"The Necklace"
(1) the main idea of "The Necklace"
(2) Find some parts you cannot understand from the common sense point of view.
(3) Who has power in"The Necklace"?
(4) If Mathilde did not lose the necklace, what would happen to her?
(5) At the end of the story it was revealed that "the necklace was paste." What do you think will
happen in the next part of the story?
Mathilde borrows a diamond necklace from her wealthy friend,
Madame Forestier for a party. After the party, Mathilde realizes
that the necklace is gone. She and her husband strives to find it,
but they are Unable to find it. They therefore borrow a great deal
of money to buy a replacement. In the next ten years, they work
hard to pay off their debts, and Mathilde losts her beauty as a
result of the hard work. When Mathilde finally tells Madame
Forestier about the truth, Madame Forestier tells her that the
diamonds were fake.
Mathilde’s pride shows that she has been able to find meaning in her suffering
based on the expensiveness of the necklace. However, by revealing that the
necklace was a fake, Mme. Forestier makes those sacrifices meaningless. The twist
ending also exposes the deceptiveness of appearances and the dangers of
attributing too much power to material possessions, since their value may be
illusory
When Mathilde finally meets Madame Forestier, she was proud that she found herself worth to work
for based on the expensiveness of the necklace. However, it was revealed that the necklace was a
fake. Forestier made Mathilde’s sacrifice meaningless, and the source of Mathilde’s proudness was
broken. The ironic ending also shows that the obsession of something on the outside, not inside, can
lead someone to a tragic end. Attributing too much power to materialistic things could be dangerous
because their value can just be an illusion.