The Theme of Pride in Guy Maupassant's The Necklace

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Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18) - It would be difficult to find an aphorism that better describes the fate of the main character in Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”. Set in Paris in the late 1800s, Maupassant’s story shows the costs of pride. The main character, Madame Loisel, borrows a diamond necklace from her rich friend, Madame Forestier, to wear at a ball hosted by the Minister of Public Instruction at the Palace of the Ministry. To her dismay, Madame Loisel loses the necklace, and she and her husband spend the next ten years paying back the loans they had to take out to replace the necklace, only to discover that the necklace was fake. Her pride plunges both her and her husband into abject poverty. Guy de Maupassant develops his theme of pride in his short story “The Necklace” through the use of characterization, symbolism, and tone.
The first element that Guy de Maupassant employs to develop his theme of pride is his masterful use of characterization in “The Necklace”. Pierce states that “Maupassant’s genius lies in his characterization of the Loisels and the depiction of the hardships that they encounter” (Pierce 1). From the beginning of the story, Madame Loisel is portrayed as a deeply unhappy woman, who feels that she has been cheated by life by not being apart of the upper class: “She was as unhappy as though she has really fallen from her proper station” (Maupassant 1). In an attempt to soften the blow of her low birth, Madame Loisel engages in daydreaming, conjuring up visions of a better life.
Madame Loisel covets luxuries, dreaming of “... dainty dinners… delicious dishes served on marvellous plates…” (Maupassant 1). As Pierce puts it, “Madame Loi...

... middle of paper ...

...he necklace, she thought she was poor. As a result of losing the necklace, Madame Loisel and her husband become poverty stricken and remain in debt for the next ten years in an effort to repay the price of the ironically fake necklace. The cost of Madame Loisel’s pride is that perceived poverty turns into actual poverty. Madame Loisel epitomizes the heavy price of pride.

Works Cited
Brackett, Virginia. "The Necklace." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
May, Charles E. "Guy De Maupassant." Magill’S Survey Of World Literature, Revised Edition (2009): 1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Pierce, Jason. "An overview of 'The Necklace.'" Gale Online Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Short Stories. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.

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