In the short story “The Necklace” wrote by Guy de Maupassant, the main character Mme. Loisel is portrayed as ungrateful and embarrassed. The first character trait of Mme. Loisel demonstrate is ungrateful. This character trait is apparent when Mme. Loisel’s husband tells her that he got an invitation for an important party. Instead of being ecstatic about the invitation she is snobbish: “what good is that to me?” (29). This shows she is ungrateful because she wants more to go with the invitation. In the case of the second reason I think she was ungrateful because along with the invitation and the dress she still wanted more, the jewelry: On page 30, Mme. Loisel says, “There is nothing more humiliating than to look poor among alot of rich women.”
Loisel sadly possesses is being spoiled. In the story one of the ways her spoiledness is conveyed is when she refuses to go to the reception without a jewel to wear. In the text it states, “‘It is embarrassing not to have a jewel or a gem to wear on my dress… I’d almost rather not go to that party.” This reveals her spoiledness because after her husband went through all that trouble to get her a dress, invitation and shoes she almost won't go just because she doesn't have a necklace ethir. Another way her spoiledness is revealed in the story is when she receives an invitation, that her husband got her, to the reception. In the text it states, “Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she scornfully tossed the invitation on the table, murmuring ‘What good is that to me?’ This quote shows she is spoiled, because her husband probably worked really hard to get her that invitation and she just tossed it on the table like junk mail. These are all ways her spoiledness is portrayed in the story and how it has gotten her nowhere and only hurt others.
To start off, before Mme. Loisel attends the party she was described as a very beautiful women, but with negative attitude towards life. Throughout her life she believed that she deserved better things in her life just because she was beautiful and charming. In the story “The Necklace,” Loisel states, “… feeling she had been born for all the little niceties and luxuries of living” (line 11-12). This reveals that, she visualized a grander life for herself, not the crummy life she has now. She would have everything she needed in life plus more. Also, she seems like she would do anything to get that kind of life (including, leaving her husband). She also thinks her clothes should be just like her, gorgeous. Mme. Loisel also states, “She had no evening clothes, no jewels, nothing. But those were the things she wanted; she felt that was the kind of life for her” (line 35-36). As you can see, she lives the opposite of a luxurious life, but after receiving the invitation to the
In the story, “The Necklace”, Madame Loisel is very childish. She is the main character for this story. In the beginning of the story she thinks about all of the things she wants to have in order to fit in with the other wealthy people she lives around with. She is not poor nor is she filthy rich, but she seems very ungrateful for almost everything she does have. Her husband was in charge of keeping her happy and keeping each other on track.
Although Madame Loisel isn’t wealthy or part of the social class that is considered high, she tried to do everything to make herself appear as if she is. She believes that her beauty can bring her as far as becoming wealthy or being able to socialize with the wealthy. The ball is important to her because for once her appearance is equivalent with the fantasy of rising above middle class she has dreamt up in her head and “[she] was a success. She was the loveliest of all; elegant, graceful, smiling, and radiant with joy. All the other men looked at her, asked who she was, and wanted to be introduced to her… [t]he triumph of her beauty and the glory of her success enveloped her in a sort of cloud of happiness made up of all the compliments” (175). The reality is beneath her appearance because she is not wealthy, nor is she actually happy with the life she lives on a daily basis. She easily deceives everyone with her appearance to make it seem as if she does have money. Uncontrolled self-absorption can distort lives to those who worry about their appearance too much. Another example of how appearances can be misleading is the necklace that Madame Loisel borrowed. It appears as if it is made of real diamonds but instead it is fake jewelry. The fact
The use of Irony is seen in both short stories representing the constriction in marriage. In “The Necklace” Madame Losiel receives a spectacular invitation to a prestigious gala which her husband went to great ends to get. Loisel had this desire to live a lifestyle that was way beyond her means. After purchasing a beautiful gown worth 400 franks Mathilde Loisel came to the realization that she had no jewelry to go along with the dress. Her husband suggested “You will wear some natural flowers” and she replied “ No; there is nothing more humiliating than to look poor among a lot of rich women” (Maupassant 2). Mathilde Loisel than went to her wealthy friend Mme.Forester to borrow a diamond necklace that was not affordable to replace if anything
Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” tells the story of Mathilde Loisel: a less-than-fortunate woman who believes she was destined for a life of luxury, and is thus dissatisfied with her life. Through Mathilde’s unhappy personality, the morality at the heart of the story is addressed; who you appear to be does not define who you are, but rather the way you go about
Guy de Maupassant expresses his theme through the use of situational irony. Guy de Maupassant says, “She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house. All these things, of which other women of her class would not even have been aware, tormented and insulted her.”(De Maupassant). She is poor and thinks of herself too much and then he says "but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her; for women have no caste or class.”(De Maupassant). She wants more than she can get which will ruin her later in the story. When she lost the necklace by the end of the week they had lost all hope to find it. Loisel, who had aged five years, declared:
Mme. Loisel explains that the dress she has to go to the theater in isn’t good enough to go to the party. She expects that she should have the best, to go to this event with some very wealthy individuals. M. Loisel then spends his money that he was going to buy a rifle with to buy her this beautiful dress that she envisioned. She could’ve worn the theater dress that she already owned, but instead she decided that that wasn’t good enough for her.
