The Necklace is a story that can be interpreted in many ways. Maupassant brought a masterpiece, and it is our job to see what lies inside of it. The story and the characters can reflect Maupassant own childhood. In addition, it can show how cruel and hard life was in the nineteenth century.

 Mme. Loisel, the main character, has characteristics that show less sympathy toward her. She is a pessimistic woman. She sees herself on higher level in the hierarchy staircase. She does not speak up on what is in her mind  --  which, ironically, made her not to tell her friend about the lost necklace and ruined ten years of her life. She might not deserve what happened to her, but she never appreciated what she possesses unlike her husband. He is a down-to-earth person that he puts his wife's priority before his and is satisfied with what he owns. 

Mathlide thought that happiness came through money. In fact, she thought that not having a luxurious life is a disgrace. When she had the necklace and the dress that empowered her with happiness, she thought she had reached the rank that she always fantasized. However, when she lost the necklace and worked to repay it, she started to appreciate what little she had, the food, a home, and a loving husband, was worth a lot more than how she saw it. This contradicts her friend, Mme. Forestier.  

Maupassant's story has many key elements to what his life was. Maupassant lived in poverty. These word choices and the description of "every poor girl's dream" are what Maupassant dreamt regardless of the content. The narrator shares his childhood story but in a form of a female. This gives a more emotional tone and reaches to the heart instantly. 

 He prepares the reader to anticipate a twist but hides where it will be. When he mentions Mme. Loisel's friend in the beginning "She had a friend, a former schoolmate at the convent, who was rich, and whom she did not like to go and see any more ..." ; he does not continue talking about her friend. Maupassant describes Mme. Loisel's imagination that there is a particular touch in the story from the author's personal life "She thought of the long salons fatted up with ancient silk ..." . Another interpretation that might urge at the time the story published, since it was in the nineteenth century, women did not work for success in their own. The majority of the women's lifestyle depends on their husband. Therefore, we see that Mathlide fantasy did not translate to reality and could not do but fantasize.  

Maupassant's writing is direct. That is why he wrote the story in a third-person view. This obligates the wider view and shows facts not opinions "She would so have liked to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after." . Furthermore, verbs that he uses are in the past tense often to express the compilation of what happened because of the action that happened before it "She thought pf the silent antechambers hung with oriental tapestry..." .

The setup of the story and word choice makes a great influence to the story. Maupassant uses repetition of words to prominence. "She thought of the silent antechambers hung with oriental tapestry... She thought of the long salons fatted up with ancient silk...". The writer uses the word "thought" to emphasize how deep Mathlide's imagination goes. Another example is the word "she," Maupassant uses it as an initial word in the first few paragraphs to show that the story revolves around Mme. Loisel. The plot of the story moves on a very fast timeline, which requires the story to be in a passive voice as Maupassant did. Having an active passive tense keeps the reader involved in the story as time passes quickly from an evening to ten years. The tone of the story is set on pessimism "She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls, from the worn-out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains". He uses words like "poverty" and "ugliness" to highlight how the character (Mathlide) has no satisfaction to what she has. On the contrast, inside Mathlide imagination, the tone lightened up "she thought of dainty dinner, of shining silverware...". The use of details shows how high valued is money to Mathlide and the appreciation to herself. 

The necklace symbolizes wealth that Mathlide had for one night. Her definition of wealth was all demolished when she learns that the necklace is fake. The necklace reflected her dream of wealth. Having wealth is not worth the trouble, any more than the false necklace, which cost ten years of poverty. The necklace gave Mathlide what she always dreamed for one night. Her dream came at a price that she never anticipated. On the other hand, the fact that the jewelry is fake shows the same analogy to Mathlide. She pretended to be wealthy for one night and prestigious while she is, in fact, a clerk's wife with borrowed jewelry.

What is interesting about The Necklace is that Maupassant does not give the moral of the story. He gives the reader the freedom to interpret it in different perspectives. There is no complexity in the story or paradoxes which makes this story stands out from many similar plot stories. 
