Mathilde is not at all pleased, for she has nothing to wear. When her husband asks her
what it would cost to buy her suitable attire, she says four hundred francs—the exact amount he
has set aside to buy a gun to shoot larks at Nanterre with friends. However, he agrees to
provide the money, and she buys a gown. When the day of the fête draws near, Loisel notices
that Mathilde is downcast and inquires into the cause of her low spirits. She tells him she has no
jewels to wear. As a result, others at the party will look down on her. But her spirits brighten
when Monsieur Loisel suggests that she borrow jewels from her friend, Madame Jeanne
Forestier.
.......Wasting no time, Mathilde visits her friend the following day. Madame Forestier, only too
willing to cooperate, opens a box and tells Mathilde to choose. Inside are glittering jewels.
Mathilde selects a diamond necklace so beautiful that it quickens her heartbeat.
.......At the party, Mathilde is the center of attention. Handsome men of high station ask who she
is and line up to dance with her. Not until 4 a.m. do the Loisels leave the palace. On their way
out, Mathilde’s husband puts a wrap on her shoulders—an article of clothing from her everyday
wardrobe. To avoid being seen in it, she hurries out against her husband’s wishes. He wants to
wait for a cab to arrive. Out in the cold, they search for transportation, wandering toward the
Seine. In time, they find a cab, and it takes them to their home on Rue des Martyrs. In her
bedroom, Mathilde stands before a mirror and removes her wrap to gaze upon the woman who
has enchanted so many men. Then she notices to her horror that the necklace is missing. She
and her husband search through their belongings but cannot find it. After they conclude that the
necklace must have come off on their way home, Monsieur Loisel goes out to search for the cab
they rode in. He returns at 7 a.m. after failing to find it. Visits to the police and the cab company,
as well as other measures, also leave them empty-handed.
.......At her husband’s suggestion, Mathilde writes to Madame Forestier, telling her that the
necklace clasp has broken and that it is being repaired. This ploy will buy time. Next, they
decide that their only recourse is to replace the necklace. Going from jeweler to jeweler, they
search for a facsimile. They find one in a shop in the Palais Royal. The price: 36,000 francs. To
raise the money, Loisel uses all of his savings and borrows the rest, writing promissory notes
and signing his name on numerous documents. Then the Loisels buy the replacement, and
Mathilde takes it in a case to Madame Forestier. The latter expresses annoyance that it was
returned late, then takes the case without opening it to check its contents.
.......Thereafter, the Loisels scrimp and save to pay their debt. After they dismiss their
housemaid, Mathilde does the work herself, washing dishes and linen, taking out the garbage,
and performing other menial labors. She also wears common clothes and haggles at the
market. Monsieur Loisel moonlights as a bookkeeper and copyist.
.......Ten years later, they are out of debt. They have paid back every borrowed franc and sou.
By this time, Mathilde is fully a commoner, with rough hands, plain clothes, and disheveled hair.
And she looks older than her years. Occasionally, she thinks back to the day when she wore the
necklace and when so many men admired her. What would have happened if she had never
lost the necklace?
.......One Sunday on the Champs Elysées, she encounters Madame Forestier walking with a
child. When Mathilde addresses her, her friend does not recognize her—so haggard does
Mathilde look. After Mathilde identifies herself, she decides to tell Madame Forestier everything.
What could be the harm? After all, she has paid for the necklace, working ten long years at
honest, humble labor to fulfill her obligation. Madame Forestier then holds Mathilde’s hands and
says, “Oh, my poor Mathilde. But mine was false. At most, it was worth five hundred francs!"
.......In "The Necklace," Maupassant makes every word count, each one contributing to the
overall effectiveness of the story. He provides only minimal details to further the plot and
describe the important characters. The result is a simple, easy-to-understand story that moves
smoothly and swiftly from beginning to end. Details that he leaves out allow the reader to
interpret the events and the characters in his or her own way. One may compare "The
Necklace" to a painting with subtle shades of meaning. Maupassant himself remains aloof from
his characters, passing no judgments on them, neither praising nor condemning them. For
example, it is up to the reader to decide whether Mathilde is a victim of bad luck (or fate) or of
her own warped perception of the world as a place where success and recognition result from
wealth and status.
Point of View:

