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Riley Aafedt
ENGL 101: Critical Reading and Composition
Adam Padgett
18 September 2015
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
Ten years of her life wasted over an inanimate object. The Necklace by Guy
de Maupassant is a story about a women who makes assumptions too quickly that
end up costing her in the end. The true meaning behind this story is that you should
never judge a book by its cover because it may cost you in the end. The author
does a great job explaining this meaning by showing the womans life before she
borrowed the necklace and after she had to repay it.
The story begins with explaining the background behind a middle class
woman by the name of Mme. Loisel. She receives an invitation to the local ball and
responds with I have no dress, and therefore I cant go to this ball. Give your card
to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I. (pg. 34) This statement
introduces Mme. Loisel as being an ungrateful and unappreciative individual.
Instead of wearing the dress she possesses, she decides it is not good enough for
such an elegant gathering. This causes her husband to consider purchasing her a
new dress. They ultimately come to the conclusion that Mme. Loisel shall purchase
a dress worth no more than four hundred francs. Her husband states All right. I will
give you four hundred francs. Try to have a pretty dress. (pg. 35) He acknowledges
her need to be like those of the high class and hopes she picks out a satisfying
dress.

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As the ball drew near, Mme. Loisel felt that she still wasnt as elegant as
those going to the ball. Her lack of jewelry was a big concern. It annoys me to not
have a single jewel, not a single stone, nothing to put on. I shall look like distress. I
should almost rather not go at all. (pg. 35) This statement reinforces the idea of
Mme. Loisel being ungrateful and sets up the main conflict in the story. Dissatisfied
with her appearance, Mme. Loisel asks her friend Mme. Forestier to borrow some
jewelry. When they arrive at Mme. Forestiers house, Mme. Forestier went to a
wardrobe with a glass door, took out a large jewel box, brought it back, opened it,
and said to Mme. Loisel: Choose my dear. (pg. 35) This scene introduces Mme.
Forestier as being a high class individual. Instead of just having her take an average
size box out of her closet, the author makes her house and jewelry box sound
elegant and sophisticated. This causes Mme. Loisel to view her as being upper-class,
which is the main reason why the conflict in this story happens. Mme. Loisel
searches through the box but is still not satisfied with anything she sees. She even
asks Havent you any more? (pg. 35) At last the perfect piece of jewelry comes to
her attention and it is a diamond necklace inside of a satin box. Once again the
author chooses Mme. Forestier to own something of high-class to support the idea
that she is a wealthy individual. Mme. Loisel tries it on and decides that is the one
she wants. Mme. Forestier agrees to let her borrow it and she leaves.
The night of the ball Mme. Loisel was prettier than them all, elegant,
gracious, smiling, and crazy with joy. All the men looked at her, asked her name,
endeavored to be introduced. All the attachs of the Cabinet wanted to waltz with
her. She was remarked by the minister himself (pg. 36) Mme. Loisel has a great
time dancing with many people, drinking lots of liquor, and admiring the beauty of
herself. These actions are the main reason why she loses the necklace. The dancing

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and alcohol make her tired and wishing to return home. After finding her husband,
she demands they leave. Mme. Loisel heads outside but her husband says Wait a
bit. You will catch a cold outside. I will go and call a cab. (pg. 36) She immediately
ignores him and walks outside. This shows how Mme. Loisel treats her husband after
everything he has done for her. The least she could is listen to him and take a cab
home. Instead, the couple roam the streets for a while desperately searching for a
carriage to take home. After finding one, they return to their house and prepare for
bed. As Mme. Loisels husband is undressing he hears a cry from the other room
and finds Mme. Loisel holding her neck. After asking her what was wrong, she
replies I have-I have-Ive lost Mme. Forestiers necklace. (pg. 36) At this point in
the story, the main conflict is introduced and Mme. Loisel realizes she is in serious
trouble if she cannot find the necklace. Her husband decides to retrace their steps
and look for it. After about three hours of searching he comes up with nothing, not
even a trace of where the necklace could be.
At the end of the week, Mme. Loisel had appeared as if she had aged about
five years. They come to the conclusion that whoever made the case for the
necklace must have crafted the necklace. However when they arrive at the jeweler
they get the response It was not I, Madame, who sold that necklace; I must simply
have furnished the case. (pg. 37) This puts Mme. Loisel and her husband into a
state of despair because now they must search for an exact replica of the necklace.
After searching through a great number of jewelers they find an exact match. The
only issue is its worth forty thousand francs. The jeweler agreed to sell it for thirtysix thousand francs. Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs which his father
had left him. He would borrow the rest. (pg. 37) The couple now realize they are

