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A LITERARY ANALYSIS of "THE NECKLACE"
by AISHA JOHNSON
Some people will do anything to make themselves appear to be something they are not. In the late 1800's, things were not much different. At that time wealth was very important, and social class was even more so. One could make money by some unexpected occurrence, but that did not necessarily change one's position in a classicist society. France was a city ruled by classicism. One had to be introduced into high society no matter, their beauty, income, or grace. (Roberts & Jacobs 1) Henri-René-Albert-Guy de Maupassant wrote his most famous stories during this time. "Critics observe that his stories are characterized by strong situational and cosmic irony…" (Roberts & Jacobs 4). In the story, "The Necklace", a young and beautiful working class woman desired a more luxurious lifestyle and detested her husband's plainness and complacency. One night, she borrowed a necklace from a friend for a party and lost it. She did not want to tell the friend so she borrowed monies from friends, family, and loan sharks to purchase another diamond necklace. It took her ten years to pay off the debt, and when she did, she ran into her old friend and found out the necklace was costume jewelry. In "The Necklace", Maupassant uses situational irony to show that wealth is not always monetary.
The woman in the story, Mathilde Loisel, was not honest with herself. She did not accept her existence. She sought an aesthetically pleasing lifestyle, and felt that she would give anything, even her life to have it. She did not realize the fact that she had a loving husband and a secure lifestyle. She was not happy with her surroundings and possessions. She felt cursed to have such beauty and grace with no class to go with it. She dreamt of things that were simply not meant for her and she overlooked the things she did have. It is ironic that she should not recognize her wealth in love and security but, in turn, want a lifestyle that is usually cold, unloving, and shallow. Mathilde daydreamed about things that are unimportant to those that have them. It actually upset her to be invited to a party because she doesn't have anything to wear. At this point in the story it is easy to see that she misjudged her wealth. She wanted a new dress for the Chancellor's party, and even though her husband was saving the money to buy a shotgun, he gave her the money almost without hesitation. This was not enough. She also had to have beautiful jewelry because "…there's nothing more humiliating that looking poor in the company of rich women." (De Maupassant 7). The reality of her situation was that although she was not as rich as the women she admired from afar, she was certainly in a position to be comfortable financially, and she was not poor.
Mrs. Loisel learned what poor was when she lost the necklace. Losing that necklace meant losing so much more. She lost her beauty and her husband's life savings. She lost her youth and financial security. She also lost her pride, but in doing so she gained substance in her personality. At the beginning of the story she was extremely shallow and she gained a sense of self worth and self respect. She also gained respect for her husband.
Throughout the story she changes from being superficial to having a deep sense of worth. Mathilde lied to her friend to keep her pride but she showed honor in wanting to replace the necklace. She also showed honor in working very hard to help pay off the debt as illustrated in paragraphs 98 and 99 of the story. Towards the end of the story, the reader can see where the hard work has taken her beauty, and social graces. She no longer felt as though she would give anything to have that life because for one night she did and it made her happy. It is almost as if she felt like ten years of toil and poverty made it all worth it. Although she lost her youth she gained a different perspective on life and realized everything she wanted was right there in front of her and she threw it all away to get more. It was not a bargain because she lost what she did have in the process. At the end of the story, her respect of the working class is evident.
At the end of the story where Mathilde runs into her friend Jeanne, Jeanne did not even recognize her. Jeanne's shallowness showed when she thought that she should not have been addressed in such a fashion by a commoner. Jeanne had the life Mathilde had dreamed of. Before, Mathilde had tried so hard to impress the women of high society. When Mathilde walked up to Jeanne and told her what happened, she was beaming with pride because she had paid off a debt. The situational irony in this story is that she caused all of it to happen. If she hadn't been so shallow, or hadn't been so obsessed with material possessions this may not have happened. If she had been honest with Jeanne, and told her about the necklace then maybe this would not have happened. All of the things she tried to present herself as having, and all of the luxuries she wanted, were lost because she was not honest. The story is left open and the reader has to determine what happens next. Did Jeanne give her back the necklace? Did her husband get so disgusted that she caused him to be poverty stricken because of her pride, and all for something that could have been solved that he left her? Did she go home and hang herself?
In conclusion, if Mathilde Loisel had noticed the wealth of things around her, then she may not have had to go through the hardships that befell her. She had her health, her beauty, financial comfort and a loving, giving, wonderful husband. The vision of what the high society women had blinded her. She lost everything because she did not recognize the abundant life she led. She traded it all for one night of dancing with men that were not her husband and enjoying their company, and pretending to be something she was not. If her friend gives her the necklace at least she will have the one jewel she complained of not having before, but the price was too much. It was more than monetary. It was more than she could afford.
WORKS CITED
PRIMARY
De Maupassant, Guy. "The Necklace". Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Roberts & Jacobs. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.5-11.
SECONDARY
Roberts & Jacobs, ed. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003.
"Guy de Maupassant". Fiction 1998. Bedford/St. Martin's
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