The necklace

• Author • Guy De Maupassant

• Published 1884

• Maupassant was extremely successful during his lifetime and “The Necklace” was an instant success

• The Necklace– Overview

• Madame Mathilde and her husband are not well off financially

• She has always dreamed of being rich.

• Overview, Con’t: • When the couple is invited to a ball, Madame Loisel must find jewelry and fine clothing so she can attend the event.

• The trouble begins when her jewelry is lost.

• Literary Focus– Themes

• Appearance vs. Reality

• Rich vs. Poor

• Generosity vs. Greed

• Madame Loisel is pretty and charming, but she is also unhappy with her lot in life and believes that she deserves more.

• Madame Loisel’s belief that beautiful things and luxury are essential to her happiness is the untruth that scars her physical beauty.

• Madame Loisel’s greed stands in marked contrast to the generosity of her husband and Madame Forestier.

• Literary Focus– Point of View

– Symbolism

• ‘‘The Necklace’’ is told by an omniscient third-person narrator. The narrator does have access to the characters‘ thoughts.

• The necklace is the central symbol of the story.

• The necklace comes to represents Madame Loisel's greed and also her artificiality.

• Literary Focus, Con’t:– Irony

• In a society that so highly values appearance, it is ironic that the beautiful Madame Loisel is excluded from society because of her class standing.

• The greatest irony of all, however, comes during the story’s surprise ending.

• Characters– Madame Mathilde

Loisel

• Beautiful woman on the outside but has a superficial personality

• Believes that she is meant for better things than the middle-class

• Infatuated with superficial things: – a ball gown – better furniture – fancy jewelry

• Characters– Monsieur Loisel

• Content with social situation

• Attentive to his wife's desires,

• Acts in stark contrast to his wife: generous, hard working, selfless