Rewant Mehra

Section-B (Ist Year)

Roll No. 73/16

Critical Analysis of “The Diamond Necklace”

“The Diamond Necklace” is one of the best known works of Guy de Maupassant, the
greatest short story writer & one of the supreme writers of this literary form. He added a new
psychological intensity and dramatic power to the form.
The story “The Diamond Necklace” is an admirable piece of narration, leading to a
dramatic sting-in-the-tail ending. The story centers around a nineteenth-century middle class
French couple, Monsieur and Madame Mathilde Loisel. Beautiful Mathilde Loisel was born into
a family of clerks, and her utter conviction that her station in life is a mistake of destiny leads her
to live her life in a constant rebellion against her circumstances. Although she has a comfortable
home and loving husband, she is so unsatisfied that she is virtually oblivious of everything but
the wealth she does not have.
The action proper begins when her husband, M. Loisel comes home with the invitation to
the fabulous ball and she decides not to go because she has no suitable dress or jewelry for the
dance. The clerk sacrifices his savings to buy her a dress, and suggests that she borrows some
jewelry from her old friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Madame Forestier provides her with a
fabulous diamond necklace. On the night of the party, her new dress and borrowed jewels give
her the appearance of belonging to the wealthy world she aspires to. She is the centre of
attraction at the ball, with all the officials admiring her beauty and grace.
When the couple returns home, they discover that the necklace is missing. This discovery
is the most exciting and dramatic moment in the story and a turning point in the plot. Now the
couple’s glorious night transitions into a desperate search. After a futile search & unable to
bearing the shame of informing Madame Forestier, they decide to buy and identical diamond
necklace as a replacement. Due to the necklace’s expenditure, they are forced to take on extra
jobs and live in poverty. The irony of the situation is that she pays for this evening with a
lifetime of toil and misery, taking a toll on her youth and beauty. At the end of the ten years,
Madame Loisel, now older, tougher, more worn and less graceful has an opportunity to tell her
friend of the lost necklace. But then Madame Forestier reveals that the necklace she lost was
fake. That’s totally unexpected and it changes the situation completely. Mathilde’s suffering is
now revealed to be pointless and unnecessary. The cryptic last line when Madame Forestier says
‘mine were false’ rounds of the story with poignant irony and a dramatic sting-in-the-tail
conclusion.
 The story’s conclusion has suddenly shifted from being optimistic and forward looking
(anticipating how Mathilde will move on with her life) to being regretful and backward
looking (dwelling on how pointless the last ten years were, and feeling wretched about it).
The writing style adopted by Maupassant is unadorned, economical, effortless and
elegant. His control over timing and pacing is incredible. The story is cleverly planned and
superbly executed.
The plot has a throbbing quality, a sequenced rise and fall which successfully retain the attention
of the readers until the end. One thing, the author uses a lot is writing lots of short paragraphs
which helps in keeping the story moving at a clip.
Maupassant symbolizes ‘The necklace’ as beautiful but worthless and represents the
power of perception and the split between appearances and reality. The fact that the necklace is
at the centre of the deception that leads to Mathilde’s downfall suggests that only trouble can
come from denying the reality of one’s situation.
Maupassant masterfully uses irony to produce a surprise ending in the short story.
Mathilde lost what she has because she was not content with it. In doing so, he attempts to teach
his readers several different moral lessons. He shows his readers that Mathilde learns to operate
within the restrains of poverty and not once does she complain. The author asserts that the people
who survive the misfortunes of life are somehow stronger and therefore actually benefit from
their adversities.
Maupassant writes like a sophisticated fellow who knows the world, and particularly the
world of ‘high society’. We also get the sense that Maupassant is detached from what he
describes. His detachment also keeps his narration from ever being judgmental, which is
remarkable.