The Necklace

When I first started reading “The Necklace” I thought it would be a story about a special necklace and what it meant to someone, which was partially true. The title was difficult to interpret because it didn’t mention if the necklace was made of diamonds, gold, or if the jewelry was a family heirloom. If I had written the story, I may have named it “Women Should Be Satisfied with What They Have” or “Mathilde Learns a Lesson about Happiness.” But how catchy is that? The title helped me determine the theme by its plainness. A necklace is simply a material object, hardly enough to make somebody happy. If it was a story about a pair of earrings, it may have had the same effect. I believe there are two themes to “The Necklace”. The first theme implies that women are never satisfied and the second theme seems to be a lesson about being happy with the things you have.

In the beginning of the story, it describes Mme. Loisel and how arrogant she seemed. Passages such as “she let herself be married to a little clerk” and “she suffered ceaselessly,” lead the reader to surmise her superciliousness. It is apparent that she considered her husband unworthy of her greatness and also implied she would never be content with what she had. Mme. Loisel longed to be envied, to be charming, and to be sought after even though the narrator describes her as pretty and charming in the first paragraph. Throughout the story, Mathilde felt disdain, made a violent effort, grieved of not already having status, and was humiliated because she “looked” poor. Her only happiness came in the form of wearing an elegant dress, attending an important event and wearing a beautiful necklace borrowed from her rich friend.

The narrator made an important effort to talk about Mathilde’s discontent before she lost the necklace. De Maupassant only mentioned Mr. Loisel’s emotions twice so clearly his feelings aren’t that important to the story. If Mr. Loisel’s despondency had been described as incessantly as Mrs. Loisel’s, then “The Necklace” might have been related to both men and women. By mostly speaking of a woman’s discontent and correlating her happiness to material things such as a pretty dress or a necklace (both feminine) indicate