Irony in 'The Necklace'

880 Words4 Pages
In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, irony plays a main role. The main character, Mathilde Loisel, finds herself the target for this story’s irony. She feels as though she was born into the wrong society and should have been brought up in a higher class. She wishes for nothing more than glitz and glam in her average humble life, but at the end of the story, we find out that what she thought was glamorous and high class, was nothing more than a humble fake. Mathilde Loisel has found herself, “suffered from the poverty of her dwelling” for years. She leads an average life, and her and her husband work hard to make ends meet. At the beginning of the story, Mathilde Loisel is obsessed with the rich and famous and wants nothing more than to be thought of as high class. She is embarrassed of her social standings and is always looking to impress her friends. When one day her husband comes home with an invitation to a fancy dinner party, Mathilde Loisel is hard to convince to attend. She doesn’t want to be embarrassed with her petty outfit and accessories. She finds the self-esteem to wear a dress that is slightly less expensive than the others will be wearing, but one that she feels confident in. The only thing she is missing is a high class accessory. After asking one of her friends, Mme. Forestier, to borrow a piece of jewelry, she is dressed for success and is able to attend the party with pride. The necklace is beautiful and looks to be worth a fortune. With the help of the necklace, Mathilde Loisel is able to partake in the evenings festivities with the high class confidence she has always yearned for. She thinks that the necklace is worth a fortune, but in all actuality, it is simply a fake piece of jewelry, worth only a fraction of what she believes. However, she continues having a lovely evening thinking the necklace she is sporting is worth
Open Document