TERM 2

SUBJECT: English TOPIC: The Necklace (Handout)

About the Author

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant was born to a wealthy family in Tourville-sur-Arques, France (5 August 1850 – 6
July 1893) He was a French writer, remembered as a master of the short story form, and as a
representative of the naturalist school of writers, who depicted human lives and destinies and social
forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms. He wrote some 300 short stories, six novels, three
travel books, and one volume of verse.

Maupassant demonstrated an early interest in literature as a high school student in Rouen, where
he began writing poetry and acted in several plays.

His education was interrupted by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, during which time
Maupassant served as an officer in the artillery corps. After the war, Maupassant returned to Paris
where Flaubert introduced him to other important novelists in the realist and naturalist schools.
It was also during this period that Maupassant began his career as a journalist, devoting his spare
time to writing novels and short stories. In 1880 Maupassant published his first masterpiece, “Boule
de suif,” a short story inspired by his involvement in the Franco-Prussian war that catapulted the
young author into a literary celebrity.

Genre

The Necklace is a fictional short story in the genre of Realism. Sub-genres include
irony, for its surprise ending, and morality tale, for important lessons it offers the
readers.

The Necklace Summary

Mathilde Loisel is the pretty and charming daughter of a family of modest means. Her family is unable to

afford a dowry and so she is married to M. Loisel, a clerk who works for the Ministry of Education.

Because she is beautiful, Mathilde feels that she has been short-changed in life: she is dismayed by the

shabbiness of her apartment and her humble maid, and she constantly dreams of luxurious apartments

and lavish dinners to escape the pedestrian reality of her own daily existence.
Hoping to cheer her up, M. Loisel gets them invited to a party hosted by the Minister of Education.

However, Mathilde initially refuses the invitation, complaining that she doesn’t have anything to wear.

M. Loisel generously agrees to give her 400 francs to buy a new dress, the exact amount he had been

setting aside to purchase a rifle in order to go hunting with his friends on the plains of Nanterre. Mathilde

buys the dress, but that still isn’t enough: now she wants a jewel or a gem to wear over it. At her

husband’s suggestion, Mathilde pays her wealthy friend Jeanne Forestiera a visit to borrow some

jewellery. Mathilde looks through every piece in her friend’s magnificent jewel box, finally settling on an

expensive-looking diamond necklace. Admiring her reflection in the mirror, Mathilde is finally happy.

Theme Analysis
Wealth versus Happiness -
These two conditions do not necessarily correlate, though people who envy wealthy people tend
to think they do. Mathilde is miserable striving to be wealthy, which she believes would bring her
true happiness. Ironically, she had to assume the life of a hardworking, poor woman (losing all
outward appearances of beauty or wealth) in order to purchase a replacement necklace.
Because of her greed, her condition was even worse than before.

Greed versus Generosity

Mathilde’s desire to live a lifestyle beyond her financial means at first makes her a jaded woman,

unable to appreciate her relative comforts. Early in the story, she has the financial means to employ

household servants, she isn’t required to work herself, and she enjoys a comfortable lifestyle. Even

with her abundance, particularly compared to her social standing at the story’s end, she is filled

with greed, “tortured” and “angry” that she lacks the luxuries other women enjoy. This anger spills

over onto her husband, who is elated when he believes that an invitation to a ball will relieve his

wife’s feelings of bitter discontent. Yet Mathilde’s greed overshadows even this moment, and she

refuses the invitation because her clothing leaves her poorly “equipped” for such an event. When

her husband sacrifices his savings to purchase the dress of her dreams, Mathilde does not even

offer her thanks for his kind gesture. Moreover, when the date of the ball has nearly arrived,

Mathilde again professes that she can’t attend, even with her expensive dress, because she
doesn’t have the jewels to pair with the dress and believes that she therefore “shall look like

distress.” After taking her husband’s suggestion to borrow some jewellery from her friend Madame

Forestier, Mathilde cannot be satisfied with the initial pieces of jewellery she is shown, longing for

something more stunning and even more expensive. Mathilde constantly evaluates her own wealth

in comparison to those who have more than she does. She never considers the comforts and

luxuries she is able to enjoy, particularly before the ball, compared to those in the lower classes.

Mathilde is therefore blinded by greed, always angry at her position in life, feeling that she deserves

more and that she simply hasn’t been dealt a fair hand. Her lack of appreciation for her economic

standing early in the story eventually robs her of both her comforts and her beauty.

Taken together, Mathilde’s obsession with money and material possessions demonstrate the

dangers of greed. Instead of enjoying the small comforts of life as her husband does—a servant to

do the housework, the pleasure of warm soup—Mathilde is fixated on what she doesn’t have. She

always wants more, and the objects she desires are far beyond her financial means. Mathilde’s

greed drives her to pick the most expensive-looking necklace out of Mme. Forestier’s jewel box and

the huge debt she and her husband take on to replace the lost necklace can be seen as a natural

consequence of her greediness.

