Student Question
What does "petulantly" mean in paragraph 10 of "The Necklace"?
Quick answer:
In "The Necklace," "petulantly" refers to behaving rudely or irritably, especially over minor issues. In paragraph 10, Madame Loisel responds to her husband's invitation to a fancy party by tossing it across the table petulantly, showing childish irritation rather than the expected delight. Her reaction reflects her dissatisfaction with her life circumstances, as she feels entitled to luxury and prestige but is instead unpredictably peevish and ungrateful.
To be petulant means to be rude in one's speech or behavior, and it can describe someone who is marked by a temporary or unpredictable irritability produced by something seemingly small or insignificant. In the story, Madame Loisel is provoked by the invitation that her husband has procured to a fancy party from the Minister of Education and his wife.
Monsieur Loisel expects his wife to be delighted, as she is someone who has always felt that she was destined to enjoy all the luxuries and prestige that life has to offer and that only the circumstances of her birth and marriage have kept her from them. However, she is upset, and she flings the invitation across the table "petulantly"—in a childish way. She is not grateful for his efforts; rather, she is irritated when she ought to be happy and unpredictably peevish when she ought to be grateful.
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