Belonging In Madame Loisel's The Necklace

Madame Loisel’s pride demands more: “It annoys me not to have a single jewel, not a single stone, nothing to put on. I shall look like distress” (Maupassant 2). Ironically, it is Monsieur Loisel who suggests that his wife borrow jewelry from Madame Forestier, and subsequently has to spend the next ten years borrowing money to replace it. As May puts it, “Her husband exhausts his meager inheritance and then borrows the rest, mortgaging their life away to buy a replacement for the necklace” (May 7). Monsieur Loisel sacrifices everything to salvage his wife’s pride.

The short story“The Necklace” by Gui de Maupassant follows Madame Loisel and her husband who are living in the middle-class during the rise of the middle class in Paris, France.There are many different examples of irony throughout the short story, demonstrating Maupassant's talent at commenting on the society in which he was immersed in. The theme of “The Necklace” is revealed through the character Madame Loisel, irony, and symbolism.

In “The Necklace” Mr. Maupassant tells a story of a woman, Mrs. Loisel, who goes through many emotions over the loss of a necklace that ends up being a fake. As she goes through these situations Mr. Maupassant gives examples of literally elements that prove what kind of person she turns out to be. Throughout the story Mrs. Loisel is conflicted with many problems just to realize who she became and how she took advantage of what she already had in her life. When it turns out to be too late she then blames her friend for letting her borrow the necklace instead of taking the responsibility of her selfish life.

Using literary devices like imagery, diction, and point of view, the author characterizes Madame Loisel as remorseful and desperate, it helps the reader understand how regretful and weary Madame Loisel is after carelessly losing her friend’s necklace after a long-lasting night. “The Necklace” is written in the point of view of third person omniscient. This point of view allows the reader to view the story from many different perspectives, enabling them to understand each character’s thoughts and feeling as well as the motive for their actions. Guy de Maupassant emphasizes the remorse shown by Madame Loisel through diction. After 10 taxing years of working to pay off her debt she was left with, “Her hair untended, her skirts askew, her hands

Madame Loisel serves as a stark contrast to both her husband, Monsieur Loisel, and Madame Forestier, who generously allows Madame Loisel to borrow her diamond necklace. Whereas Madame Loisel dreams of magnificent multi-course meals, her husband is content with almost any food that fills his stomach. Monsieur Loisel’s complacency and contentment with his social situation causes the contrasting desires of his wife to be further emphasized (Wilson 169). Although Monsieur Loisel continuously tries to please his wife, she remains ungrateful and restless—she is never satisfied with the incredible effort he puts forth in order to make her happy.

First, Mathilde asks to borrow her desired necklace, to which Madame Forestier replies, "Why, yes, certainly" (Maupassant 3). This foreshadows the deception, as nobody would lend a valuable piece of jewelry to a friend, no matter how close the relation. However, Madame Forestier readily lends it to Mathilde, with no hesitation. After losing the necklace and paying for a more expensive copy of the necklace, Mathilde "[becomes] the woman of impoverished households- strong and hard and rough" in order to repay the debt incurred (Maupassant 5). The necklace deceives Mathilde and her husband to find a more expensive copy of the missing jewelry which they fear is as expensive as the original.

Maupassant uses metaphors to support how she felt before losing the necklace and the mental and physical challenges she and her husband had to undergo after losing the necklace. Madame Loisel's life takes a turn after losing the necklace she borrows from her friend. When Madame Loisel dresses to impress and gets noticed by the upper class she is “in a kind of happy cloud composed of all the adulation” (Maupassant 4). This shows how being the most elite girl at the party and getting an abundance of attention made her happy in that moment. It was not going to last because all clouds eventually fall apart. When the party ends, Madame Loisel looks in the mirror to find the necklace is missing. When Madame Loisel's husband realizes the necklace is lost, he is “terrified by the outlook for the future by the blackness of despair about to close around him” (Maupassant 6). This reveals that the husband of Madame Loisel is terrified of what will happen next since the necklace is missing. The reality of hard work will come through because they will need to pay for the necklace, proving that life is not always about looking the most upscale. After having to work and pay off for the necklace, she finally decides to confront Madame Forestier and exclaim to her what had actually happened. Her friend responds with, “oh my poor Mathilde. But mine was only paste” (Maupassant 8). This shows that the necklace was not real diamond and not worth a profusion like she had thought. Madame Loisel loses merriment always trying to be at the top of society with fashion and wealth. Metaphors support the theme by telling how Madame Loisel's life was before losing the necklace, “in a cloud of adulation” (Maupassant 4) and after losing the necklace.