Deceptive Appearances

Mathilde spends her years of beauty longing for a lifestyle of extravagance. When she is presented

with true gems at Madame Forestier’s, including a pearl necklace and “precious stones of

admirable workmanship,” Mathilde dismisses them because she believes they are unable to fully

represent her sense of self-worth. Ironically, she chooses a “superb necklace of diamonds” which

fulfills her definition of exquisite beauty because she believes it to be the most expensive and

elegant choice. She is so thrilled with her decision that she is “lost in ecstasy” when she beholds it

around her neck. This necklace which fulfills Mathilde’s sense of beauty and lavish projections is,

however, a fake. The diamonds aren’t real, yet Mathilde believes that they are. Mathilde has based

her entire sense of self-worth on ideals of wealth and status, yet in the decision which completely
changes the trajectory of her life, she proves unable to distinguish between true treasures and

worthless replicas. Mathilde’s own personality is much the same. On the dance floor, she triumphs,

feeling herself fully alive only because she believes the dress and jewellery she wears make her

beautiful. Yet it is all a façade. Mathilde is indeed an attractive woman; the opening sentence

notes that “she was one of those pretty and charming girls.” She doesn’t need an expensive dress

or elegant jewellery to make her beautiful, but she is blind to this truth. Mathilde’s prediction for a

flashy and lavish lifestyle ends with her great deception, as she is unable to ultimately gauge the

true worth of the very things she admires

Rich vs Poor
“The Necklace” is, at its heart, a story about Mathilde’s social ambition, which takes the form of a

desire to acquire luxurious objects that she cannot afford. Through her ruin, Maupassant warns

against the dangers of greed and criticizes those who ascribe too much value to wealth and

material possessions.

Mathilde invests in objects like the diamond necklace she borrows from Mme. Forestier with

enormous significance and her happiness is heavily dependent on her possession of the objects she

desires. Mathilde’s distress at the beginning of the story is largely a result of her unfulfilled desire for

material objects: “She had no wardrobe, no jewels, nothing.” This materialism is inextricable from

her social ambition, as she fears that she will be rejected by the higher classes because she does

not appear to be wealthy enough. Once Mathilde obtains the diamond necklace she wants and is

able to wear it at the party, she quickly becomes “wild with joy.” However, as soon as the party is

over Mathilde loses the necklace and is once again unhappy, suggesting that material possessions

cannot guarantee long-lasting happiness and that greed, in fact, can lead to ruin.

Mathilde’s desire for material possessions is doubly misguided because she has no concept of value

beyond how much an object is worth.

Symbol Analysis
The necklace that Mathilde borrows from Jeanne Forestier represents the idea that appearances can

be deceiving. The necklace looks like it is made of expensive diamonds, but it is in fact made of paste,

costing at most 500 francs. The fact that Mathilde is unable to tell the difference between the two

reveals her inability to look beneath the surface to see the true value of things. From Mathilde’s

perspective, the necklace is the physical embodiment of the class and social status she so desires, and

the fact that she picks the most expensive-looking (but not necessarily the most valuable) item from

Mme. Forestier’s jewel box points to her unrestrained greed and ambition. Likewise, the revelation that

the necklace is a fake demonstrates that Mathilde’s ambition is woefully misguided in the sense that she

puts too much stock in physical objects and their power to change her life. The necklace is also

thematically linked to the dangers of female beauty, especially with regard to the ugliness that an

attractive outward appearance can conceal.

Character Analysis

Mathilde Loisel

Mathilde Loisel is the daughter of a middle-class family and is married to M. Loisel. A remarkably

beautiful woman, Mathilde is perpetually dissatisfied with her lot in life, constantly dreaming of the

glamour and riches to which she feels her beauty entitles her. Mathilde finally has a chance to live her
dreams when she and her husband receive an invitation to a party from the Minister of Education, and

she borrows a diamond necklace from her friend Jeanne Forestier in order to look her best at the party.

Mathilde is a huge success at the ball but disaster strikes when she loses the necklace during the

carriage ride home. She and her husband spend the next ten years struggling to pay for an expensive

replacement, and Mathilde’s beauty fades as she experiences the hardships of poverty. When she runs

into Mme. Forestier on the Champs Elysée, Mathilde is proud to tell her that the debt has finally been

paid off, only to discover that the necklace she replaced was made of paste. Mathilde’s primary

character traits are her beauty, her vanity, and her social ambition, all of which play their part in

leading her to her ruin.

M. Loisel

M. Loisel is married to Mathilde and works as a clerk in the Ministry of Education. He cares very much for

his wife, and it is to make her happy that he procures an invitation to the party hosted by the Minister of

Education. M. Loisel’s generosity contrasts sharply with his wife’s vanity and selfishness. For instance, he

sacrifices his dream of buying a rifle to go hunting with his friends on the plains of Nanterre in order to

buy a new dress for Mathilde. He searches tirelessly for the necklace when it is lost, and he sacrifices his

inheritance, his honor, and takes on an enormous amount of debt to replace it.

