Pranjal Desai
English 102.014
K. Dyrda
Paper 1
February 6, 2013
Mme. Loisel’s Fake Life: “The Necklace” “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant is an amazing story with a meaningful theme that echoes the famous quote, “All that glitters is not gold.” The quote explains that not everything that seems to be precious is actually what it seems like but sometimes the most neglected things turn out to be the most valuable. Mme. Loisel thinks that the necklace she borrowed from Mme. Forestier is worth 40 thousand francs because it look beautiful, but actually, it is worth only 500 francs. This incident causes a lot of problems in Mme. Loisel’s life but she evolves into a better person who understand the importance of money and realizes her husband's love. The story begins by saying, “She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans. She had no marriage portion, no expectations, no means of getting known, understood, loved, and wedded by a man of wealth and distinction; and she let herself be married off to a little clerk in the Ministry of Education" (Maupassant F-MP1-1). The story starts like the story of Cinderella, a pretty girl born and raised in poverty, but what is different is that there is no fairy godmother in Mme. Loisel’s life to get her prince charming and solve all her financial problems, so she decides to compromise her dreams. The narrator states, “She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments, and small, charming, perfumed rooms, created just for little parties of intimate friends, men who were famous and sought after, whose homage roused every other woman's envious longings" (Maupassant F-MP1-1). She dreams a life of luxury because she views people based on their financial status, not by their character. During the story, the character is in this bubble of protection, created by her husband who tries to please her at all times. The husband’s love for Mme. Loisel even makes him sacrifice his own wishes like buying a gun so he could go shooting with his friends, so Mathilde can fulfill her egotistic requirements. “She thought for several seconds, reckoning up prices and also wondering for how large a sum she could ask without bringing upon herself, an immediate refusal and an exclamation of horror from the careful-minded clerk” (Maupassant F-MP1-2). Mme. Loisel is like a manipulating seven-year-old who cries or pleads to get a desired item. She convinces her husband to sacrifice his shooting trip, which he has been saving for months, for a dress, so she can look “respectable” among other women at the Minister’s party. Mathilde creates this world of her own where a person with money is only the person who is important and the rest don’t matter. The thought of being pitied by looking dreadful on the occasion is hurts her like a stab wound and with no jewelry to wear to the party, that wound is like a deadly infection spreading through her body, so she borrows her friend’s fancy looking diamond necklace. At the party, the narrator reports that “She was the prettiest woman present: elegant, graceful, smiling, and quite above herself with happiness. All the men stared at her, inquired her name, and asked to be introduced to her. All the Under-Secretaries of State were eager to waltz with her” (Maupassant F-MP1-3). Mme. Loisel is so intoxicated that she does not care of her husband’s whereabouts because she is so busy flirting and dancing with other men. Meanwhile, her husband is sitting alone in a room pleased to see her joyful; eventually he falls asleep. Maupassant shows that Mme. Loisel is a manipulating and selfish woman who only cares about fulfilling her desires. On their way home from the party, her husband decides to find a cab, so the husband tells Mme. Loisel to wait until he gets the cab: “But she did not listen to him and rapidly descended the staircase. When they were
