The Necklace Essay Assignment

ASSIGNMENT: “The Necklace”

Madame Loisel’s perspective and attitude changed over the ten years she spent repaying

her debt. Before the dilemma, Madame Loisel was self-conscious, bothered by her own

simplicity, and was envious of other women’s “beauty”. Madame Loisel was particularly

bothered by the fact that these women had “no caste and no descent, their beauty, their grace,

and their charm serving them instead of birth and fortune.” (Guy de Maupassant 1) She was

more tormented than delighted, especially when she was offered an invitation to the Minister’s

party. Madame Loisel’s insecurities caused her to react negatively, which her husband found

surprising. This shows that Madame Loisel kept to herself; she did not let others know of her

insecurities, even her own husband. This attitude changed right after she had figured out that

the necklace was lost. The narrative describes, “She stayed there, in her ball dress, without

strength to go to bed, overwhelmed, on a chair. without a fire, without a thought. (Guy de

Maupassant 4) Comparatively, before Madame Loisel lost the necklace, she “suffered

intensely.” (Guy de Maupassant 1) As her husband left however, she is suddenly thoughtless

and cannot express emotion. To compensate, Madame Loisel and her husband borrowed

money from various people as soon as possible. The loss of the necklace has pushed Madame

Loisel to desperation and overlook her insecurities to achieve a common goal with her

husband. It states, “Madame Loisel learned the horrible life of the needy.” (Guy de

Maupassant 5) Due to the loss of the necklace, she lost her old perspective and is undergoing another kind of life- another perspective. Before the incident, Madame Loisel was part of the

middle class, and now she lives a poor life. The narration clearly describes, “Madame Loisel

seemed aged now. She had become the robust woman, hard and rough, of a poor household.

Badly combed, with her skirts awry and her hands red, her voice was loud, and she washed the

floor with splashing water.” (Guy de Maupassant 5) She used to be a woman full of

insecurities and felt as if she was constantly under the shadow of the rich. Living as a lower

class for 10 years pushed her to grow out of her old self, thus becoming a woman with a new

perspective.