Fowler 1

Miah Fowler

Anderson

English 2010

20 April 2020

Short Story Analysis

Jealousy and greed. How easily these two words go hand in hand. But what on earth do

they mean? Well, a lot of times people see jealousy as wanting something that they don’t or can’t

have, or even simply hating on someone else for having that something. Greed is slightly

different but much the same. The idea of greed is simply wanting more than one needs. Not

many authors will incorporate this wicked idea into their stories, but there is one writer that took

a very interesting turn on it. Guy de Maupassant was a well known author and wrote as many as

300 short stories. In a lot of those short stories he used many opinions that were built up from his

own life. Maupassant came from a broken family. Growing up, they weren’t super poor but they

didn’t have a lot of money either. This put Maupassant in a perfect position to have the opinion

on jealousy and greed that he did. To highlight the psychological context and the natural human

behavior found in “The Necklace”, Guy de Maupassant’s careful placement of irony, interesting

application of symbolism, and intelligent utilization on hyperbole gave the opportunity for him to

develop the theme of how happiness does not come in the form of objects but through the people

around us.

Symbolism is an interesting device that authors use often. Maupassant used symbolism

quite a bit in his short story, “The Necklace”. The symbolism in this short story isn’t always

quite obvious to see but has such a deep meaning many people tend to overlook. A time that

Maupassant used this device was with the necklace in the story. Before getting into why the
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necklace is important, here’s a little background information. The Loisel’s were a young couple

that didn’t quite have a lot of money, but they had enough to get by. However, with their

financial state, Mine. Loisel could only dream of having beautiful jewelry and riches beyond

belief. They just never had quite enough money for her to have the wealthy life she wanted.

Along with that comes many balls for those wealthy and valued enough to go. Mine. Loisel only

wanted to go to this fancy ball and she finally was given the chance to. However, she realized

she had nothing appropriate to wear to it. First, she was able to satisfy the need for a dress, but

then felt she had no jewelry to wear. That’s when her husband gave her the brilliant idea to go

borrow some from her friend. “All of a sudden she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb

necklace of diamonds” (Maupassant par. 46). This line in the story introduces the necklace that

goes on to bring much trouble into the Loisel’s lives. The same necklace that turns to have a

deeper meaning than an accessory for around one’s neck. Before Loisel held the necklace in her

hand and definitely before she put it around her neck she felt inadequate. She felt as if she were

not wealthy enough to go to that ball. But the second she touched that necklace, the same,

middle-class woman all the sudden felt completely changed and ready for a rich ball. This shows

us that the necklace was tied to one’s value. Mine Loisel felt nothing without it, especially when

she lost it. This ties back to the theme because she was beautiful and loved by her husband

without it, but greed overtook her and she only saw material and not the sacrifices her husband

made for her. Which opens up to the next role of symbolism in this story. The object that brought

the necklace and the expensive dress and more so the ten years of hardship they had to struggle

through. “(O)ne evening, her husband returned home with a triumphant air, and holding a large

envelope in his hand… She tore the paper sharply, and drew out a printed card which bore these

words: “The minister of Public Instruction and Mine. Georges Ramponneau request the honor of
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M. And Mine. Loisel’s company at the palace of the Ministry on Monday evening, January 18th”

(Maupassant par. 7-10). This invitation was more of a ticket to a hard life. And it all started out

with a simple sentence, “She looked at him with an irritated eye, and she said, impatiently: “And

what do you want me to put on my back?” (Maupassant par. 14) This showed Mine. Loisel’s

greed for wealth was about to be too much for their financial state to handle. Looking at both of

these examples of symbolism, they tie the theme to the context because the Loisel’s became very

unhappy because of Mine Loisel’s natural greed for wealth.

