Summary:
A response on 'The Necklace' by Guy de Maupassant.
A Cinderella in Disguise
''The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant, tells a story about a woman who is in constant dissatisfaction with her low class lifestyle. She strives to achieve luxury and wealth, and when she gets to experience it for one day she becomes dishonest with herself and everyone else. When her wealthy friend, Madame Loisel, lends her the necklace, her pride takes over and she is unaware of the loss of the necklace until later. She then has to lie to her friend and spend 10 years in misery living in poverty to pay off the necklace. Perhaps the author is trying to convey to accept who you are and to be to true to yourself or else it will lead to constant unhappiness. Aside from this warning, the author also tries to warn us that excess pride may destroy your life.
Mathilde, the main character in the story is one of those girls who stare out their window and imagine how life would be with luxury, fancy dressing and being the belle of the ball, ''she imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks" (1) .She fantasizes a lot, while always complaining about her so -called horrible life while ''she suffered endlessly, feeling born for every delicacy and luxury" (1).She can't accept how she lives her life and wants to be different. When her fantasy comes true, not only is she the belle of the ball, she makes herself and everyone else believe she is wealthy and is always this luxurious, ''she was the prettiest woman present, elegant and graceful."(3)
A typical necklace symbolizes wealth, luxury, charm. In this case, this necklace symbolizes dishonesty, greed and excess pride. First off, the necklace did make her get a lot of attention at the ball, but then again it did lead her into living 10 long dreadful years paying off the necklace that wasn't even worth half the money. She made everyone believe she was wealthy and glamorous; her dissatisfaction resulted in her pride. The necklace made her realize that honesty is more important than self-pride and position. She was desperate for a Cinderella ending and she was the perfect character to portray the necklace's symbol. If she would have just accepted that she wasn't wealthy and would have told the truth to her friend about the necklace, she wouldn't have to get the true taste of living in poverty for 10 years.
This story made me think about the classic Cinderella story. Instead of the glass slipper it is replaced with the necklace. Cinderella's virtue is not recognized because of her poverty. When she does get to become the belle of the ball she loses her slipper and she is brought back into the slave that she was. Instead of Mathilde's dishonesty Cinderella appreciates that special night she got to experience and the slipper returns to her because she truly deserved it for her honesty, virtue and acceptance of who she is. The necklace was just bait for Mathilde and she took it without realizing how a piece of jewellery can change her life forever. Cinderella shares one similar quality with Mathilde. She too, is unsatisfied with her life and is the typical girl who fantasizes over living that day where wealth and luxury is brought to you. It's a life worth dreaming for, but it will only corrupt your entire view on what life is truly about.
This is the complete article, containing 566 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