Jeanne Forestier
Mme. Forestier is a well-to-do friend of Mathilde’s from her convent-school days. She has a marvellous

collection of jewellery and lets Mathilde borrow an expensive-looking necklace for the party. Mathilde

loses and replaces the necklace but Mme. Forestier does not notice the substitution, although she is

annoyed that her friend took so long to return the jewellery. Ten years later, Mme. Forestier barely

recognizes Mathilde when they run into each other on the Champs Elysées, and is dismayed to inform

her that the necklace that Mathilde sacrificed ten years of her life to replace was in fact made of

paste. The fact that Mme. Forestier owns a fake necklace despite being wealthy enough to afford a

real one shows that she understands the illusory nature of class and status.

Glossary

Clerk- a person employed in an office or bank to keep records, accounts, and

undertake other routine administrative duties.

Dowry- an amount of property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their

marriage.

Petty- of little importance; trivial.

Incessantly- without interruption; constantly.

Delicacies- fineness or intricacy of texture or structure.

Shabby- in poor condition through long use or lack of care.

Tureen- a deep covered dish from which soup is served.

Pot pie- a savoury pie baked in a deep dish, typically with a top crust only.

Elegant- graceful and stylish in appearance or manner.

Exquisite- extremely beautiful and delicate.

Marvellous- causing great wonder; extraordinary.

Convent- a school attached to and run by a convent.

Elated- make (someone) ecstatically happy.

M.- Mr. in french

Mme.- Mrs. in french

Delighted- feeling or showing great pleasure.

Spitefully- showing or caused by malice.

Murmuring- a low or indistinct continuous sound.

Stammered- speak with sudden involuntary pauses and a tendency to repeat the initial
letters of words.

Stupefied- make (someone) unable to think or feel properly.

Dismay- concern and distress caused by something unexpected.

Weeping- shedding tears.

Vexation- the state of being annoyed, frustrated, or worried.

Affair- an event or sequence of events of a specified kind or that has previously been
referred to.

Grieved- feel intense sorrow.

Francs- the basic monetary unit of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and
several other countries

Pale- light in colour or shade; containing little colour or pigment.

Larks- a bird

Anxious- feeling or showing worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an

uncertain outcome

Vexed- annoyed, frustrated, or worried

Adorn- make more beautiful or attractive.

Stricken- seriously affected by an undesirable condition or unpleasant feeling.

Chic- elegantly and stylishly fashionable.

Shabby- in poor condition through long use or lack of care.

Midst- in between

Admirable- arousing or deserving respect and approval.

Satin- a smooth, glossy fabric, usually of silk, produced by a weave in which the
threads of the warp are caught and looped by the weft only at certain intervals.

Ecstatic- feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement.

Embraced- hold (someone) closely in one's arms, especially as a sign of affection.

Elegant- graceful and stylish in appearance or manner.

Enthusiasm- intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval.

Admiration- respect and warm approval.

Salons- a reception room in a large house.

Furs- the short, fine, soft hair of certain animals.

Detained- keep (someone) from proceeding by holding them back or making

claims on their attention.

Descended- move or fall downwards.

Hailing- (of a large number of objects) fall or be hurled forcefully.

Coachmen- a driver of a horse-drawn carriage.

Shivering- shaking slightly and uncontrollably as a result of being cold, frightened, or

excited.

Nightfall- the onset of night; dusk.

Wearily- with extreme tiredness.

Cloak- a sleeveless outdoor overgarment that hangs loosely from the shoulders.

Cast down- sad or worried

Gown- a long elegant dress worn on formal occasions.

Bewilderment- a feeling of being perplexed and confused.

Frightful- very unpleasant, serious, or shocking

Dictated- state or order authoritatively.

Chaplet- a garland or circlet for a person's head.

Ruinous- disastrous or destructive

Usurers- a person who lends money at unreasonably high rates of interest.

Latter - denoting the second or second mentioned of two people or things.

Frigid- stiff or formal in behaviour or style.

Perceive- become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or

understand.

Substitution- the action of replacing someone or something with another person or

thing.

Necessity- the state or fact of being required.

Frightful- very unpleasant, serious, or shocking.

Lodgings- temporary accommodation.

Attic- a space or room inside or partly inside the roof of a building.

Odious- extremely unpleasant; repulsive.

Haggling- dispute or bargain persistently, especially over the cost of something.

Sous- small value coin in France

Crude- in a natural or raw state; not yet processed or refined.

Awry- out of the normal or correct position

Pails- a bucket.

Flattered- lavish praise and compliments on (someone)

Singular- denoting or referring to just one person or thing.

Astonished- greatly surprised or impressed; amazed.

Personage- a person (used to express importance or elevated status).