An Ironic, Witty Short Story by Guy de Maupassant, The...

Guy de Maupassant is considered to be one of the fathers of short stories, he is a French author who lived in the 19th century. Born in 1850 at the Chateau de Miromesnil in France, to a lone literary mother who passed on her passion for books to Guy. The author’s writing style is characterized by economy of style, brilliant irony and elegant denouement. Maupassant wrote over 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and a volume of verse. Maupassant incorporated genres such as realism and naturalism within his works and his first published story; â€Å"Boule de Suif† (ball of fat) is considered by many as being his masterpiece. â€Å"The Necklace† is an ironic, amusing and witty short story which deals with themes such as the†¦show more content†¦Mathilde is not portrayed as being characteristic of the â€Å"Petite Bourgeoisie† due to being contrasted with her cherishing husband who falls within the same social class. Madame Loisel is more of a satirical representation of the â€Å"Petite Bourgeoisie†, I think Maupassant mocks her as a stereotypical diva rather than uses her to depict the social class. Exquisite but worthless, the necklace illustrates the puissance of perception and the breach between appearance and actuality. In the story, Madame Loisel borrows the necklace from her intimate idol Madame Forestier, with intention as to insinuate wealth. Madame Forestier hides the fact that the necklace is a fake she too wants to impress her peer and paint the illusion of being more affluent than she truly is. Due to Mathilde being profoundly jealous of Madame Forestier, she never suspects the necklace’s legitimacy and blindly assumes the necklace is made of diamonds. Madame Loisel willingly plunders into this world of hypocrisy, as she whole heartily believes in her borrowed opulence; she projects an appearance of abundance to others. Because she believes in her wealth, she becomes wealthy in the eyes of others. The fact that the necklace is the focal point of the beguilement that triggers of Mathilde’s social collapse implies nothing but trouble can result from obs curing the truth of one’s situation. The bitter irony of the fact that Monsieur and Madame Loisel spent years