Guy de Maupassant wrote a short story called The Necklace. It is about a woman named Mathilde who is unhappy with her life. She has a man as her husband who works as a clerk for the Ministry of Education. She has no money and is always jealous of her friends who are richer than she is. One day, she is given a diamond necklace by her husband. She is thrilled and goes to a party with it. However, she loses the necklace at the party. She is so upset that she tells her husband she will go and find it. She borrows money from her friend and goes to look for the necklace. She finally finds it, but it costs her a lot of money. In the end, she learns that money cannot buy happiness.
The theme of materialism
The theme of materialism is explored in Guy de
Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace.” This theme is shown through the
protagonist Mathilde Loisel, a woman who constantly yearns for the luxuries she
cannot afford and has an unrealistic view of how she should live her life.
Mathilde’s obsession with material possessions and status symbolizes her
unfulfilled longing for social acceptance.
Throughout the story, Mathilde has a desire to
be part of the upper class, which she believes will make her life complete. She
daydreams about how she would look and feel if she was able to attend the
luxurious party that her husband, Monsieur Loisel, was invited to. Despite her
husband’s efforts to provide her with a dress and jewels, Mathilde still feels
like she isn’t good enough for the high-class setting, which fuels her
obsession with owning a diamond necklace.
Mathilde’s desire for material possessions leads
to her making a decision that ultimately proves to be devastating. She borrows
a valuable diamond necklace from her rich friend, Madame Forestier, and loses
it shortly after. The consequences of this decision cost the couple ten years
of their lives as they struggle to pay back the debt incurred from replacing
the necklace.
This story serves as a warning to readers to not
get caught up in the pursuit of material possessions and status. It shows how
our decisions can have long-lasting consequences if we fail to consider them
carefully. Ultimately, this story highlights the importance of having a
realistic view of one’s desires and recognizing that true fulfillment cannot be
found through material possessions alone.
The theme of social class
The story of “The Necklace” is an exploration of
the effects of social class on characters and their decisions. The protagonist
Mathilde Loisel is a woman of lower social standing whose ambition is to belong
to the higher echelons of society. She desires the finer things in life, such
as luxury clothes and jewelry, but she does not have the means to buy them.
This leads her to borrow a diamond necklace from a rich friend, which she wears
to a party that she hopes will elevate her status.
At the party, Mathilde is able to temporarily
gain access to the privileged world that she longs for, though it comes with a
price. After discovering that she has lost the necklace at the end of the
night, Mathilde must work for ten years to pay for its replacement. This
sacrifice serves as a reminder of the distance between her humble station and
the upper classes, and serves as a stark contrast to her wealthy acquaintances
who can effortlessly purchase what she cannot.
In this way, Maupassant uses Mathilde’s story to
illustrate the harsh divide between social classes and how it affects people’s
lives. While Mathilde’s ambition is admirable, she ultimately discovers that it
is impossible to bridge the gap between her social class and those of her
wealthier peers.
The symbol of the necklace
In Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace," the necklace is a
central symbol. It represents both wealth and class in 19th century France.
Mathilde is deeply unsatisfied with her lot in life and wishes she had the
wealth of her friends and acquaintances. The necklace is a tangible
representation of this dissatisfaction, as it is an expensive item that is associated
with luxury and high society.
The necklace also serves as a reminder of Mathilde's vanity and pride. She is
willing to go to great lengths to make a good impression at the party, even
though she knows she cannot afford it. She is so desperate for social status
that she borrows an expensive item to wear, and then spends 10 years of her
life paying off the debt.
The necklace is also a symbol of the consequences of Mathilde's actions. Her
poor decision to borrow the necklace results in a decade of servitude to pay
back the debt. She never manages to replace it, and it serves as a reminder of
her mistake and the sacrifices she made in order to pay it off. The moral of
the story is that nothing in life is free, and that one must be responsible and
considerate with their decisions.
The symbol of the party
The party at the end of the story is a pivotal symbol that serves to illustrate
how money and material items do not bring joy and happiness. This is especially
true for Madame Loisel, who was forced to accept reality and recognize that her
lifestyle had been an illusion. The guests at the party are far more wealthy
and glamorous than she and her husband, yet they appear miserable and bored in
comparison. The underlying message is that material wealth does not bring
lasting joy and happiness. This is a lesson that Madame Loisel has learned the
hard way, as her suffering and loss over the necklace has been immense. She has
come to understand that the most important things in life are friendship, love,
and compassion. In this way, the party serves as a powerful symbol of what
really matters in life.
The
ending of the story
The ending of Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” serves as an unexpected yet
poignant reminder of the power of materialism. After ten years of slaving away
in poverty, Mathilde and her husband realize that the necklace was a fake, and
all of their hard work has been for nothing. The story then shifts to a
conclusion that reveals the irony of their situation – instead of the riches
they had hoped for, they are left with nothing but a new appreciation for
life's little pleasures. The ending serves as a stark contrast to the false
sense of security the couple had when they first received the necklace. Before,
Mathilde had believed that the necklace would bring them wealth and status,
only to find out it was nothing more than a counterfeit. In her despair, she
laments that they were “ruined” by the necklace, a fitting conclusion to the
story that emphasizes the folly of materialism.
The ending also serves as a warning to be content with what one has and not to
get carried away with dreams of material wealth. Through Mathilde’s hard-earned
lesson, de Maupassant conveys the importance of being thankful for small
blessings and not expecting too much from life. By bringing his narrative to a
powerful conclusion, he ultimately reveals that the true value of life lies in
its simpler moments.
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