The Necklace Diction

“The Necklace,” by Guy de Maupassant tells the story of a woman whose dreams and beauty don’t fit in the economic class she has married into. Mme. Loisel believes that “family and birth” (33) are the factors that create a significant woman; she resents her place in society and feels “she ha[s] fallen from her proper station” (33). Her husband is almost completely absent in the story while she chases her reveries of wealth and exquisiteness. Through the use of strong diction and characterization, Maupassant’s novella, “The Necklace,” demonstrates the subjective nature of perceived luxury and tendency for humans to measure their own status based upon their possession.

Maupassant begins the story with a long description of Mme. Loisel’s impressive

physical qualities. It is clear, however, from the diction used in the opening paragraphs that Mme. Loisel thinks rather lowly of her lifestyle.

Despite the author’s insistence that “Natural fineness, instinct for what is elegant, suppleness of wit…” is the hierarchy for great women, it’s clear Mme. Loisel still thinks little of her lifestyle merely because of her lack of grandiose luxury. (33) This is obvious when the author describes Loisel’s view that “she was one of those pretty and charming girls who are sometimes, as if by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerks.” (33) Using the word “mistake” makes it obvious to the reader that Mme Loisel does not believe she should be subjected to what she perceives as a life of mediocrity. Maupassant also describes, in reference to Mme. Loisel, “she let herself be married to a little clerk at the Ministry of Public Instruction.” (33) Again we can tell by the word choice used that Mme. Loisel has an inherently negative view of her husband and her husband’s social status, judging by the way the marriage is described. The husband is described as a “little” clerk who Mme. Loisel “let” marry her. Using the term “little” for her husband depicts her view of him as someone of little significance and importance. To say she “let” him marry her implies that she thinks he may be less deserving of being her husband, presumably compared to a man of higher

status and greater wealth. These views are fitting for a woman who believes she is being devalued by living a life void of great excess. It’s also worth noting how the novella’s diction changes along with Mme Loisel’s attitude and confidence once she puts a fine piece of jewelry on her person. All of the sudden at the ball, while wearing the diamond necklace, Mme. Loisel “was prettier than them all, elegant, gracious, smiling, and crazy with joy.” Maupassant even describes how “all the men looked at her” and “she was remarked by the minister himself.” (36) The words “pretty”, “elegant” and “gracious” all have luxurious connotations and portray the newfound confidence Mme. Loisel has gained simply by applying a piece of jewelry she does not know is a paste. The irony of this is that Mme Loisel does not actually have a valuable object on her person yet simply because she believes herself to be luxurious and flashy in the moment, her entire self-image is transformed. From this the reader can clearly see the way Mme. Loisel bases her happiness and self-worth according to her perception of attained wealth.
To further understand the skewed mentality Mme.

Loisel and many others in today’s society posses pertaining to luxury and social status, the dynamic characteristics of Mme. Loisel can be observed throughout the story. During the opening of the novella Mme. Loisel is characterized as discouraged, self-conscious and frustrated. Maupassant characterizes her by saying “she was as unhappy as though she had really fallen from her proper station” and later describing how “she suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.” (33) This is notable because midway through the novella Mme. Loisel’s characteristics seem to completely change once she gets her hands on a necklace to wear out that she perceives as valuable. Mme. Loisel goes from claiming, “there’s nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich.” to suddenly remaining “lost in ecstasy at the sight of herself” once she adds her friends expensive looking diamond necklace to her outfit. (35) Maupassant also details how (Mme Loisel) “sprang upon the neck of her friend, kissed her passionately, then fled with her treasure.” (35) This type of affection being shown by Mme Loisel is in great contrast with the disdain and contempt she looked upon her husband with in the earlier pages of the novella. When Mme Loisel is at the ball, Maupassant describes her “forgetting all, in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a sort of cloud of happiness” (36)

Again, this happiness and her perceived feelings of beauty and success draw a huge discrepancy between Mme Loisel’s characteristics in the early stages of the novella versus when she receives a valuable object to wear. This discrepancy makes it obvious that Mme Loisel has based a huge portion of her happiness and self-image based on materials and luxuries.
The story of Mme Loisel ends with her losing the borrowed necklace and purchasing a new one to return to its rightful owner only to find out that the necklace was phony jewelry in the first place. This is a very ironic ending considering the changes of characteristics that undertook Mme Loisel as soon as she put on the flashy looking necklace. Despite the legitimate value of the necklace it is still obvious through the diction and characterization used by Maupassant that Mme Loisel is an extremely impressionable young woman whose sense of self worth comes predominantly from how rich and high in status she appears. Many themes can be taken from this story but the easiest to zone in on is that materials and wealth should not dictate men or women’s internal mind states nor their feelings of self-worth. Furthermore this novella questions the idea of luxury itself, leaving the reader to consider whether luxury is an objective trait found just in materials and wealth or if luxury is simply found by viewing the world in a realistic and accepting perspective.