The Feminism in a Short Story The Diamond Necklace

“This paper was made to fullfil the assignment In courses Introduction to Literature
With Supporting lecturer Syamsuddin Ro’is.S.S., M.Pd.”

Arranged By:

Oktavia Puspita Dewanti (21882032426)

STKIP-PGRI PONOROGO

English Education Department

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 PREFACE

Praise be to the presence of Allah SWT who has given His grace and guidance so that
we can complete the task of a paper entitled The Feminism In a Short Story The Diamond
Necklace.

The purpose of writing this paper is to fulfill an assignment in the Introduction To

Literature course. In addition, this paper also aims to add insight and knowledge about the
Extrinsic Elements in the short story The Diamond Necklace.

We the authors would like to thank Mr. Syamsuddin Ro’is. S.S., S.Pd, as lecturers
for Introduction To Literature courses who have given this assignment so that we can add
insight and knowledge according to the subjects we are studying.

The writer realizes that this paper is still far from being perfect. Therefore, we
apologize and hope that all readers will be willing to provide criticism and suggestions if they
find errors.

Author

January 1 2023

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover..................................................................................................................................

Preface..............................................................................................................................

Table Of Contents..........................................................................................................

Chapter I Introduction...................................................................................................

1.1 Background of the paper.............................................................................

1.2 Problem Formulation..................................................................................
1.3 Purpose Of Paper.........................................................................................

Chapter II Discussion......................................................................................................

2.1 The Reason....................................................................................................

2.2 Moral of the Story........................................................................................

2.3 The Feminism Inside The Story..................................................................

Chapter III Closing.........................................................................................................

3.1 Conclusion.....................................................................................................

3.2 Suggest...........................................................................................................

Bibliography ..................................................................................................................

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Paper

The words feminism and feminist are used today throughout the West-ern
world to connote the ideas that advocate the emancipation of women, the
movements that have attempted to realize it, and the individuals who support
these goals. Few people in the English-speaking world realize, however, that the
origin of these terms can be traced to nineteenth-century French political
discourse.

The Diamond Necklace was a short story made by Henri Ren Albert Guy
de Maupassant. Was born in Aug 5, 1850 - Jul 6, 1893. He was a popular French
author who wrote under the pen name Guy De Maupassant. He is considered one
of the fathers of the modern short story as well as one of its finest practitioners.

The designation “feminist” is applied to those who supported express

efforts to ameliorate the condition of women as a group through public activity,
be it educational, legal, political, economic, or social reform. “Socialist Feminist”
refers to those who expressed a dual commitment to work for both socialist and
feminist goals, and “bourgeois feminist” to those who limited their aspirations
toward the latter. In this case, where the relationship between the two movements
was (and is) a matter of consid-erable debate and confusion, precision in
categorization is impossible. While Oxford Dictionary of English interpret
Feminism it self with the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality
of the sexes.

1.2 Problem Formulation

a. Why Guy De Maupassant made a short story The Diamond

Necklace?
b. What’s the moral story of The Diamond Necklace that can be applied
in everyday life?
c. What’s the implied meaning Of feminism inside The Diamond
Necklace Short story?
1.3 Purpose Of Paper

a. To know why is Guy De Maupassant made a short story The Diamond

Necklace
b. To know what’s the moral story of The Diamond Necklace that can be
applied in everyday life
c. To know what’s implied meaning of feminism inside The Diamond
Necklace Short story

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 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

2.1 The Reason

The diamond necklace was a short story who tells about Mathilde a
beautiful girl who’s married to a clerks. She’s not happy enough of her
wedding. She always dreaming of a beautiful life, when she can wears
beautiful glamour gowns, jewelry and many more. As if it was her fate, she
can’t do anything else with her life except accept it.

Guy De Maupassant wrote this short story which has a purpose that
everythings in this world happen for a reason. Mathilde did not know her
own worth or value and ended up doing foolish things to feel satisfied.The
new dress was not necessary but she just asked for more than the good things
she didn’t cherish enough.Her husband was very forgiving and patient and
loved her despite her longing to be wealthy.Madame Foresteir trusted her to
keep the necklace safe and instead lied to her to buy her time.She should pay
more attention to her friendship and relationship than being rich.The author’s
message was to acknowledge the things in life that may only come once in a
lifetime because those little things are what make a person what they are.

2.2 Moral of The Story

The moral story of The Diamond Necklace is that we should be

grateful for what we have rather than constantly seeking to acquire more. We
need to limit ourselves because the world always running. Loisel is married
to a man with a good job in the Ministry of Education; she has a servant girl
who helps her with housework, and her husband is happy with their modest
life and exclaims “delightedly” when presented with even simple dinners.
However, Madame Loisel is miserable because she does not have fancy
clothes or expensive jewels, “and these were the only things she loved.” She
wants to be “desired” and “sought after” and to charm other people with how
“wildly attractive” she is.

