Fashion! This seven-letter word plays a huge role in the modern society. From a salesman to a designer, every human being has a sense of individualized fashion. 'The Necklace' written by Guy de Maupassant is a short story, which is situated in Paris. Isn't this ironic? Paris is known as the capital of fashion and just the fact that this story in situated in Paris gives the readers an insight into what the story is about. This story tells a tale of a middle-class woman, Mme. Loisel who dreams of being wealthy and glamorous, but her determined desires end in disaster. By looking at the characterization, literary techniques and diction in 'The Necklace' one can see the greediness and desires of middle-class women in the 19th century. 

In this short story, the third paragraph is very significant as it gives a detail description of about Mme. Loisel's desires. From the beginning, we see that Mme. Loisel constantly complains about "wretched look of the walls, from the worn-out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains." The repetition of these hatred feelings portrays that she doesn't know the value of money and hard work. Furthermore, Mme. Loisel posits that she requires her and her house to be equally fashionable and thus representing an aristocratic look. 

Exposition is used to give a brief introduction to any work gives the reader a direction to move along with. Here by mentioning, "the sight of the little Breton peasant" in the exposition, it creates a foreshadowing element. As Mme. Loisel will be seen doing all the household work after having to forcefully dismisses the peasant due to an unfortunate misunderstood incident.

As readers, we should be able to sympathize a little with Mme. Loisel as she has to stay at home alone and do nothing where as her husband gets to go on a trip with his friends. 

Mr. Loisel wants to keep his wife happy and does everything he can to please her. However, it's not acceptable that she throws a fit about not having anything to wear instead of being excited when her husband tried so hard to get the invitation to the fancy ball. By this, we can define Mme. Loisel as a greedy person. She never seems satisfied with anything she gets, and she intentionally overstates everything boring in her life. It's as if she is convinced that she's meant to be rich, and it was just "a mistake by destiny." This allows readers to notice Mme. Loisel's importance on the social hierarchy in the 19th century. Mme. Loisel's character not only suggests of being greedy but also as a dissatisfied wife. If she wasn't dissatisfied, she wouldn't be fanaticizing about having another perfect life. Thinking about this further, Mme. Loisel is discontent with a quite a number of things in her life, including marriage, her house, her clothes, and jewelry.

Mme. Loisel is also considered as a materialistic girl. She fanaticizes about the "antechambers hung with oriental tapestry, lit by bronze candelabra...coquettish perfume's boudoirs." As all these materialistic objects are mentioned, it is obvious that Mme. Loisel is not money-obsessed, but she is more interested in the life of the rich. She sees the wealthy life as being glamorous, exciting, beautiful because "of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry which peopled the walls with ancient personages." Principally, she is trying to convey that middle-class people have a boring life whereas all affluent people have exciting lives. 

Other than being greedy and materialistic, Mme. Loisel also wants men who are rich and attractive. She quotes, "intimate friends, with men famous and sought after" to explain that she hopes to attract men and feel wanted. Mme. Loisel is aware that she has got the beauty and charm in her, but it's only that she can't afford clothes and jewelry required for the ball. If she could obtain a complete package, she would be out to experience everything to the fullest, exactly like how she does in the ball.

Throughout the story, it's noticeable that she is interested in all the expensive stuff. She exaggerates the description of all overpriced objects, as though she is detailing a fairy tale. The most significant symbol is the title itself 'The Necklace, which holds a lot of value and has great worthiness. It is this necklace that gives Mme. Loisel the best night of her life, as she whole-heartily enjoys the ball. On the other hand, the necklace completely wrecks her life unimaginably as she misplaces Mme. Forestier necklace. This story perfectly matches with the saying "What comes easy, goes easy" as seen through the actions of Mme. Loisel. 
 The themes highlight the aspects and convey the moral of a story. According to this story, pride and greed cause suffering in the future. If Mme. Loisel could have just worn flowers instead of borrowing pearls; she would have lived a happier life. Mme. Forestier necklace was worth of only 500 francs but Mme. Loisel spent a majority of her life repaying 36,000 francs to find out in the end that she replaces a fake necklace. Thus wastes the most precious years of her life that could have been spent enjoying with her husband and being able to retain her "humble peasant." This unexpected twist thrills the readers and can change the readers view on the whole story. 

This story does connect to the reality of this modern world as many escape from the difficult situations and by doing this ends up facing a weighty problem. Here the problem is that Mme. Loisel is desperate to have everything she daydreams about. Therefore, by analyzing characterization and diction; we are aware of the aristocratic demands of the 19th century. Thus bringing out the excessive desires and demands that always lead to dreadful situation in the long run.  
