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Social ambition
- “The Necklace” is, at its heart, a story about Mathilde ’s social ambition, which takes the form of a desire to acquire luxurious objects that she cannot afford. Through her ruin, Maupassant warns against the dangers of greed and criticizes those who ascribe too much value to wealth and material possessions.
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“The Necklace” is, at its heart, a story about Mathilde ’s social ambition, which takes the form of a desire to acquire luxurious objects that she cannot afford. Through her ruin, Maupassant warns against the dangers of greed and criticizes those who ascribe too much value to wealth and material possessions.
- Happiness
In “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant demonstrates the...
- Ambition, Greed, and Material Possessions
“The Necklace” is, at its heart, a story about Mathilde ’s...
- Sacrifice, Suffering, and Martyrdom
In the final section of “The Necklace,” Mathilde and her...
- Summary & Analysis
The opening lines of “The Necklace” introduce Mathilde as an...
- Plot Summary
Mathilde Loisel is the pretty and charming daughter of a...
- Happiness
Quick answer: One of the central themes of "The Necklace" is appearance versus reality. For Mathilde, the necklace symbolizes wealth, beauty, and, shame, as she loses the necklace and goes...
Nov 9, 2023 · A central theme in “The Necklace” is the exploration of unbridled ambition and desire. Mathilde Loisel’s insatiable yearning for wealth and social status drives the narrative, leading her to make choices that have far-reaching consequences.
- The Deceptiveness of Appearances
- The Danger of Martyrdom
- The Perceived Power of Objects
The reality of Mathilde’s situation is that she is neither wealthy nor part of the social class of which she feels she is a deserving member, but Mathilde does everything in her power to make her life appear different from how it is. She lives in an illusory world where her actual life does not match the ideal life she has in her head—she believes ...
Mathilde’s perception of herself as a martyr leads her to take unwise, self-serving actions. The Loisels live, appropriately, on the Rue des Martyrs, and Mathilde feels she must suffer through a life that is well beneath what she deserves. Unable to appreciate any aspect of her life, including her devoted husband, she is pained by her feeling that ...
Mathilde believes that objects have the power to change her life, but when she finally gets two of the objects she desires most, the dress and necklace, her happiness is fleeting at best. At the beginning of “The Necklace,” we get a laundry list of all the objects she does not have but that she feels she deserves. The beautiful objects in other wom...
The main themes in "The Necklace" are greed, deceptive appearances, and beauty and vanity. Greed: Mathilde Loisel's overwhelming desire to live a life of luxury blinds her to the comforts she...
In ‘The Necklace’, Guy de Maupassant explores the relationship between appearance and reality. The necklace, of course, is the most explicit example of this: it looks like a genuine diamond necklace but is actually an imitation or fake. And this final twist in the tale leads us to think more carefully about the other details of the story.
Full Text. Flashcards. 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.
