Student Question
What was your reaction to the ending of "The Necklace"?
Quick answer:
The ending of "The Necklace" is surprising and rich with situational irony. It highlights a lesson learned by Mathilde, who discovers that the necklace she replaced was originally a fake. Her desire for wealth and status led her to a life of poverty due to her pride. The irony lies in both the fake necklace and Mathilde's superficiality at the party, teaching her to appreciate what she had. Maupassant's conclusion effectively underscores this moral lesson.
The ending was indeed a surprise and full of layers of situational irony . I liked the ending because it really demonstrated a lesson learned for Mathilde. One point of irony from the ending is that Mathilde replaced Mme. Forestier's necklace with a fake. Another is that Mathilde wanted so badly to be rich, famous, refined, and liked or envied by all. She was a very proud woman- too proud to admit that she had lost the necklace- which would have ultimately saved her from reducing her life to poverty and coarseness. A final layer of irony we find in the ending is that Mme. Forestier's diamond was fake just like Mathilde was a social fake at the party. She definitely learned that she should be content with what she has because things can always be worse and she had to learn the lesson in the most difficult way possible....
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I like Maupassant's ending because it stresses this lesson so much.