 This story is told in 3rd person omniscient because you know the thoughts and feelings
of madame Loisel and her husband Monsieur.
Conflict:

 Man vs Himself
 Internal
The internal conflict in "The Necklace" stems from the class structure under which
Madame Loisel lives and her false pride. For Madame Loisel desires to be among
the haute bourgeoisie, a level of society to which she feels she should belong.
 Man vs Society
 External
 The main external conflict in the story is the destitution and financial crisis caused by
the loss of the necklace and the necessity of replacing it.
Symbol:

 Some of the examples of symbolism in "The Necklace" are: The necklace is a

symbol of wealth and power for Madame Loisel. This represents a world she longs
to be in but will never be able to reach. The apartment that she lives in with her
husband is a constant reminder of what she feels is a miserable life that she doesn't
deserve and that she was not born to. Another symbol is the shoulder wrap her
husband went to put on her shoulders after the reception which again was a reality
check as to who she really was and her social class in life. She was ashamed to
have her husband put it on her with the beautiful dress and necklace she was
wearing. It was a total contradiction of who she was trying or posing to be.
Theme:

“Appreciate what you have instead of being envious of others.”

Characterization:
In his short story, "The Necklace," Guy de Maupassant uses direct characterization when
describing the main character Madame Loisel and we should also consider her to be a dynamic
character because she changes during the course of the story. There are only two other
characters in the story, her husband and Madame Forestier. Both could be considered flat or
static characters because we know little about their personalities and they don't change.
Irony:
Dramatic Irony
- Mme. L borrows a necklace to fit in with the rich people she envies, but the loss of the
necklace results in her being poorer than she was.
- Mme. And M. L work hard for 10 years for a fake diamond necklace
Foreshadowing:

Exposition:
In Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace," the characters learn a hard lesson
about the consequences of envy and greed. The main characters, Madame and Monsieur
Loisel, live within comfortable but modest means, but Madame Loisel wants more. In the
exposition of a story, the characters and setting are introduced, as well as the central dramatic
question. In the exposition of "The Necklace," the reader learns important information about the
Loisels and the conflict is introduced.
From the opening lines of "The Necklace," the reader learns that Madame Loisel is discontent
with her lot in life. She was born into a family of artisans, but she feels like she was meant to be
born into a higher class. It is this character trait that drives the conflict of the story. Madame
Loisel dreams of being wealthy, and she schemes to create a luxurious life, if not the illusion of
it. The central conflict is introduced when her husband comes home with an invitation to a ball.
Madame Loisel becomes upset at the idea of not looking her very best at the ball, so she finds a
way to buy a new dress and borrows an expensive diamond necklace from her friend.
Borrowing that necklace sets into motion the events of the story, which prove to be the downfall
of Madame Loisel and her husband.
Narrative Hook:

Rising Action:
Mathilde refuses to attend the party without a suitable dress/Loisel gives money/doesn’t
have jewelry/borrows a necklace/loses it/borrows money to buy a new one/lives in poverty to
pay debt.
Climax:
The climax of a literary work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as (1) the
turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final
and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax of "The Necklace" occurs, according to
the first definition, when Mathilde discovers that she has lost the necklace. According to the
second definition, the climax occurs at the end of the story, when Madame Forestier informs
Mathilde that the lost necklace was a fake.
Quote:
"Be thankful for what you have: you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what
you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
Mood:
The mood of The Necklace is a cautionary tale, warning the reader against
materialism. Madame Loisel has lived a superficial life up until she attends the party, then her
life is dominated by hardship because of her belief in the superiority of material possessions and
that they make people superior to others.

Tone:

Guy de Maupassant creates the atmosphere or tone of ironic pessimism in his short
story “The Necklace.” Through the third person omniscient narrator, the reader is introduced to
the proud, young woman, Mathilde, who feels she deserves better than her past circumstances.