In Guy De Maupassant's "The Necklace", he uses symbolism, imagery and irony to show how arrogance and greed make people blind to what is of real importance. In Guy de Maupassant's lifetime, there was the caste system and people were either at the top of the system enjoying luxury dinners or at the bottom fighting for leftover scraps. "The Necklace" is a story that shows the harsh truth of what some think it takes to be "acceptable" in society. Throughout this story, Guy de Maupassant does a great job of portraying the importance of truth and honesty through his characters actions. If Mathilde couldn't seem to accept anyone for who they are because of what they have, she is only beating herself.  After all of Mathilde's nagging and whining she finally gets what she wants and it bites her in the butt.  Our main character Mathilde has dug herself a hole due to her greediness and now has to dig her way out for the next ten years. Guy's use of symbolism shows that evil comes in many forms. 

Blind to see how fortunate she already is, Mathilde can't keep herself from wanting more.  Mathilde idolizes the higher class but instead of taking the hard working route she takes the easy way to get what she wants. Mathilde has been middle to lower class her entire life and would do anything to jump at the chance of living the upper-class life. Mathilde has the great idea of barrowing her neighbor, Mme. Forestier's, beautiful expensive necklace for the upper-class ball she was going to attend.  Mme. Forestier is someone that Mathilde looks up to and respects because of her money and belongings.  In this story money is used as a symbol of arrogance. Although the necklace symbolizes beauty, it brings out the ugly in Mathilde. Although Mathilde may respect her neighbor because of all of her wealth, her arrogance and greed prevail and her respect goes out of the window.  Mathilde is farsighted to the things and people who are really important to her. She is even blind to see how good she actually has it and how much her husband appreciates her. She became too caught up with pretending to be upper class that she didn't take the time to notice how rich she was. Not rich with material things, no, but rich with her husbands love. He even tries to woo her with expensive dresses, "Come, let us see, Mathilde. How much would it cost, a suitable dress?" (De Maupassant 34)  Greed and arrogance pushed Mathilde to get the necklace by any means, even disregarding Mme. Forestier. After all of the deceit and stubbornness she finally gets what she wants only to lose it.  Mathilde and her husband had to work for the next ten years to pay back all of their debts; at the end of it, Mathilde had become too old and no longer beautiful.  Mathilde should have learned that the truth would set her free. Wealth is an empowering force that gives what people think are reasons to be awful, selfish and greedy.

Greed can make a monster out of everyone. Mathilde is an attractive young lady who is a part of the middle to lower class, and is caught up in what other people think of her. Once Mathilde gets what she wants of course she wants more. Mathilde herself is a symbol of greed and false pride. When Mme. Forestier kindly lends Mathilde a piece of jewelry Mathilde asks, "Haven't you any more?" showing that with a taste of wealth she already has been consumed with false pride and greed (De Maupassant 35). Greed is by far the most prevalent of the seven deadly sins, and it shines bright in this work. Mathilde is obsessed with being monetarily wealthy at one point she even says, "There's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich" depicting all she wants is to be like the rest of the people attending the ball (De Maupassant 35). This ball was a big deal to Mathilde and her husband because it wasn't every day they were invited to gatherings such as this one. The reader has to think about his or her own lives and that all of this nonsense could have been avoided with the truth.   

Maupassant uses irony through Mathilde and the necklace to show how unimportant material things are.  The thought of being beautiful by what you wear has been glamorized for centuries.  Material possessions have consumed the minds of so many individuals and Mathilde slipped right into the mix.  It is ironic how much trouble Mathilde goes through to get this non-expensive piece of jewelry to look so "beautiful" and then spends the next ten years wasting her own money to become old and ugly. Mathilde does everything in her power to obtain this beautiful necklace and then she loses it.  She wastes her beauty and youth away after spending so many years trying to find the necklace that she longed for so long that she is even unrecognizable to Mme. Forestier, "Oh, my poor Mathilde! How you are changed!" (Maupassant 39). Even after all of these years she still tries to blame others for her misfortune, "Yes, I have had days hard enough, since I have seen you, days wretched enough--- and that because of you!" (Maupassant 39).  Greed is the root of all evil, without having to pay the thirty-six thousand francs to replace the misplaced necklace Mathilde and her family would have had a much better life. Because of Mathilde's selfishness she stepped on everyone she cares about to be beautiful for one night only to become old and ugly in the end.  At the end of this story everything from money to the greediness was put into perspective for Mathilde.    

"The Necklace" shows the many qualities our society presents such as beauty, jealousy, greed, and wealth. These qualities, although not all good ones to have, are qualities that a lot of people possess.  Through Guy de Maupassant's usage of symbolism, imagery and irony he connects with the new age era showing the many similarities between his generation and this generation.  It is more respectable to be who you are and wear your colors proudly than to be deceitful and pretend to be something that you are not.  A big lesson in this story and something that Mathilde should have been told at a younger age is that what goes around comes around.  No matter how vein or bitter one might become, people are all equal. 

