1.

1 Interpretation and Analysis of

Fiction “The Necklace”

ENL 3113-1 CONTEMPORARY, POPULAR, AND

EMERGENT LITERATURE

Submitted by:
Carl Luigi B. Navilla
BSEd-English 3-1

Submitted to:
Professor Rachel Anne M. Dela Peňa
 A luxurious life is what most people wanted, but not everyone has the means for it. Fate
could be playful, similarly to the life of "Mathilde Loisel" and her husband, "Monsieur Loisel"
from the short story entitled "The Necklace", written by Guy de Maupassant which was first
published on "Le Gaulois" French newspaper on February 17, 1884. It shows how dissatisfaction
can cause more troubles in life as Mathilde's night of "ecstasy" turns into a 10-year nightmare.
She daydreamed of extravagance, having jewelries, dresses, fine dinner, and ravishing house. As
a woman of beauty, she wanted to possess finest things, however, she came from a family of
clerk and married to a Ministry of Education's minor official.

Unhappy Mathilde was given a chance to temporarily experience the life she wanted as
Monsieur got an invitation to a Ball from the Minister of Public Instruction. Her husband gave
the francs he saved for a gun to purchase her dress. However, she was distressed for looking
cheap. His husband suggested that she must borrow a jewelry to her wealthy friend, Madame
Forestier, which resulted to years’ worth of burden when she lost the jewelry on their way home.
Maupassant used situational irony that resulted to a surprise ending. As Mathilde lose her beauty
due to hard labor for taking out loans, she discovered upon meeting Madame Forestier that the
necklace was only an imitation that only costs five hundred francs.

Maupassant’s “The Necklace” is a fictional story with the following recurring themes. It
includes “poverty”. Mathilde did not come from a wealthy and prominent family; she had no
dowry and married a clerk instead. The short story portrays the life of an impoverished which
includes renting a garret, taking jobs that might pay few francs, working until night, and dressing
like a commoner. The roles of “gender” during the 19 th century in France was clearly depicted.
Women of wealth are expected to receive dowry while women of poverty should marry a
wealthy man. Stereotypically, women are assigned to do the chores doing the laundry, being a
grocer and butcher, while men are being employed on offices. “Social class” shows the clear
distinction between upper class and working class. For instance, Madame Forestier has numbers
of jewelries, and she maintained her elegance as time passes by which opposed to Mathilde who
does not have enough money and luxurious possessions. Ultimately, “love” is evident in the
story because even if Monsieur does not have enough security, he was able to marry Mathilde.
He bestowed his savings for Mathilde’s dress and sacrificed his time looking for the lost
necklace. Monsieur and Mathilde, together, exerted time and effort to pay the loans even if it
took years to accomplished.

Maupassant made the short story evocative as a “literary fiction” by using imagery that
explains Mathilde’s house – the dirty walls, worn out chairs, and ugly curtains. Her appearance
after ten years of hard labor was also described – the half-combed hair, awry skirts, and reddened
hands, she looks older, and she speaks loudly. Additionally, the short story has an indirect
meaning using symbolism – the necklace, mirror, and dress. The necklace represents wealth that
can give you recognition in upper-class society. However, Mathilde barrowed the imitation of a
diamond necklace that represents her situation. It made her the star of the night during the ball,
she
danced, drank, and was admired by everyone invited. Her appearance deceives everyone, for she
only came from the family of a working class. Losing the necklace means Mathilde's "temporary
happiness" as she was only able to use it in the ball, the only night that she can pretend as
wealthy. Generally, it portrays that a beautiful appearance can cover flaws. The mirror represents
"illusion and reality". When Mathilde wears the necklace, she looked at the mirror and saw her
"made-up" reflection, an individual pretending to be a part of upper-class society and wearing a
jewelry that has a little value. When they got home from the ball, she looked at the mirror and
saw her "real" reflection, an individual who does not possess any luxurious objects. It reminded
her that she already came back to her real life, with no wealthy people admiring her mere beauty.
The dress represents her ambition to experience the life of an upper-class, the inconvenience to
spend the saved francs, and its cheap look despite its price which needs to be paired with any
jewelry. Thus, this short story represents one of the human natures – being driven by desire and
envy.

The situation of the Loisels portrays man versus external force. Mathilde wanted to
experience the finest lifestyle of a wealthy women; however, she cannot control poverty. When
she temporarily tried to escape her reality, fate becomes vicious to them. They had to choose out
of the dilemma, if they will tell Madame Forestier that they lost the necklace or purchase a
similar one. Their pride of being caught on guard and their dishonesty led them to experience
more hardships in life. If they informed Madame Forestier that they lost the necklace, they might
not suffer a lot. However, Mathilde has the right to be informed if the necklace she borrowed is
only an imitation of the original; it makes the ending of the short story “indeterminate” because
there might be a chance that Madame Forestier will recompense the loss of the Loisels.

The reader can infer the traits of the protagonist through Maupassant’s indirect
presentation using “Third Person Limited” Point of View – narrating actions and what is on their
mind. For instance, Mathilde is not contented with what she only has due to poverty; she wanted
to experience extravagance. Maupassant stated that “she dreamed of fine dinners,” which
indicates that she is a woman of desire, for her mere beauty deserves finest things. On the other
hand, Monsieur is a type of husband who wanted to make his wife happy. “One evening her
husband came home with an air of triumph,” this narration implies that Monsieur expected that
he could make his wife happy with the invitation he worked hard to attain from the Ministry of
Education. Maupassant also used direct presentation of the protagonist through dialogues which
includes Mathilde’s “I'm upset that I have no jewels” and Monsieur’s “Very well, I can give you
four hundred francs.”
 In the beginning of the story, Mathilde possessed mere beauty and charm. However, her
characteristic becomes dynamic after ten years of hard labor. She drastically got a stereotypical
look of a commoner, losing her finesse and totally unrecognizable to Madame Forestier when
they met again. On the other hand, Monsieur is a static character as he did not undergo distinct
changes nor Maupassant presented more details about him. Mathilde is a round character as she
undergoes changes of traits – from being envious to being contented after learning and regretting
from her mistakes, while Monsieur is a flat character as he maintains his traits of being
hardworking and patient. Additionally, Madame Forestier is a stock character. She
stereotypically represents a wealthy woman – possessing a mirrored wardrobe and collection of
jewelries, and her finesse maintains even if years had passed.

Overall, “The Necklace” was written in simplicity. The traits of the characters are
dependent on the reader as Maupassant only narrated the actions, emotions, and what was on
their mind, and not what each character think to each other. He limited the usage of figurative
language including “error of fate” as personification. The diction is direct-to-the point wherein
you can read it in a fast pace, with multiple uses of colons and semi-colons, the usage of
alliterations such as “She danced wildly, with passion, drunk on pleasure,” and the pronouns
“she” and “he” as an introductory word in each sentence. This writing style can intensify the
events in the story. It gives sentimentality as it can provokes the emotions of the reader,
especially the “anxiousness” when Mathilde lost the necklace and “pity” when she did a hard
labor. Lastly, the story has a pessimistic tone as it introduces the hardships of the married couple
as Monsieur sacrificed his francs and time while Mathilde lost the necklace and her mere beauty.
Despite of it, Maupassant made a twist in the ending that is open for interpretation as the reader
could ask “What happened after Madame Forestier discovered that her necklace was changed
into something original?” It shows that there is a possibility that the Loisels could receive help
from Madame Forestier, and it might imply to the readers to keep going and dreaming despite
many hardships in life, but also reminds them to be realistic and do not be driven by desire.