The Necklace Plot Analysis Maupassant Literary Structure

Mathilde vs. society: society perceives status based on birth, good breeding, and wealth.

Mathilde was born in a middle-class family; she was married to a clerk, she loses the necklace, which forces her to work for it for ten years.

Mathilde is not satisfied with her life. She desires a luxurious lifestyle, which only leads to more problems when she loses the necklace.

Mathilde gets what she deserves for the attitude she had before. She really suffers. She suffers terribly for believing that she could only be happy with material things and a luxurious life.

Still, her life changes for the better, and she grows by changing into an industrious and humble woman who is no longer concerned with the good things she doesn’t have. She stops fantasizing about being rich and starts working hard. Hence, losing the necklace might have served as an eye-opener for her.

Mathilda eventually tells Madame. Forestier the truth about the necklace.

Madame. Forestier is initially shocked but also sympathizes with the misery of her friend.

She then tells Mathilda that that was a fake and it only cost about five hundred francs.

Mathilda’s husband is invited to a party by Madame. Ramponneau and the Education Minister. Mathilda complains that she doesn\\\\\\\'t have anything to wear for the party. The husband gives her the money he has been saving to buy a gun. She then goes ahead to borrow a necklace from Madame. Forestier for the party. The necklace gets lost. They decide to lie to the friend about the necklace. Thus, they give up their house and live tough in hardship and poverty to replace the necklace.

a). Setting: around the 19th century, Paris, France, Loisel’s house, Madame. Forestier, party at the Ministry of Education

b). characters: Madame. Mathilde Loisel, Monsieur. Loisel, Madame. Forestier.

c). Main Conflict: Madame. Loisel is dissatisfied with the life she has. She believes that she needs material wealth to be happy and would do anything to have that.

“The Necklace” is set in Paris, France, around the nineteenth century. The author uses the story’s setting to create a juxtaposition by comparing Madame. Loisel’s home with the comfortable home of her friend Madame Forestier, who is wealthy. Loisel’s apartment is in the Rue des Martyrs and is dull and shabby. She, therefore, grieves over her pathetic apartment and how worn-out the chairs look, how shabby the whole apartment is, and how ugly the draperies are (De Maupassant).

A protagonist character is the clear center of the story to whom significant events affect. In this story, this character role is played by Mathilde Loisel. She is endowed with physical beauty. However, she lacks the wealthy lifestyle she longs for and is therefore discontented with her current life. She even believes she wasn’t made for that kind of life. When they are invited to a party, she isn’t willing to go with her husband’s idea to use a flower since she doesn’t have any jewelry to attend the party. She then borrows a piece of the necklace from her wealthy friend Madame. Forestier, which she loses. To replace this piece, she and her husband have to work for ten years to pay for the lost necklace. Hence, her discontent costs them their happiness in the future.

While Mathilde Loisel is the protagonist of the story, she is also considered the story’s antagonist. She is an enemy of herself because she is dissatisfied with her life. She is proud and longs for the fine things that neither she nor her husband can afford (De Maupassant). Her desire for the good things and the luxurious lifestyle makes her an enemy of herself. However, the necklace can also be considered a non-human antagonist since the central conflict revolves around it, resulting from Mathilde’s desire. Hence, she is still to blame. Thus, the conflict that exists in the story is individual versus self.

Flat

A flat character is ideally a one-dimensional character. In this story, Madame. Forester fits the role perfectly. First, the author fails to provide a lot of information about her or her role. The only information the reader knows about her is that she is wealthy, and together with Mathilde, they both went to the convent. She also doesn’t do much in the story (De Maupassant).

Round

This refers to a character fully affected by the story’s events and eventually changes by learning, growing, or deteriorating. Thus, Madame. Mathilde is also a round character because the most significant events in the story seem to affect her. She asks her friend to lend her a necklace to fit in amongst the wealthy. When she loses it, she is forced to leave her house, the result being her experiencing a difficult life that eventually changes her outlook on life.

A static character does not necessarily undergo any significant change throughout the whole story. In this case, Monsieur Loisel fits this character description nicely. He is portrayed as a suffering character who has to constantly cater to the fancies and whims of his wife, Mathilde. When the story begins, he uses the money he saved for a gun to buy her a dress for the party (De Maupassant). Mathilde still complaints that she doesn’t have any jewelry to wear the dress with. He asks her to borrow her wealthy friend a necklace, which she does and later loses. He then tells her to lie that it is broken and raises a loan to replace the lost necklace. He seems not to learn from past events and does everything he can to satisfy his wife’s fancies. Thus, he doesn’t undergo much change. In a way, Madame. Forestier is also a static character.

A dynamic character transforms throughout the story and finally grows, meaning their life changes for the better. In this story, Mathilde is potentially a round character. At the end of the story, she learns and grows by changing into a dynamic and humble woman who is no longer concerned with the good things she doesn’t have. She stops fantasizing about being rich and starts working hard. After she lost the necklace, she had to forego her lifestyle and lose her bad attitude. Experiencing hardships and poverty serve as her eye-opener. Thus, she changes positively, hence a dynamic character.