the development of irony in the necklace

The Development of Irony in"The Necklace"byKimberly EdnieMrs.ConnollyENC 1102 M-W-F 9:00AMShort Story EssayJanuary 29, 1997The Development of Irony in "The Necklace" Guy de Maupassant's

The Development of Irony in"The Necklace"byKimberly EdnieMrs.

ConnollyENC 1102 M-W-F 9:00AMShort Story EssayJanuary 29,

1997The Development of Irony in "The Necklace" Guy de

Maupassant's "The Necklace" is situational ironywritten in 1884 The story was written in a time when there were verydistinct social classes primarily determined by one's birth It is abouta woman who can not come to terms with her position in the middleclass Although she knows she can not escape her class, sherefuses to accept it gracefully It is through Matilde that Maupassant develops the story's irony This is reflected through Matilde'sdaydreaming, which only serves to torment her, the loss of thenecklace borrowed for show, which only worsens their economicposition, and finally, their unnecessary sacrifice The irony begins with Matilde's frequent daydreaming She is abeautiful and

charming woman who feels "herself destined for alldelicacies and

luxuries" (4) Fate, however, placed her among themiddle class where life was very simple For her, the only means to a more affluent class was through her imagination She dreams of"large silent anterooms, expensive silks and of achievement and famethat would make her the envy of all other women" (4) What she failsto realize is that these

daydreams only make her more dissatisfiedwith her real life As a result, she becomes more focused on whatshe does not have rather than what she does have Contributing to the irony is the borrowed necklace Matilde'shusband brings a coveted dinner invitation home, and her

firstreaction is concern for appearances She tells her husband that theycan not possibly go because she has "nothing to wear" (5)

Herhusband agrees to buy her a new dress This, however, is notenough for Matilde; she needs jewelry She explains that, withoutjewelry, she will appear "shabby in the company of rich women" (6) In her quest to

present herself as a wealthy woman, she decided toborrow a "superb diamond necklace" (6) from a friend Unfortunately, upon arriving home, Matilde noticed that the necklacewas lost When the necklace can not be found, Matilde and herhusband have no choice but to replace it As a result, Matilde'sdesire to appear part of the upper class has only

succeeded inmaking them part of a lower one Without a doubt, the most ironic part of the story is the Loisel'sunnecessary sacrifice The Loisel's decide to replace the necklacewithout telling the owner of its loss "In a shop in the Palias-Royal,they found a necklace that seemed to them exactly like the one theywere looking for" (8) They secure the thirty-six thousand for thenecklace from Mr Loisel's inheritance and in the form of loans Theystruggle and live in poverty for ten years to pay off the

necklace Bynow, Matilde looks old "She had become the strong, hard, and rudewoman of poor households" (9) Matilde is walking along

theChamps-Elysees when she encounters the friend who loaned her thenecklace Her friend is shocked when Matilde finally tells her

aboutthe necklace It is then that Matilde learns that the necklace her andher husband toiled to replace was only costume jewelry Even

amongthe rich there are apprearances to keep up Maupassant,

through irony, shows us that in pursuit of wealthor status it is easy to forget what one already has to appreciate Also,appearances are just that, no matter what class you belong to Because Matilde did not

understand this, desire to rise above themiddle class was replaced with a desire to merely rise above poverty