Guy de Maupassant's story 'The Necklace,' first published in 1884, follows Mathilde Loisel, a beautiful woman dissatisfied with her middle-class life, who borrows a necklace to appear wealthy at a party. When she loses the necklace, Mathilde and her husband go into debt to replace it, only for her to discover ten years later that it was a fake. The story explores themes of desire, materialism, and the deceptive nature of appearances.

2. Guy De Maupassant
AUTHOR:

3. Guy de Maupassant
• "The Necklace“
- First published in the Paris
newspaper Le Gaulois on February 17,
1884.
- It was an instant success, and
it has become his most widely read
and anthologized story.

4. Meet the
Character
s

5. Mathilde Loisel
The protagonist of the
story.
Mathilde has been
blessed with physical
beauty but not with the
affluent lifestyle she
yearns for, and she
feels deeply
discontented with her
lot in life.

6. Monsieur Loisel
 Mathilde’s husband.
Monsieur Loisel is
content with the small
pleasures of his life
but does his best to
appease Mathilde’s
demands and assuage
her complaints.

7. Madame Forestier
 Mathilde’s wealthy friend.
Madame Forestier
treats Mathilde kindly,
but Mathilde is bitterly
jealous of Madame
Forestier’s wealth, and
the kindness pains her

8. The Setting:
PARIS

9. THE STORY

10. Introducing Mathilde
Loisel in her apartment as
she is described as
extremely unhappy and
dissatisfied with her social
status.
1.

11. Mathilde Loisel receives
an invitation to the party,
brought by Mr. Loisel, her
husband.
2.

12. Mathilde refuses to attend
the party without a suitable
dress. Mr. Loisel gives money. She
doesn’t have jewelery, she
borrows a necklace and then, she
loses it. She borrows money to
buy a new one and lives in poverty
to pay debt.
3.

13. 10 years later relieved of
the debt Mathilde confesses all
to Madame Forestier who
reveals that the necklace is
fake.
4.

14. The necklace symbolizes wealth and high social
status.
The fake necklace symbolizes desire for what
one cannot have, Mme. L’s ‘fakeness’ and want
of material things.
The short glamorous appearance of
Mme. Loisel during the ball that is fake, like
the necklace appearance can be deceiving