The Necklace

Examples of literary devices used in the story include suspense, irony, alliteration, metaphor, flashback, and plot twist. Irony: The story opens with a description of Mme. Loisel: She was one of...

When the story opens, Madame Loisel is described as "pretty" and "charming." Despite having a comfortable home, she finds herself endlessly bored, always believing that she deserves more than her...

The setting of Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" is the city of Paris in the mid-1880s to the mid-1890s. This time was part of the Belle Époque, the time period in which de Maupassant...

Mathilde's life took a change for the worst after the loss of the necklace. Namely, because instead of swallowing her pride, owning to this fact and confess to her friend, she decides to take...

Social class is one of the critical themes that drives "The Necklace," both in terms of its plot and its characters. In this story focused on class pretensions, its main protagonist, Mathilde...

The third person narrator who relates the story provides so much insight into Mathilde Loisel’s thoughts, emotions and feelings that the reader gets a clear picture of her point of view. However,...

Personification is the literary technique involving ascribing human characteristics to nonliving things. Mathilde Loisel is a woman who feels that she deserves a life of greater luxury than the one...

An example of foreshadowing in "The Necklace" has to do with the necklace itself. One day, Mathilde's husband brings home an invitation to "an evening reception at the Ministerial Mansion." Once...

Three character traits that Madame Loisel possesses that are easily apparent when reading the short story "The Necklace" is she is ungrateful, selfish, and greedy. No matter what her poor, loving...

It is ironic that Mathilde, who prides herself on her beauty and who requires expensive things to feel truly elegant, chooses a cheap imitation diamond necklace to complement her dress—and doesn't...

I think many readers over the years have asked themselves the same question as yours. In fact, I have often thought that it was foolish for the Loisels to try to find a duplicate of the lost...

There are essentially only three characters in Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace." Of the three, only Mathilde Loisel is a dynamic character. The others, Matilde's husband and Madame...

Some of the examples of symbolism in "The Necklace" are: The necklace is a symbol of wealth and power for Madame Loisel. This represents a world she longs to be in but will never be...

In "The Necklace," Monsieur Loisel is portrayed as a selfless, humble man, who is willing to make sacrifices to please his entitled wife and protect his reputation. Unlike his materialistic,...

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author gives the reader a hint of what is to come later in the story. In Guy De Maupassant's short story "The Necklace," he foreshadows Mathilde...

To answer this question, we first need to define alliteration and discuss its purpose. In a nutshell, alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in words that are next to each other or...

Monsieur Loisel wants to please his wife, who he loves, whereas Madame Loisel is self-absorbed and indifferent to her husband. He has married a beautiful wife, who he sees as a prize, whereas she...

When Madame Loisel is at the party, she is described as "drunk on pleasure." Madame Loisel is not literally drunk of course, but the metaphor conveys just how much she was enjoying herself at the...

Madame Loisel feels that she was born for luxury. She is a beautiful woman and believes that she should be living an aristocratic life, draped in fine clothes, jewels and furs. She imagines...

Mathilde's central problem is that she believes that she deserves a life which is markedly more affluent than the one she has achieved. The story opens by noting Mathilde's beauty and charm, yet...

After working for a decade to repay their debt, the Loisels have finally accomplished their goal. Mathilde Loisel wears the visible effects of her labors; she now looks old and haggard with...

Mathilde Loisel is unhappy with her life at the beginning of "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant because she has been unhappy with her circumstances virtually since she was born. The first lines of...

The author’s purpose in the necklace is to persuade readers to be true to themselves. The author’s purpose is usually to inform, entertain or persuade. In fiction, the author’s purpose is related...

In Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace," an entitled woman named Mathilde Loisel is married to a humble clerk who works at the Ministry of Public Instruction, and she is dissatisfied with...

"The Necklace" is a study of the pitfalls of having a shallow character and a shallow set of values. Madame Loisel is the kind of person destined for unhappiness, because she will never be...

Working ten long years to replace the necklace she lost, Madame Loisel has greatly aged. She runs into Madame Forestier and decides to explain why she looks so much older than she used to look:...

In Guy de Maupassant's celebrated short story "The Necklace," Mathilde Loisel is portrayed as a superficial, materialistic woman, who resents marrying a lowly clerk and desires to enjoy a luxurious...

In line with the above answer, it seems only just and reasonable that Madame Forestier should give the Loisels the replacement necklace and that they would sell it in order to have a little...

Guy de Maupassant's short story The Necklace relates Mathilde Loisel’s dissatisfaction with her economic status in life. The story is set in Paris, France toward the end of the nineteenth century....

I would say that there are two main ideas in De Maupassant's story and both are entwined and reinfoce one another. The questions to be considered are: what is beauty? and what is wealth? For...

In direct characterization, an author simply states the personality traits and appearances of a character, and a reader isn't asked to make any inferences with given information. For example, the...

Both Mathilde and Della are young, attractive women who occupy the lower-middle class and are married to relatively poor men. Mathilde and Della also experience economic issues and desire to attain...

In Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace," Mathilde Loisel borrows and loses Madame Forestier's diamond necklace and spends tens years working to replace the expensive piece of jewelry,...

When Monsieur Loisel returns home one evening, he triumphantly presents his superficial, ungrateful wife with a printed card and exclaims that they have been invited to an exclusive ball at the...

First off, check this site for examples of explanations of tone and mood in "The Necklace." I've given links below. The tone of the story is the author's attitude toward his subject. In this...

Because of the setting, Mathilde is quite limited in her financial capabilities. The story was written in the late 1800s, and at that time, it was highly uncommon for women to find employment...

Madame Loisel is unhappy with her life because she was born poor when she feels as if she should have been rich. Madame Loisel is a middle class woman, who for some reason feels that she should...

In analyzing the motivation or inspiration for the writing of the short story 'The Necklace' by Guy De Maupassant, it is worth remembering that sometimes, after scrutinzing all the background to a...

“The Necklace” is a tale of a woman who has all she needs, but is not satisfied. It is the story of a young French woman named Mathilde Loisel who was born beautiful, but not born rich. Mathilde...

A metaphor is a type of comparison, when you are using one thing to stand for something else. There can be simple metaphors, such as a comparison within a sentence, and conceptual metaphors, where...

One large metaphor from the story is the invitation that Monsieur Loisel brings home to his wife. It is literally a ticket into a party where all the "really big people" will be, but it is...

De Maupassant's "The Necklace" has at least a few messages a reader can take from it. Madame Loisel is a good example of how not to conduct one's life. She has a sense of entitlement based upon...

The complication that causes the conflict in "The Necklace" is for Madame Loisel to find the things in life that will make her fit into a higher social class. This is based on material...

Imagery is description using any of the five senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Much, though not all, of the imagery in this story is visual, showing Mrs. Loisel's obsession with...

Madame Forestier is a good friend of Mathilde's who has risen above Mathilde in social status. Despite this discrepancy in their wealth, Madame Forestier does not hesitate to help Mathilde when...

The story goes back and forth between background narration and dramatic narration of the events surrounding the necklace. The background narration is supplied by an omniscient narrator. This...