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Need help with The Necklace in Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and analysis.
Learn about the plot and themes of 'The Necklace', a famous short story by Guy de Maupassant. Find out how Mathilde Loisel loses a fake necklace and pays a high price for her vanity and greed.
Overview. “The Necklace” is a short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant, first published in 1884. It tells the story of Mathilde Loisel, a young woman who borrows a necklace from a wealthy friend to wear to a high-society event, only to lose it and spend the next ten years of her life in poverty trying to replace it.
At the end of her story, Madame Forestier clasps her hands and tells Mathilde the original necklace was just costume jewelry and not worth anything. A short summary of Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of The Necklace.
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The story centers on three characters: Mathilde Loisel, Monsieur Loisel, and Madame Forestier. Mathilde, the main character, is beautiful and social, and she wants expensive items to match her sophisticated taste. But she was born into a clerk's family and ends up marrying another clerk, so she can't afford the clothing, accessories, and household ...
Monsieur Loisel presents Mathilde with an invitation to the Ministry of Education's formal party, which he expects will make Mathilde happy because she will be able to mingle with high society. Mathilde is immediately upset, however, because she doesn't have a gown that she believes is nice enough to wear to the event. Mathilde's tears sway Monsieu...
Given its central role in the short story, the necklace is an important symbolof deception. Mathilde had dressed for the party in expensive clothes and a sparkling but borrowed accessory to briefly escape her humble life by pretending to a station she did not hold. Similarly, the jewelry represents the illusion of wealth in which Madame Forestier a...
The short story's themeinvolves the pitfalls of pride. Mathilde's pride in her beauty prompts her to buy an expensive dress and borrow seemingly expensive jewelry, which triggers her downfall. She fed her pride for one night but paid for it over the next 10 years of hardship, which destroyed her beauty. Pride also prevented her friend from acknowle...
Learn about the characters, plot, symbols, and theme of Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace". Find out how Mathilde's pride and deception lead to her downfall and how the necklace is a symbol of illusion.
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The Necklace study guide contains a biography of Guy de Maupassant, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
