The Necklace.
Easy Peasy writing
Writing
December 19, 2014
3rd quarter
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Wealth is very important in The Necklace. Madame Loisel is obsessed with it, her
husband does not have it, and all the people at the party have it. Madame Loisel, in the
story, desperately wants to be rich because of greed. Although she wanted to be
wealthy, she was ill suited to be rich.
Madame Loisel, at the beginning of the story, was daydreaming about what it
would be like to be rich. She was imagining that she had nice silk drapes, furniture with
priceless jewels inset into them, a husband with a very respectable job, and company of
all the finest ladies. When it was time to eat supper, she imagined servers laden with
fancy dishes, delicate meals served to only the richest, and company of the finest
people.
Madame Loisel however, lived in a poor house, in a poor neighborhood, with a
husband who had unimportant job as a clerk. She had one rich friend who she refused
to visit because when she returned home, she would be upset about her social position.
She was convinced that fate had overlooked her.
One night Madame Loisel’s husband received an invitation to a party for them.
She was upset not only because she had an unimportant social position, but because
she had nothing to wear. Her husband offered to get her a nice little rose corsage but
she was crushed. Just because she would not look as nice as the others she would not
go.
Just then her husband suggested that she go get a new dress. She complained
that she had no jewelry or any accessories for that matter. She did not want to look poor
in front of all those people. Her husband criticized her for not thinking that Madame
Forestier might loan her jewels. She thanked her husband then left.
Madame Forestier had jewels for Madame Loisel. She showed Madame Loisel a
box full of jewelry. “She saw at first bracelets, then a necklace of pearls, then a Venetian
cross of gold set with precious jewels of an admirable workmanship.” (The Necklace)
Madame Loisel asked if there were any more pieces of jewelry. Madame Forestier then
brought out a necklace that Madame Loisel had an eye for. It was a necklace of
diamonds. Madame Loisel immediately asked for it, and when Madame Forestier said
yes, she took it home.
Madame Loisel was the star of the show during the ball. She flirted with several
men, and stole the attention of everyone with her necklace. Her husband was sleeping
in the coat room with several other men. After midnight had come and gone she woke
up her husband and left.
When she went home that night, she did not notice until they had been in the cab
for awhile that her necklace was missing. Then she searched the cab three times. After
she had not found any evidence of her necklace, she checked the folds of her dress and
her petticoat. Nothing was found!
She and her husband had to visit many different jewelry stores to find a similar
necklace. They finally found a necklace that was similar to the one that was lost. But it
was 36,000 francs.
36,000 francs! What a price to pay! But to return the necklace, her husband had
to go to several banks to get a loan big enough to afford the necklace. They eventually
got enough to get it. It took 10 years to repay the debt.
By the time they repaid the debt, Madame Loisel was worn out compared to
Madame Forestier. 10 years of repaying a debt had done a number on her. Madame
Loisel was going to Madame Forestier’s to return the necklace. When she got there, she
told the story of losing the necklace. After hearing the story, Madame Forestier said that
the necklace was worth no more than 580 francs.
Madame Loisel was ill suited to be rich. If she was “destined” to be rich she could
have told the difference between the necklaces. Her mistake cost her money. Although
she probably still wanted to be rich, the ordeal with the necklace taught her a lot about
whether or not she would be as good as she thought at being rich.
Works cited
Spark notes
Encyclopedia Britannica
The necklace by Guy de Maupassant