The Necklace Literary Analysis

As many people in the modern world believe that inanimate objects make them more beautiful, attractive, presentable and confident. Maupassant presents Mathilde, the main character, who is purely obsessed with such beliefs. Her husband Loisel is a civil servant though he doesn’t make enough money to keep his wife in the lifestyle she needs. Maupassant used symbolism, irony and social conflict in his work to pass the message, the essay, therefore, focuses on how these devices are used and their significance in the essay. Symbolism is a representation of a concept through symbol. The author writes that “Seemed to them exactly like the one they had lost” (De Maupassant 5). At the point, it might not be clear to the audience; the reader, where the irony is but it’s true that the character led a false upper societal life.

If they genuinely had owned this borrowed jewelry, how couldn’t they identify it? The couple was not accustomed to lavish jewelry hence couldn’t. Hard work is always accompanied and appreciated by all. It’s ironic that Mathilde feels work is something to be treated with high contempt. Her perception that the rich are better off makes her live a false rich life (Kuhn 19). Gender difference also shows some social difference in priority. In the modern French set up, most women are just completely under the care of their husbands. Most of the problems the character had are money solved issues. The character is not only bitter about her inability to improve her social status; she gives priority to different things when compared to her husband (De Maupassant 6).