This paper presents a structured plot map analysis of Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace." It identifies and examines the story's external and internal conflicts, traces the narrative arc from exposition through climax to resolution, and analyzes the major characters — including Mathilde Loisel as both protagonist and antagonist. The paper also discusses the story's setting in nineteenth-century Paris, its third-person limited point of view, and the character types (flat, round, static, and dynamic) at work in the narrative. A brief reflection compares the experience of reading the story against the process of building the plot map.
Mathilde vs. society: society perceives status based on birth, good breeding, and wealth.
Mathilde was born into a middle-class family and was married to a clerk. She loses the necklace, which forces her to work to replace 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 suffers the consequences of the attitude she held before losing the necklace. 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 transforming into an industrious and humble woman who is no longer preoccupied with the comforts she does not have. She stops fantasizing about being rich and starts working hard. Losing the necklace, therefore, may have served as an eye-opener for her.
Mathilde 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 reveals to Mathilde that the necklace was a fake and cost only about five hundred francs.
Mathilde's husband is invited to a party by Madame Ramponneau and the Education Minister. Mathilde complains that she has nothing suitable to wear. Her husband gives her the money he had been saving to buy a gun so she can purchase a dress. She then borrows a necklace from Madame Forestier for the party. The necklace is lost. The couple decides to lie to Madame Forestier about it and sacrifices their home, living in hardship and poverty for years in order to replace it.
a) Setting: Around the nineteenth century, Paris, France — the Loisel household, Madame Forestier's home, and the party at the Ministry of Education.
b) Characters: Madame Mathilde Loisel, Monsieur Loisel, and 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 attain it.
"The Necklace" is set in Paris, France, around the nineteenth century. The author uses the story's setting to create a juxtaposition by contrasting Madame Loisel's home with the comfortable home of her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier. Loisel's apartment is located in the Rue des Martyrs and is described as dull and shabby. She grieves over her dreary apartment — the worn-out chairs, the shabbiness of the rooms, and the ugliness of the draperies (De Maupassant).
A protagonist is the clear center of the story — the character whom significant events most directly affect. In this story, that role is played by Mathilde Loisel. She is endowed with physical beauty but lacks the wealthy lifestyle she longs for, and is therefore deeply discontented with her current life. She believes she was not meant for such an ordinary existence. When the couple is invited to a party, she refuses her husband's suggestion to wear flowers in place of jewelry. She borrows a necklace from her wealthy friend Madame Forestier, which she subsequently loses. To replace it, she and her husband must work for ten years. Her discontent ultimately costs them both their future happiness.
While Mathilde Loisel is the protagonist, she also functions as the story's antagonist. She is her own enemy because she is perpetually dissatisfied with her life. She is proud and longs for fine things that neither she nor her husband can afford (De Maupassant). Her desire for luxury makes her an obstacle to her own well-being. The necklace itself can also be considered a non-human antagonist, since the central conflict revolves around it — though that conflict ultimately stems from Mathilde's own desires. The primary conflict in the story is therefore individual versus self.
A flat character is a one-dimensional figure who does not undergo significant development. In this story, Madame Forestier fits that role. The author provides very little information about her background or inner life. The reader knows only that she is wealthy and that she and Mathilde attended the same convent together. She plays a limited role in the plot's events (De Maupassant).
A round character is one who is fully affected by the story's events and ultimately changes — whether by learning, growing, or deteriorating. Mathilde Loisel is also a round character. The most significant events of the story center on her. She borrows the necklace to fit in among the wealthy at the party, loses it, is forced to leave her home, and endures years of difficult labor — an experience that fundamentally changes her outlook on life.
A static character does not undergo any significant change throughout the story. Monsieur Loisel fits this description well. He is portrayed as a long-suffering husband who continually indulges his wife's whims. At the story's opening, he uses money he had saved for a gun to buy her a dress for the party (De Maupassant). When Mathilde complains she has no jewelry, he suggests she borrow from Madame Forestier. After the necklace is lost, he advises Mathilde to claim it is broken and takes out loans to replace it. He appears not to learn from these events and does everything he can to satisfy his wife's demands, undergoing little personal change. In a similar respect, Madame Forestier may also be regarded as a static character.
A dynamic character transforms throughout the course of a story, ultimately growing in a meaningful way. In this story, Mathilde is the prime example. By the story's end, she has grown into a hardworking and humble woman who is no longer consumed by envy for things she does not have. She stops fantasizing about wealth and begins working diligently. After losing the necklace, she is compelled to abandon her former lifestyle and attitude entirely. The experience of hardship and poverty serves as her awakening. Her transformation is genuine and positive, making her a fully realized dynamic character.
"Third-person limited narration centered on Mathilde"
"Student reflection on plot mapping as a reading tool"
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