Faiza Mohamud

THE NECKLACE
This story is translated from French. It was written by Guy De Maupassant. The
necklace is about a young woman who feels trapped. She often daydreams about
what it would be like in a different existence. Madame Loisel is a character as an
unhappy woman with her life because she feels she was meant to live a luxurious
life. From the beginning of the story she imagines herself surrounded by finer
things even though her actual life is very ordinary. She constantly compares her
life to the one she deserves. The character of madame Loisel is that a young
woman of lesser social status, who comes from a similarly simple family. She finds
a man who is worth worthy of a large dowry. Therefore, she marries a man of her
same status.
Ayoung woman Matilde was born a low-class family, with no dowry she is
married to Monsieur Loisel. Mathilde always felt like she should have been
born to the upper class and is unhappy in her married life, hating their home,
their food, and her lack of fine clothing and jewelry. One evening, her
husband presents her excitedly with an invitation to attend The Minister of
Education. To the Mme. Loisel–throws the invitation down in anger, weeping
and complaining that she has nothing to wear to the event, “instead of being
delighted as her husband had hoped, she tossed the invitation peevishly onto
the table and muttered”. Her husband offers to give her the money for
something suitable, and she calculates the maximum amount she could
request without him refusing her immediately. When she requests this
amount, her husband pales, thinking of the hunting gun for which he has been
saving that exact amount nonetheless, he agrees with 400 francs.

The day of the ball approaches and Mme. Loisel’s dress is made ready, but
she is still concerned. When asked why, she replies that she is embarrassed to
attend the ball without any jewels. Her husband, after being critized for
suggesting for what she wear flowers in her hair instead, suggests that she ask
to borrow some jewels from her rich friend, Mme. Forestier. Mme Loisel
 agrees and goes to see her friend the next day, greedily choosing one of
Mme. Forestier’s finest necklaces. The author uses irony to make their
audience stop and think about what has been said or to emphasize a central
idea. The main irony in the text is that Loisel's take on tremendous debt in
order to replace an apparently expensive necklace that was actually a cheap
imitation.

“She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as if by an error of fate, into
a family of clerks.” To say her social rank occurred “as if by an error of fate” is
irony because the only one who really feels that way is Mme. Loisel herself. Her
husband is perfectly content with their status and lifestyle. The author also uses
imaginary to create emotion. Mme Loisel spends much of her time imagining
what life would be like if she were wealthy. These lavish scenes are even
more replete with vivid imagery than the descriptions of reality. For example,
“she thought of the exquisite food served on marvelous dishes, of the
whispered gallantries, listened to with the smile of the sphinx while eating the
rose-colored flesh of the trout or a chicken wing.

The author also uses metaphor to show the extent to which his subject matter
or reflects his feelings and emotions. It also emphasizes his attitude towards
the subject matter of the text When Mme. Loisel is at the ball wearing her
friend’s “diamond” necklace and looking beautiful, de Maupassant describes her as
“drunk on pleasure.” This is a metaphor that compares her happiness to being
drunk, even though the reader understands that she cannot be drunk from the thrill
and fun that she is having at the ball. Another literally device is suspense After she
realizes that she has lost the necklace and tells her husband, Monsieur Loisel says
that he will go out to...
Madame Forestier Mathilde’s wealthy friend. Madame Forestier treats Mathilde
kindly, but Mathilde is bitterly jealous of Madame Forestier’s wealth, and the
kindness pains her. Madame Forestier lends Mathilde the necklace for the party
and does not inspect it when Mathilde returns it. She is horrified to realize that
Mathilde has wasted her life trying to pay for a replacement necklace, when the
original necklace had actually been worth nothing.