Madame Loisel is unable to find happiness, or even contentment,

with all that she has, and so she tries to create a night in which she can
pretend that she lives the life to which she believes she is entitled. She gets a
new dress, goes to a fancy party, and borrows a lavish diamond necklace to
wear. Mathilde fails to appreciate a husband who has worked to secure an
invitation and who has offered her money (which he was saving for himself)
so that she can get a dress to wear for one night, and this ultimately gets her
into trouble. She could have been satisfied with her life, but she was not. She
could have been happy with her dress, but she was not. She had to have
jewels, too, though flowers would have done just as well. If she had been
grateful for what she had and not sought to have more, then she could have
lived happily and contentedly with her loving husband.

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2.3 The Feminism Inside The Story

“The Necklace,” or “La Parure” in French, first appeared in the

Parisian Newspaper Le Gaulois in 1884. The story was an immediate success,
and Maupassant later included it in his short-story collection Tales of Day
and Night (1885).

Talking about feminism, From the era of the Great Revolution,

socialism and feminism developed together in France. In an age when
revolutionaries chanted “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,” it might have been
expected that the refrain provoke a few individuals into applying the new
standards to the oldest of human relationships, that between men and women.
In the immediate wake of the French Revolution, a Frenchwoman, an
Englishwoman, and a French philosopher, among others, issued calls for
change in the status of women. In July 1790, Condorcet declared that “Either
no individual of the human species has any true rights, or all have the same,”
and called for the “admission of women to the rights of Citizenship.”

The first figure emerged since the French Revolution In 1789 to fight
for women’s political rights. She is Sophie de Condorcet.

Together with her husband, the Marquis de Condorcet, Sophie wrote

an article entitled Sur l’admission des femmes au droit de cite (1790). Sophie
stated that millions of French women should enjoy the same political rights
as men. Sophie also challenged patriarchal revolutionaries, who considered
women less rational than men.

When Robespierre stepped down from his position in July 1794, food
prices continued to rise. The women started moving again. They invited and
persuaded the men to attack the National Convention (French people’s
assembly). The rebellion broke out on 20-23 May 1795. They brought
weapons to attack assembly officials. Several officials were killed. Since
then, women have been banned from attending any political meetings.

Through the history above, women have proven that they have
played an important role since the French Revolution in 1789. Their efforts in
fighting for women’s suffrage in France were never in vain, because in the
end they were granted through a law passed in 1944.

As in this story in a Mathilde's behavior, self-image, and outlook on

the world she expects and attitudes of the patriarchal society in which she
lives. Mathilde believes she is a special woman and deserves special
treatment because of her beauty and charm, despite the fact that she does not
come from a high social class. Luxurious looks became her obsession,
demonstrating that women were expected to focus on their appearance and
attract men who could afford them luxury (de Maupassant).

On the other hand her husband (Monsieur Loisel) is a hard worker

and makes many sacrifices for Mathilde. This feminist perspective can be
interpreted as a commentary on how society evaluates men, and how men

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evaluate women. In fact Mathilde is described as a materialist figure, while
Monsieur Loisel is described as a hardworking man. From a faminist
perspective, this story has a tendency where society views women as inferior
to men (Bertens, 137-41).

The oppositee way is also shown in the literature. The story shows
the unfair way of judging women in society. Women are usually associated
with negative traits, such as Mathilde and her materialism, while men are
associated with more positive traits. In the story, Mathilde thinks she is more
valuable than other women because her appearance conveys the idea that
women will be valued when their beauty is above all else. By understanding
literature from a feminist perspective, readers can begin to become aware of
these trends in everyday life.

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 CHAPTER III

CLOSING

3.1 Conclusion

From the paper above we can conclude that:

1. Guy De Maupassant wrote this short story which has a purpose that
everythings in this world happen for a reason.
2. The moral story of The Diamond Necklace is that we should be
grateful for what we have rather than constantly seeking to acquire
more. We need to limit ourselves because the world always running.
3. The Feminism in a Short story The Diamond Necklace can look at a
part when Mathilde believes she is a special woman and deserves
special treatment because of her beauty and charm, despite the fact
that she does not come from a high social class. Luxurious looks
became her obsession, demonstrating that women were expected to
focus on their appearance and attract men who could afford them
luxury (de Maupassant).

3.2 Suggest

We are as the writer aware that this paper away from word perfect. We want
to apologize for the shortage of this paper and we are really need suggest from the
reader for the perfect of this paper.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. 1981. French Feminism In An International Frame. Yale

University Press. No. 62. P. 174-178

Offen Karen. 1988. On The French Origin Of The Words Feminism And Feminist. Feminist
Issues/Fall. P. 45

Costello, Katherine A. 2016. Inventing “French Feminism:” A Critical History. Department

Of Literature Duke University. P. 35-37