The Necklace

THEME

1.) The theme of the short story, "The Necklace" is to be happy with who you are and what you have. Madame Loisel lived in the middle class society but longed to be a member of high society. She wanted to live above her means and would do whatever it took to get there. Her husband provided the stepping stone to enter the world of the upper class by getting an invitation to a prominent reception. From there she talked her husband into giving her the money to have a wonderful dress to fit in with them and then the final highlight was to borrow a wonderful diamond necklace from Madame Forestier to wear to the reception. The ironic situation is the source of her joy, the necklace, becomes her downfall when she loses it and has to work the next ten years of her life to replace it. She not only loses her middle income status but falls into poverty and spends the rest of her life suffering for her dreams. The symbolism of the necklace is social acceptance into a world where she longs to be, but doesn't belong.

2.) The main themes of “The Necklace” first and foremost, in my opinion, is Class Conflict as Madame Loisel, a member of lower class strives to appear to be in a higher class than she actually is, which causes conflict, but it also hints at another theme of Appearances and Reality. Madame Loisel is determined to make herself appear to be at a higher level on the social ladder than she actually is; however her desire to attain this goal leads to a display of Generosity on the part of Madame Forestier as she loans a very expensive necklace to the Greedy Madame Loisel who looses it. The necklace actually seems to be a symbol of her life, the insincerity of her character, and how her greed leads to her ultimate misery in life because she is forced to give up her own goals in life to repay Madame Forestier for the necklace she has lost, effectively ending her feeble climb up the social ladder. Irony is best demonstrated in the fact that she wastes her life to pay for a cheap copy of the original necklace, while she herself is nothing more than a cheap copy