"The Necklace" is a story about a poor unknown lady, named Mme. Loisel wo is invited to a ball. Throughout the story, there is a theme of elegance and its importance to Mme. Loisel. Mme. Loisel gets discouraged when invited to the ball because she does not have anything nice to wear. In then she is reminded of a friend, Mme. Forestier who is very wealthy. Mme. Loisel borrows a very elegant necklace from Mme. Forestier and ends up losing it at the ball. She then has to work the rest of her life in order to repay the new necklace she returned to Mme. Forestier. Close reading of this story shows how she views extreme places and materialistic objects such as the necklace. Through the story, Mme. Loisel had no means of being known by a wealthy man, she wanted others to look up to her, and she began to feel different emotions when she saw the necklace for the first time. What Mme. Loisel learns is that being very wealthy does not mean that everything they have is very expensive, and it is very possible to make cheaper things look elegant.

From the beginning, it is apparent that Mme. Loisel is not very well off: "She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood, loved, wedded, by any rich and distinguished man; and that she let herself be married to a little clerk at the Ministry of Public Instruction" (Maupassant 21-22). Mme. Loisel did not have any expectation to have a rich man know her at all. This part of the story explains that by saying she does not think a rich man will even know her. It continues by saying that she cannot be understood until she is known. Then she cannot be loved until she is understood and not wedded until she is loved. She did not think any of these things were possible so she let herself be married to a teacher at the Ministry of Public Instruction. The Public Instruction is a school system where her husband works, teachers do not make a very high salary, which is why Mme. Loisel let herself be married to him; she did not think it was going to do better.  

Mme. Loisel is angry that she does not own very nice things such as curtains, clothing, and furniture in her house. She has always wanted to be a wealthy young woman who people look up too. Mme. Loisel's husband makes the best of the money they have. One night when he got home he said "Ah, the good pot-au-feu! I don't know anything better than that" (Maupassant, 22). He is okay with there financial status and does not need money to be happy. Having the same dinner every night is not negative for him because he is satisfied with the way he lives. Although Mme. Loisel feels different, one of her former schoolmates was very wealthy, Mme. Forestier and Mme. Loisel did not like to be around her often because she suffered and was not as wealthy.

Mme. Loisel loved jewels and dresses, but did not have any. She had always dreamed of being envied, idolized, and charming. She wants people to envy her and wants them to want to be just like her. She wants people to think that she is a charming person by her wealthy personality and someone that everyone loved and wanted to be around. She wanted to be idolized  because of her beauty with all her expensive gowns and jewels.

When Mme. Loisel's husband came home very excited it was because he had got her an invitation to the ball. Mme. Loisel became discouraged because she did not have any expensive clothing or jewels and she did not want to look poor. Mme. Loisel did not think of her options until her husband suggested her friend Mme. Forestier. He realized she did not have any jewels, and he knew Mme. Forestier was wealthy and could possibly lend her something very expensive and elegant in. 

Mme. Loisel went to Mme. Forestiers one day to pick something out that she would feel wealthy and beautiful in. Mme. Forestier was kind enough to let her choose any jewel she wanted. Mme. Loisel did not like any until she found a satin box. "In a black satin box, a superb necklace of diamonds, and her heart began to beat with an immoderate desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She fastened it around her throat, outside her high-necked dress, and remained lost in ecstasy at the sight of herself" (Maupassant, 24). The word ecstasy shows her excitement, how much she really loves it, and how she would be upset if she ever lost it. She did not think she could look this outstanding and wealthy. This necklace was in a very expensive box that leads Mme. Loisel to believe it is real diamonds, which would be very expensive. Mme. Forestier did not mind at all and let her borrow it. Mme. Forestier saw pearls and stones at first but was very hesitant. Most of the expensive jewels were all together and the elegant looking necklace that Mme. Loisel chose was on its own. Mme. Loisel felt very elegant when she put it on and knew that she would fit in with all the other women.

During the ball, Mme. Loisel was very excited, she believed she finally had looked and felt very elegant and pretty. She felt as though she was being viewed as a wealthy woman rather a poor woman. At four a.m., she left the ball and noticed she no longer had the necklace on, it was gone. She bought a new necklace for Mme. Forestier without her knowing the real truth about what happened. 

For ten years, Mme. Loisel worked to repay the elegant necklace she borrowed from Mme. Forestier. She changed her way of life and began doing heavy housework. Although she was not very old, she looked old. Some evenings Mme. Loisel would look back at that evening and realize how beautiful and elegant she felt. She thought of the first time she saw the necklace and how much she really loved it. She thought of the way all the other wealthy women looked up to her and felt as though she finally fit in. She viewed wealth and beauty as a very important part of her life.

On her day off, Mme. Loisel went for a walk and came upon Mme. Forestier. When she approached Mme. Forestier, Mme. Loisel was not recognized because of how much she aged. When Mme. Loisel told Mme. Forestier what happened, she came to find that the necklace was worth no more then 500 francs. She was wearing the necklace that night of the ball and it was not expensive, although it did look very elegant, it was worth almost nothing. She looked and felt just as beautiful in something that was not expensive rather then something that was. It taught her that she did not have to be extremely wealthy in order to own expensive looking items.

The way Mme. Loisel viewed elegant things was very different then Mme. Forestier did. Mme. Loisel did not realize she could feel just as beautiful in something that was not expensive. She was still looked up to and envied as a charming young lady at the ball that night, and she was not wearing anything overly expensive like the rest of the ladies. The story shows that if someone is wealthy, it does not mean that everything they have is expensive.