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going to be working to pay off their debt for a long time. However, it never crosses
either of their minds that the necklace could have been fake.
Mme. Loisel returns the necklace to Mme. Forestier but is nervous when she
replies with You should have returned it sooner, I might have needed it. (pg. 38)
At this point Mme. Loisel is nervous that her friend may open the box and discover it
is not her original necklace. This would force her to explain what had happened at
the party and why she does not have her necklace. Luckily Mme. Forestier accepts
the necklace and Mme. Loisel leaves immediately. For ten long years Mme. Loisel
and her husband worked to pay off their debt. She came to know what heavy
housework meant and the odious cares of the kitchen Her husband worked in the
evening making a fair copy of some tradesmans accounts, and late at night he
often copied manuscript for five sous a page. (pg. 38) The couple were not
accommodated with the amount of work needed to repay their debt. The ten years
did not help Mme. Loisel at all. She looked old now. She had become the woman
of impoverished households With frowsy hair, skirts askew, and red hands. But
sometimes, when her husband was at the office, she sat down near the window, and
she thought of that gay evening of long ago, of that ball where she had been so
beautiful and so fted. (pg. 38) The hard work had changed Mme. Loisel both
physically and mentally. No longer did she want to be rich and beautiful, she had to
embrace the lower-class life. This is where the effects of losing the necklace are
setting in and the author shows it by describing Mme. Loisel as being a worn out
individual.
One Sunday, having gone to take a walk in the Champs lyses to refresh
herself from the labors of the week, she suddenly perceived a woman who was
leading a child. It was Mme. Forestier, still young, still beautiful, and still charming.

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Mme. Loisel felt moved. (pg. 38) Mme. Loisel sees Mme. Forestier one day while
walking and decides to approach her. She knows Mme. Forestier has not seen her
since she returned the necklace and does not know how she will react. When
confronted, Mme. Forestier does not recognize Mme. Loisel due to the effects of ten
years worth of labor. The author uses this confrontation scene to establish: how
much Mme. Loisel has changed over the years and to set up the ending of the story.
Mme. Loisel states it is Mme. Forestiers fault she looks like this. Shocked, Mme.
Forestier responds with Of me! How so? (pg. 39) Mme. Loisel explains how she lost
the necklace and had to replace it. Mme. Forestier replies Oh, my poor Mathilde!
Why, my necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs! This is
when the entire story comes together and Mme. Loisel realizes she had made a
huge mistake by assuming Mme. Forestiers necklace was fake.
The author does a great job of foreshowing the events to come. By
establishing Mme. Loisel as an ungrateful character it allows the reader to
determine what may happen throughout the story. I Think Mme. Loisel deserved
what she got because of the way she acted about being invited to the ball. If she
had just gladly accepted the invitation, the main conflict in the story would have
never happened. Also, her husband deserves better than that. He deserves a
woman that is as hard working and appreciative as he is. It is sad that he had to
repay the amount of money needed for the necklace. In addition, he was the one
that had to beg to the townspeople for extra money. Mme. Loisel did not ask a
single person for money, she left that job for her husband. Therefore, he was the
one that got embarrassed.
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant, is a story with a major theme behind it,
never judge a book by its cover because then you make assumptions about

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something you may not know anything about. This is why Mme. Loisel ended up
paying an enormous sum for a real diamond necklace when it turns out her friends
was fake. If she had just asked her friend if the necklace was real or fake and wasnt
blinded by the thought of being beautiful and elegant, her life potentially could have
been saved.