“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) (Book Report Sample)

Charlene Ann Mildred Barroga LIT 201 Final Paper 3SG “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) is a short story set in the late 1800s. The main character is Mathilde Loisel, a beautiful but working glass girl who in her desire for luxury borrows an expensive necklace for a party only to lose it. In the end, she loses her beauty because she worked hard to pay for the debt of the necklace only to find out that it was but a cheap replica. The story is about the contrast of luxury and simplicity as well as the harsh truth of reality. The introduction takes time to describe and develop the character as the author paints a clear distinction between her desire for a life of luxury and her actual life. In the opening, the author makes it clear that her reasoning for wanting the luxurious lifestyle was due to her beauty, which at that time stood less than being born to a wealthy or a prominent one: “She was one of those pretty and charming girls, as if by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerks.” (de Maupassant, 112) She desired things like “Oriental tapestries”, “silent antechambuters” and “vast saloons hung with antique silks.” As the story moved forward, these were contrasted with her daily life as objects like “three-days-old cloth” and “ugly curtains” were mentioned, (de Mapassant, 113) enabling a clear depiction of the internal conflict the character is going through. While this conflict is seen as the main problem at first, this would not be the main conflict of the story as it will be revealed later on. It is the external manifestation of this internal conflict of Mathilde that would drive one towards the main conflict. Chronologically, this begins when the author introduces Mathilde’s husband; a simple government clerk who receives an invitation to a high societal party and decides to take his wife along. (de Maupassant, 114) Next, Mathilde refuses at first to attend the party due to the inappropriateness of the outfits she has, as a result her husband has to sacrifice the expenses he has for his recreational purposes just to support her and her luxurious clothing. (de Maupassant, 114-116). When they finally resolve to attend the part and borrow the aforementioned necklace, the narrator talks about the after party: “The day of the ball arrived. Madame Loisel was a success. She was prettier than them all, elegant, gracious, smiling, and crazy with joy... He threw over her shoulders the garments he had brought for them to go home in, modest everyday clothes, whose poverty clashed with the beauty of the ball-dress. She was conscious of this and was anxious to hurry away, so that she should not be noticed by the other women putting on their costly furs.” (117) This scene of Mathilde’s life of fantasy reveals her conflict which is her pride. This is because, the main character, due to the enjoyment of her fantasy life was trying to hide from the reality of her simple life as her husband tried to make her wear a coat which is not of good quality but then due to awareness, decided to leave the place. Upon leaving the party, it is seen that Mathilde realized that the necklace she borrowed from Madame Forestier, her rich friend, is lost. In this portion, it is seen that the main character could no longer escape the reality that is in her as she will need to search for the lost necklace until they had to buy an expensive necklace and have to give it to Foreister saying that they gave the necklace and will have to work until they are able to earn the money that they have to spend for the necklace. (de Maupassant, 119-120) Through the conflict of this story , the piece shows the contrast between luxury and a state of life as he gives a scenario in a party where there are full of rich looking people enjoying the night, and when it was time for her husband to put on her simple coat, she had to leave as others wore a coat which are of costly furs and the harsh truth of reality as he presents the consequence Mathilde as the main character had to go through because of the necklace that she lost because of her pride and enjoyment in the party she attended and did not think of anything but her own pride. Finally, the story makes a shift to ten years later ...