"The Necklace" by Maupassant depicts the main character, Mathilde, as a woman who dreams of a high societal fantasy trapped in a middle class reality. Mathilde's constant desire for wealth and sense of entitlement results in life altering consequences, verifying the irony of the overall short story. Mathilde's true character is revealed through a series of literary devices including, but not limited to vivid imagery, slight foreshadowing, and insightful context of the story. Mathilde Loisel embodies the idea that the obsession with wealth can ultimately lead to the destruction of one's identity. 

The vivid imagery of "The Necklace" forces the reader to get an early grasp on the intended mood of the short story. "The Necklace" opens with a description of a beautiful woman who, by the misfortune of her lineage, was born into a family of clerks (Maupassant 33). Mathilde Loisel expresses jealousy towards others because she is enveloped in the high society wealth that she does not have. At the beginning of the story, there are reoccurring negative images seen in the introduction that impose a resentful mood towards Mathilde. For example on page 33, "She always thought of the long salons fatted up with ancient silk, of the delicate furniture carrying priceless curiosities,   and of talks at five o'clock with intimate friends, with men famous and sought after, whom all woman envy and whose attention they all desire" (Maupassant). At this point, there is a loss of sympathy for Mathilde because she has a perfectly good life, but refuses to be content.

As the story unveils, Maupassant introduces another character to the story, Mathilde's husband, whose purpose in this story is to serve as Mathilde's foil. On page 34, Loisel humbly services his wife by not only obtaining an invitation to a ball, but also spending money on a dress (Maupassant 34-35). When one compares Mathilde to her husband he can see how much more horrible of a person Mathilde. The use of a foil makes Mathilde's character more developed which creates a more dramatic statement for the satirical ending of this story.

During the scene where Mathilde picks out the necklace for the ball, Maupassant uses foreshadowing to hint at events to come. As Mathilde goes about picking the fine jewelry, she is very selective and acts superior to even her close friend who lent her the necklace, Mme. Forestier. When Mathilde came across the piece that she wanted Maupassant says that she was "lost in ecstasy at the sight of herself, asking her friend, 'Can I borrow this and return it to you?'" (Maupassant 35). Maupassant's intentional description of Mathilde's encounter with the necklace makes the reader second guess why Mme. Forestier gave so freely to Mathilde. Also from earlier in the story, Mathilde does not pay attention to the quality of objects, but only whether or not it looks expensive. 

Other techniques used include context and hyperboles that further support Mathilde's obsession with wealth. One can identify that the women of this time period associated wealth with clothing items such as extravagant wool coats. Mathilde is so hardheaded that she refuses to wear her underprivileged coat because she does not want to look poor in front of others (Maupassant 36). This small detail not only contrasts the high societal woman to Mathilde, but also gives historical context, inferring that a characteristic of wealthy for woman was fur coats. Another literary device used in "The Necklace" is hyperboles to show how exaggerated Mathilde's personality really is. When Mathilde returned home from the ball she realized that she lost the necklace and just the sheer shock on her face caused her to age five years (Maupassant 37). This use of a hyperbole illustrates Mathilde's fixation with being rich to the point that she looks aged just from her traumatic experience.

Fortunately, the short story ends with a twist that is not only ironic, but also well deserved. Mathilde and her devoted husband end up spending the next ten years of their life's trying to pay back a storekeeper who sold the "same" necklace as Mme. Forestier. Once they had gathered all of the money, they returned the necklace and told Mme. Forestier that they had to replace the necklace. However, the necklace that they had to work to pay off was way more expensive than the fake necklace that Mme. Forestier let Mathilde borrow (Maupassant 38-39). This story has an ironic ending because Mathilde was so caught up in trying to be somebody that she was not for a party that lasted one night. Mathilde had to work for ten years to pay for the necklace, and ended up being poorer than she was before. If Mathilde would have been up front about losing the necklace, then she wouldn't have had to spend so much of her life trying to pay Mme. Forestier back. This short story shows how a small lie can create so many setbacks in life.

The paradoxical significance within this text is that the original purpose of the necklace was to improve the appearance of her social status when in reality the necklace is the source of Mathilde's destruction. Mathilde's neurotic thoughts about living a wealthier lifestyle along with her negative actions toward her husband represent pride. As the story continues, the reader sees that Mathilde is put on a pedestal at the ball and is infatuated with her own beauty. Finally, Mathilde's life takes a turn for the worst and is the poison of her own self ruin. A valuable lesson that can be learned is that sometimes one is better off with what they have rather than trying to be someone that they are not. "The Necklace" proves to be a great moral story that most people can relate to today. It is fascinating how the ethical take away from "The Necklace" still relevant to modern culture. At the end of the day, everyone is drawn to something materialistic and often times culture is still filled with individuals who have become consumed with wealth. Mathilde's level of desperation for a different lifestyle makes the reader question whether or not it was fate that Mathilde never made it out of the lineage of clergyman.  

