Literary analysis of Guy de Maupassant The Necklace - Essay Example

Literary Analysis of Guy De Maupassant "The Necklace" The of this story intended to bring political, cultural, and social statement of humanity as depicted in this particular story. From the onset, we see a woman by the name Mathilde Loisel struggling hard to elevate her cultural and social status although she belongs to a humble family, having lived most of her life in abject poverty. All the events that unfold in this story revolve around political, social, and cultural spheres where the author categorically portrays the wife of a clerk in the ministry of education living in the fantasy world of fanciful attire and riches despite the fact that she could not even afford a new dress for herself (Matthews Para. 3). With reference to the cultural aspects of the story, the author portrays a society that cherishes jewelry as part of their attire in order to enhance their elegance especially when attending important functions.

This aspect comes out clear in Loisel’s positive inspiration and hopes. While fully acknowledging the fact that she hails from a poor background, that does not deter her hopes for a brighter future where she envisages herself wrapped up in glamorous and elegant ornamental attire that is the envy of every woman and the desire of every man around. Although the embodiment of the cultural aspect rests upon the desire to have a fabulous life accompanied by bronze and diamonds, the author is keen to bring out an element of abject poverty from Loisel’s perspective.

Loisel is a bit anxious about attending the evening party at the minister’s palace for fear of ridicule under her modest attire but eventually borrows her preferred dress and jewelry. This is an insinuation, that regardless of the background that one comes from, they can appear to be leading the lifestyle of the elite few as long as they receive the basic human requirements, even if it is for a short period (Matthews Para. 30-35). While the author makes this cultural statement, it suffices to state that they also portray some element of social coordination in the story.

This is seen where the persons depicted in the story have an appeal for one another within their societal territory. For instance, Loisel’s husband, who works as a clerk in the Ministry of Education, brings home a letter of invitation requiring them to pay homage to the minister in question. This humble course within the society would attract any person would wish to socialize. In addition, Mme. Forester agrees to lend Loisel her jewelry including her supposed diamond necklace to attend the minister’s evening party at the palace, a virtue that depicts the high regard for the society in this particular story.

Contrary to what many would have expected within the society, there exist some unbecoming elements within the society, as Loisel’s borrowed necklace gets lost under mysterious circumstances. Although the political scene is not very elaborate in the story, there is a visible political element where the Minister of Education occasionally makes invitation to some of his clerks for fanfare and official parties (Matthews Para. 59- 73). Form the plot, the author highlights unique characters by describing their various roles in the development of the storyline.

From the onset, the author presents a little but industrious girl from a modest background struggling to make ends meet while at the same time pursuing her quest to match the societal standards. Although Loisel hails from a family that can rarely afford basic human requirements, she proves to the whole society that she is equally beautiful and elegant from within and that every woman can look beautiful irrespective of her status within the society. She is a hardworking woman who never fails to accomplish her pledged no matter what the situation life may bring forth.

She is married to a caring husband who does anything possible to bring happiness to her. Perhaps Loisel’s husband is another unquestionable character who the author portrays as a family man struggling to fend for his family through his day job as a clerk. He is a generous man especially towards his wife where he offers her money he had saved to buy a gun despite his excellent decision-making and problem solving skills where he advices his wife to borrow jewelry from Mme. Forester. Due to her generosity and caring attitude, Mme.

Forester, a warm-hearted woman, decides to lend come jewelry including a ‘diamond’ necklace to Mathilde Loisel for the ministerial party. Perhaps she is one on the major characters after Mathilde Loisel and her husband. Some minor but equally influential characters in the story include the Minister for Education, and the cab driver (Matthews Para. 10, 70-79). The three interact freely and maintain a cordial relationship although Loisel’s husband does not directly interact with Mme. Forester according to the plot of the story.

The progressive interactions among the major and minor character promotes the smooth flow of the story starting from the girl Mathilde to the caring Mme. Forester ten years later. Without these interactions among the characters, the story would be monotonous and therefore the more the interactions as displayed in the story, the interesting the story gets. Therefore, interactions among characters within a story are a fundamental aspect in plot development (Matthews Para. 44-58, 100-128). Works Cited Matthews, Brander.

Guy De Maupassant "The Necklace’. 1907. Web. 5 July 2013.