The use of irony in “The Necklace” adds a little humour and helps in emphasizing the theme of the story. While describing Madame Loisel’s character,
There comes a time in a woman’s life where she tends to become bitter and ungrateful. It is natural to feel that way in any time period for young women coming to age as they do not realize what they have to do stay beautiful. Some women can even get so caught up in their life, that no one, not even their husband really matter to them. In “The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant it reveals Mathilde’s selfish and conceited ways, as she is not thankful for an invitation Mr. Loisel gives to her to attend the ball. Although Mathilde may not be the most grateful wife, she learns the hard way of what struggle really is later on in the story. It is clear on a psychological note that Mathilde generates materialistic, unappreciative, and egotistical tendencies.
In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Mme. Loisel borrows a a diamond necklace from a wealthy friend, Mme. Forestier, for an evening reception at the Ministerial Mansion on Friday January 18. Mme. Loisel wasn’t the wealthiest of them all, but she was not dirt poor.
Around the world, values are expressed differently. Some people think that life is about the little things that make them happy. Others feel the opposite way and that expenses are the way to live. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, he develops a character, Madame Loisel, who illustrates her different style of assessments. Madame Loisel, a beautiful woman, lives in a wonderful home with all the necessary supplies needed to live. However, she is very unhappy with her life. She feels she deserves a much more expensive and materialistic life than what she has. After pitying herself for not being the richest of her friends, she goes out and borrows a beautiful necklace from an ally. But as she misplaces the closest thing she has to the life she dreams of and not telling her friend about the mishap, she could have set herself aside from ten years of work. Through many literary devices, de Maupassant sends a message to value less substance articles so life can be spent wisely.
But try to get a nice dress” (de Maupassant 222). She gladly took the currency and bought the most beautiful dress she could afford. Still sad due to her lack of jewelry, she borrows a beautiful diamond pendant from a close friend (de Maupassant 224-225). This would cause problems of its own that not even the most able person could solve their way through without serious
In the short story “The Necklace”, the main character, Loisel, is a woman who dreams of greater things in her life. She is married to a poor clerk who tries his best to make her happy no matter what. In an attempt to try to bring happiness to his wife, he manages to get two invitations to a very classy ball, but even in light of this Loisel is still unhappy. Even when she gets a new dress she is still unhappy. This lasts until her husband suggests she borrows some jewelry from a friend, and upon doing so she is finally happy. Once the ball is over, and they reach home, Loisel has the horrible realization that she has lost the necklace, and after ten years of hard labor and suffering, they pay off debts incurred to get a replacement. The central idea of this story is how something small can have a life changing effect on our and others life’s. This idea is presented through internal and external conflicts, third person omniscient point of view, and the round-dynamic character of Loisel. The third person limited omniscient point-of-view is prevalent throughout this short story in the way that the author lets the reader only see into the main character’s thoughts. Loisel is revealed to the reader as being unhappy with her life and wishing for fancier things. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.” (de Maupassant 887) When her husband tries to fancy things up, “she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry which peopled the walls…” (de Maupassant 887) As the story goes on her point of view changes, as she “now knew the horrible existence of the needy. She took her part, moreover all of a sudden, with heroism.” (de Maupassant 891) Having the accountability to know that the “dreadful debt must be paid.” (de Maupassant 891 ) This point-of-view is used to help the reader gain more insight to how Loisel’s whole mindset is changed throughout her struggle to pay off their debts. Maupassant only reveals the thoughts and feelings of these this main character leaving all the others as flat characters. Loisel is a round-dynamic character in that Maupassant shows how she thought she was born in the wrong “station”. “She dressed plainly because she could not dress well, but she was as unhappy as though she had really fallen from her proper station.
The Necklace also displays distinctive realism in the use of socioeconomic influences which are essential to the plot. The major conflict in the story would be absent and the theme would not be obtainable without Mathilde Loisel’s insecurity about her own socioeconomic reputation. An example of Loisel’s self-deprivation nature is presented when she realizes she does not have a necklace, she says “I shall look absolutely no one. I would almost rather not go to the party” (Maupassant, sec. 3). Another example of the self-conflict caused by social pressure is Loisel’s immediate attempt to replace the necklace and her reluctance to speak to her friend Madame Forestier about the necklace for ten whole years. If she were not conflicted by societal pressures she might have avoided the whole situation altogether. The Necklace establishes a realistic difference in value between the necklaces and proposed clothing. Her husband proposes flowers which were valued 10 franks so in any case if she had chosen the flowers there would have been an insignificant economic loss. Her decision not to tell her friend about the necklace ends up costing her seven times the worth of the original. The roses symbolize the simpler things in life to the theme of the story. Mathilde Loisel’s withered appearance at the end