“She would dream of fashionable dinner parties, of gleaming silverware, of tapestries making the walls alive with characters out of history and strange birds in a fairyland forest; she would dream of delicious dishes served on wonderful china, of gallant compliments whispered and listened to with a sphinx like smile as one eats the rosy flesh of a trout or nibbles at the wings of a grouse” (729). In The Necklace Monsieur Loisel is a modest man who is satisfied with minimum worries about what people think about him or with what he owns. Monsieur Loisel struggles to understand the material wants and needs of his wife, Mathilde Loisel, but he continues to be confused with the embarrassment. “He compromised the rest of his life,

The internal conflicts established in “The Necklace” were a result of Madame Loisels perception of happiness. Because of her ungrateful and dejected views on life, she didn’t realize nor recognize true merriment. In the text, Guy De Maupassant shows how Madame “..was one of those pretty and charming girls born as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of

Have anyone ever borrowed something from a friend, but never returned it? Well, So Madame Loisel in “The Necklace”. The Necklace is a short story about a woman named Madame Loisel. A character who borrows a priceless necklace she asked from her friend to go to a dance. But, after the dance, she loses it.

In “The Necklace”, Guy de Maupassaut uses the irony with the necklace to criticize Madame Loisel’s need to make a false impression and her equally false desires. Madame Loisel shows her desire for everything throughout this short story.  Guy de Maupassant uses an angry tone showing the reader he disapproves of Madame Loisel actions and need for attention. In the beginning of this short story, Guy describes Madame Loisel as “one of those pretty and charming girls born” (CITATION). Guy de Maupassant immediately lets the reader know Madame Loisel is incredibly beautiful. Her husband even says “Why the dress you go to theatre in. It looks very nice to me” (CITATION), yet Madame Loisel does not care.  Madame Loisel needs to make a false impression

Madame Loisel has always believed that she deserves nothing less than an exquisite lifestyle. Since this desire never went away, Madame Loisel is considered to be egotistical and unappreciative because she is unthankful for what she has. Also, she cares about her desires and always getting instead of giving. Oppositely, Della sacrifices her hair, even though it is her most valuable

Madame Loisel is a very stuck up character in the beginning of the story. She sees no value to money. She believes she was meant to live a wealthy life, and has high hopes for an elegant and luxurious life. This is shown in story when it says that “She suffered constantly, feeling that all her attributes of a gracious life, even luxury, should have rightfully been hers.”

In the first place, Mathilde Loisel from “The Necklace”, a woman who undoubtedly was a victim of her envy and ambition. Mrs. Loisel was a woman who lived in a poor place who never settled with what she had. As a result, her envy led her to lose the little things that she owns. Mrs. Loisel, lost her life in things she thought were more important. Mr. Loisel was confused to believe that luxury and wealth could bring happiness into her life. To which she was wrong and ended up losing her youth and strength, trying to pay something which was fake.

But he said: ‘Very well. I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty gown’” (3). This generosity, in consequence, makes Madame Loisel become even more spoiled. Madame Loisel’s unhappiness, in turn, causes Monsieur Loisel to become even more adulating, as he not only pays for her dress, but also allows her to dance with other men while he sleeps in the anteroom instead of his own home. Finally, Monsieur Loisel’s suggestion to lie to Madame Forestier about the necklace causes Madame Loisel to become strong and hard-working in order to pay off their debt, “Thereafter Madame Loisel knew the horrible existence of the needy. She bore her part, however, with sudden heroism. That dreadful debt must be paid. She would pay it” (8). These mutual changes in response to the other’s flaws, such as Madame Loisel becoming more hedonistic as her husband becomes more sycophantic and Madame Loisel