Another device the author used is hyperbole. Maupassant uses this device a few times

throughout this short story to emphasize just how much Mine. Loisel would exaggerate to justify

her jealousy and greed. “There’s nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other

women who are rich” (Maupassant par. 36). This is clearly an overreaction over being middle

class. There are certainly worse and more humiliating things she could be worrying about. The

author used this to help show the theme because the social class system leads people away from

their loved ones to go to a less valuable material which is the riches of the world. And sometimes

people will go through a lot of trouble and still look over what person stayed by their side

through all that crap. Which brings us to the second time that the author used hyperbole. The

way it was used this time will show us how much Mine. Loisel does not recognize the

importance of the people in her life. “I brought you back another just like it. And for this we

have been ten years paying. You can understand that it was not easy for us, us who had nothing”

(Maupassant par. 119). We know this is a hyperbole because she definitely did not have nothing.

She was able to pay for a dress and had enough to even think about replacing a diamond

necklace. The Loisel’s were very much middle class and Mine. Loisel specifically had a very

loving husband who cared about her, which goes to show she actually had everything. But this
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example proves the whole point of the theme that people should matter more than material

because the only reason she was able to even go to the ball was because of her loving husband.

Which also ties back to the context idea, a society full of jealousy and greed will only bring a

person to their downfall. Which is clearly why the author disagrees with those two ideas.

The last device that can be seen in this short story, and often a favorite, is irony. The

Irony the author used in this short story basically ties the whole piece together and is what gives

it a theme. The first time we see this device used is closer to the end and shows a situational

irony. The Loisel’s as we know are not rich or poor, but more in the middle. However, this

completely changes because of Mine. Loisel’s jealousy over all those around her who are rich.

She and her husband were financially doing okay until Mine. Loisel finally had to get the

“wealth” she wanted that came with a great price. “And for this we have been ten years paying”

(Maupassant par. 119). This just shows us that her and her husband ended up in a lower class

than they started in all because Mine. Loisel wanted more. This irony ties into the theme because

it is important to look at what one has before it is lost because of a simple material that has no

value. Which is where the second example of irony comes in. As said before, Mine. Loisel

borrows a necklace of diamonds from one of her friends and then goes and loses it, which she

then goes to replace which costs her just about everything, but it was for a good cause, or so she

thought. She ran into her friend years later just to find out the sad truth. “Oh, my poor Mathilde!

Why, my necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs!” This irony goes to teach

Mine. Loisel so many lessons. One in particular being that she should have never put a worthless

necklace over the joy of a simple life with her husband. This ties back into the theme because

material should not be put over people. Which is also how we see the context of this short story

from both of these examples. The society of this short story clearly only cares about being
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wealthy and it will always bring their downfall. However, we can see that the author values those

who ignore jealousy and greed because when Mine. Loisel ran into her friend, she was living a

good life. She looked amazing and even had a little kid. This shows that the author rewarded her

because she never really cared about the riches and we know this because the necklace was a

fake to begin with.

When you first look at a short story, you may just think it’s all for fun and to pass the

time. But when you really look at most short stories, they have so much more to say than what is

read on the surface. Much like “The Necklace”. In this story there were many literary devices

used such as, symbolism, hyperbole, and irony. Each of these play a role in showing and

emphasizing the theme of this story. The riches and materials of the world can be nice to have

sometimes, but when it gets to the point of greed and jealousy, that’s just insane living. Those

types of things should never be put over loved ones, but that’s what happened in this story. Some

might say Mine. Loisel got what she deserved for being so ignorant and falling into the nasty

human behavior that is jealousy and greed. That may even be the whole reason the author put the

irony in there. Maybe it’s a warning for people to just love what they already have, especially the

people in their lives.

Works Cited

Maupassant, Guy d. “Short Stories: The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant.” East of the Web,

ShortStories, 9 Apr. 2020, www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Neck.shtml.

Dumesnil, René, and Martin Turnell. “Guy De Maupassant.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 Sept. 2019,

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www.britannica.com/biography/Guy-de-Maupassant.