The Necklace

THE NECKLACE
(Literary Analysis)
“The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant, is an excellent short story about discontentment. The story is about a woman, named
Mathilide, who wanted things she couldn’t have because she did not have the money to buy them. She was invited to a ball, so she had
to buy a “proper” dress. Then she also said she needed a necklace so she went to her friend to borrow one. She borrowed an
expensive diamond necklace and went to the ball, but she lost it. She then had to buy a new identical one making them in debt and
poor. Years later she finds out that the necklace she borrowed was a fake and that they bought a real one. If she never had been
discontent with what she had she would have never borrowed the necklace and lost it. Conflict and Situational Irony helped to convey
Maupassant’s theme of “Being discontent can bring you problems.”
Conflict made the theme able to be represented throughout the short story. In the short story it states, “She suffered intensely,
feeling herself born for every delicacy and every luxury” (pg.1). This is an example of internal conflict because it involves with feelings.
Mathilide wanted things that she couldn’t have. It says she suffered, so when she wanted luxurious things it caused her pain. Her
discontentment caused her to take actions later in the story that caused her to make problems. This supported the theme of
discontentment. Another example of conflict is Mathilide did not have a dress to wear to the ball (pg.2). She did not have a “proper”
dress, so she “had” to spend money on a new dress. This is both external and internal conflict because clothes are an appearance, and
she also felt inside that she needed a better dress. When they spent the money for the dress it was hard because they have financial
trouble. She was discontent of the dress she had, so she bought a new and more expensive one. The internal and external conflicts of
the short story supported the theme by making problems from discontentment.
Situational Irony made the story have a plot twist which affected the theme. In the short story Mathilide said, “I-I-I have not
Mme. Forester’s diamond necklace” (pg.4). This is an example of situational irony because it means she lost the necklace. The
situation this put them in was ironic because she was just having fun at the ball and now she lost a very expensive necklace. Her being
discontent caused her to borrow the necklace which she lost. Another example was that the necklace was a fake and worth barely
anything (pg.5). They had gone into debt for nothing. The necklace was a fake, so now Mme. Forester has a real, expensive necklace
that Mathilide had to buy. It was a false necklace that she lost. The irony is that they bought a necklace that was a real one when they
only lost a fake one. Being discontent with their situation caused them to replace the fake necklace with a real one for a lot more
money. The situational irony showed the problems that came from discontentment.
Guy de Maupassant put together a well written short story. He used two effective literary terms. He used conflict to support the
plot and situational irony to make plot twists that gave the story dynamics. He needed to use these because he had to give a backbone
to the story which is the theme. There were also more literary terms used in this story, but these two were the most prevalent. Guy de
Maupassant used situational irony and conflict to represent theme of discontentment.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:
1. Who are the characters in the story?
- Mathilde Loisel - Monsieur Loisel - Madame Forestier
2. Where is the setting of the story?
- The setting of a narrative involves the location as well as the historical period. "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant, is
set in Paris towards the end of the nineteenth century.
3. What is the language used in the literary piece?
- Personification, symbolism, and hyperbole are all prominent uses of figurative language in Guy de Maupassant's short
story "The Necklace."
4. What is the mood you get from the literary piece?
- The story's mood is bleak and tense. Throughout the story, there is a grim tone.
5. Give the plot of the piece.
- The story is set in Paris in the 1880s. The protagonist Mathilde Loisel, a young middle-class woman, and her husband, a
modest clerk, are invited to a prestigious ball. ... To appease her, her husband gives her money he had been saving, so
she can buy a dress. However, she still feels poor without a bauble to wear.
6. What is the point of view?
- This story is told from the perspective of a third person limited point of view. Knowing the POV is crucial since it has a
huge impact on the plot.
7. What is the theme of the piece?
- Greed, deceiving appearances, and beauty and vanity are all major themes in "The Necklace."
REFERENCES: https://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/629830/Literary-Analysis-of-The-Necklace

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