The Necklace Character Analysis

703 Words2 Pages

Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” has a strong feature of the materialistic behavior in a person. The story is about a rapacious woman, named Mathilde, who wanted everything she could not have. Monsieur Loisel, Mathilde’s husband, worked as a clerk and constantly tried to please Mathilde’s unrealistic wishes. He worked hard to pull some strings and receive tickets to the ball, but Mathilde was not pleased because she did not have the “proper” dress. Throughout the story Guy de Maupassant showed a great amount of characterization and irony. Mathilde Loisel, the protagonist in “The Necklace”, has often been viewed as a greedy woman because she was never pleased; she experienced such a huge conflict, which she became selfless shortly after, and …show more content…

Guy De Maupassant points out how, “Matilda works so hard that she loses her beauty” (Explanation of). The ten years of hard labor made her question herself about the selfish ways she used to perform. If Mathilde would of acted selfless in the beginning she wouldn’t be in the situation she caused by her greediness. The transition from such a greedy girl to a selfless woman proved how Mathilde was a dynamic character in “The Necklace”. Mathilde chose not to have a social life after the necklace incident, because she worked hard to pay the new necklace off. Maupassant proved Mathilde changed by showing, “both he and Mathilde expend a great deal of energy in repaying their debt; Monsieur Loisel is even forced to take on extra work in his free time” (Overview). By the end of the ten years, Mathilde realized that being rich was not everything; she changed for the better. Guy De Maupassant showed all different types of literary terms in a brilliant and creative way; characterization is a huge on that stuck out. Readers were able to follow the system Mathilde was changed throughout the story. She was shown as the protagonist, and was viewed as a greedy woman. Due to her never being pleased, she experienced a life changing conflict. Eventually, she became selfless and proved how she is a dynamic

Open Document