Essay/Term paper: "the necklace": the development of irony

Essay, term paper, research paper:  World Literature

"The Necklace": The Development of Irony


by Kimberly Ednie
Mrs. Connolly
ENC 1102 M-W-F 9:00AM
Short Story Essay
January 29, 1997


Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" is situational irony written in 1884.
The story was written in a time when there were very distinct social classes
primarily determined by one's birth. It is about a woman who can not come to
terms with her position in the middle class. Although she knows she can not
escape her class, she refuses to accept it gracefully. It is through Matilde
that Maupassant develops the story's irony. This is reflected through
Matilde's daydreaming, which only serves to torment her, the loss of the
necklace borrowed for show, which only worsens their economic position, and
finally, their unnecessary sacrifice.

The irony begins with Matilde's frequent daydreaming. She is a beautiful
and charming woman who feels "herself destined for all delicacies and luxuries"
(4). Fate, however, placed her among the middle class where life was very
simple. For her, the only means to a more affluent class was through her
imagination. She dreams of "large silent anterooms, expensive silks and of
achievement and fame that would make her the envy of all other women" (4). What
she fails to realize is that these daydreams only make her more dissatisfied
with her real life. As a result, she becomes more focused on what she does not
have rather than what she does have.

Contributing to the irony is the borrowed necklace. Matilde's husband
brings a coveted dinner invitation home, and her first reaction is concern for
appearances. She tells her husband that they can not possibly go because she
has "nothing to wear" (5). Her husband agrees to buy her a new dress. This,
however, is not enough for Matilde; she needs jewelry. She explains that,
without jewelry, she will appear "shabby in the company of rich women" (6). In
her quest to present herself as a wealthy woman, she decided to borrow a "superb
diamond necklace" (6) from a friend. Unfortunately, upon arriving home,
Matilde noticed that the necklace was lost. When the necklace can not be found,
Matilde and her husband have no choice but to replace it. As a result,
Matilde's desire to appear part of the upper class has only succeeded in making
them part of a lower one.

Without a doubt, the most ironic part of the story is the Loisel's
unnecessary sacrifice. The Loisel's decide to replace the necklace without
telling the owner of its loss. "In a shop in the Palias-Royal, they found a
necklace that seemed to them exactly like the one they were looking for" (8).
They secure the thirty-six thousand for the necklace from Mr. Loisel's
inheritance and in the form of loans. They struggle and live in poverty for ten
years to pay off the necklace. By now, Matilde looks old. "She had become the
strong, hard, and rude woman of poor households" (9). Matilde is walking along
the Champs-Elysees when she encounters the friend who loaned her the necklace.
Her friend is shocked when Matilde finally tells her about the necklace. It is
then that Matilde learns that the necklace her and her husband toiled to replace
was only costume jewelry. Even among the rich there are apprearances to keep up.

Maupassant, through irony, shows us that in pursuit of wealth or status
it is easy to forget what one already has to appreciate. Also, appearances are
just that, no matter what class you belong to. Because Matilde did not
understand this, desire to rise above the middle class was replaced with a
desire to merely rise above poverty.