The cover of Gil Blas is an illustration depicting a scene from the short story "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant. The lady and gentlemen printed are in a small room preparing for an evening ball. The short story is about a middle class lady believing she deserves the upper class lifestyle, which better suits her beauty. Her husband works hard and is content with their modest lifestyle.  The illustration interprets the husband and wife's opposing attitudes towards their modest lifestyle with the direction of lines, contrasting colors, and various textures. 

Lines connect two points and are used to direct attention to certain areas. The lines that create the walls and floors in the background are angled to direct the viewer's attention to the lady at the left side of the illustration. The lady's perfect posture is depicted by the alignment of her neck, arm, and back to the straight lines that create the frame of the mirror. Her long sleeve gown flows from her hips to the floor and contrast her impeccable posture. The skirt of the gown is outlined by curved lines and filled with paired lines in different directions. The ordered chaos formed by the paired lines and train of the gown visually creates an overall elegant appearance of the lady.  As the lady practices her appearance in the tall mirror, her sense of entitlement to a wealthier lifestyle is evident. In contrast, several lines creating the background are streaked through the husband. The lines cross out the husband in a similar manner to how the less fortunate were in this time. As the husband sits crouched over putting on his shoes, his arm visually creates a vertical line. While his right arm reaches for a boot on the ground, the left arm aids in sliding on the other shoe. The husband's multitasking and boots symbolize his hard work and comfort. The direction of the lines in the illustration symbolizes the characters attitude towards their modest lifestyle.

Color and contrast creates emphasis to parts of an illustration. The walls in the background are a very light shade of grey in the upper right hand corner and transition to a very dark grey towards the left side of the illustration. The contrast of the charcoal grey walls next to the lady's slate white gown guides the viewer's eye to the left side of the image.  In her right hand, the lady holds a lamp with a pale rose pink shade matching the rose pink chair appearing slightly to the right of the center of the illustration.  Pale pink symbolizes grace, elegance, and admiration. This symbolism represents the lady's attitude of her entitlement.  The husband's black suit contrasts the rose pink chair he is sitting in. This contrast symbolizes the husband and wife's opposite outlooks of the middle class life. The contrast of his white long sleeve shirt against the pale pink color of the chair visually creates a vertical line with his arm. While his right arm reaches for a boot on the ground, the left arm supports in sliding on the other shoe. The husband's multitasking and boots symbolize his hard work. The contrasting of color reflects the husband and wife's opposite attitudes on the middle class life and forms depth.

  Contrasting shades and textures add depth to either draw or prevent the viewer's attention. The contrasting shades of grey form a pattern with repetition of the same texture. The wall and floor patterns are coarse, while the lady's gown, chair, and mirror are smooth. The very dark and heavy line strokes surrounding the lady form a corner. In contrast to her white gown symbolizing elegance and beauty, the dark corner represents her selfish personality. Repeating light grey lines at the base of the pink chair create a lighter texture. As the husband works to get in his shoes, the light texture added to the smooth pink chair gives the appearance of wear and tear, symbolizing his hard work. The man's selflessness is also reflected by the smooth texture of the pink chair and lighter wall texture surrounding him. The contrasting colors and grey lines visually create texture and depth to the illustration.

The Necklace, a short story, is about a lady aspiring to be of the upper class all the while she is married to a middle class worker. Their opposing views can be interpreted with the illustration's design elements. The lines are streaked over the husband and point the attention to the lady. The contrasting colors imply the opposing views. Various textures used give emphasis to the focal point of the illustration. The direction of the lines, contrasting colors, and various textures depict the husband and wife's opposing views of the middle class life.

