The Necklace

by

Guy de Maupassant

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M. Loisel is married to Mathilde and works as a clerk in the Ministry of Education. He cares very much for his wife, and it is to make her happy that he procures an invitation to the party hosted by the Minister of Education. M. Loisel’s generosity contrasts sharply with his wife’s vanity and selfishness. For instance, he sacrifices his dream of buying a rifle to go hunting with his friends on the plains of Nanterre in order to buy a new dress for Mathilde. He searches tirelessly for the necklace when it is lost, and he sacrifices his inheritance, his honor, and takes on an enormous amount of debt to replace it.

M. Loisel Quotes in The Necklace

The The Necklace quotes below are all either spoken by M. Loisel or refer to M. Loisel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reality and Illusion Theme Icon
).
The Necklace Quotes

Whenever she sat down for supper at the circular table covered with the same tablecloth for three days, she faced her husband, who, removing the lid from the tureen, ecstatically declared: “Ah! A good stew! I don’t know of anything better!”

But she fantasized about elegant dinners, about shiny silverware, about tapestries filling the walls with ancient figures and exotic birds in the midst of a magic forest; she fantasized about exquisite courses served in wondrous vessels, about gallantries whispered and listened to with sphinxlike smiles, while the diners consumed the rosy flesh of a trout or the wings of a grouse.

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel, M. Loisel
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:

The night of the ball was approaching, and Madame Loisel appeared sad, worried, anxious. Still, her gown was ready.

One evening, her husband said to her: “Listen, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting funny for three days now.”

And she replied: “I’m annoyed that I don’t have any jewelry—not a single gem, nothing to put on. I’ll look downright poverty-stricken. I’d almost rather not go to the ball.”

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel (speaker), M. Loisel (speaker)
Page Number: 6
Explanation and Analysis:

Monsieur Loisel, bringing the wraps for their exit, tossed them over her shoulders: they were the modest garments of ordinary life, their poverty clashing with the elegance of the ball gown. She sensed the discord and wanted to flee, to avoid being noticed by the other women, who were bundling up in expensive furs.

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel, M. Loisel
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:

[The carriage] brought them to their front door on Rue des Martyrs, and they sadly trudged up to their apartment. It was all over for her. And as for him, he knew he had to be at the Ministry by ten a.m.

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel, M. Loisel
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
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M. Loisel Quotes in The Necklace

The The Necklace quotes below are all either spoken by M. Loisel or refer to M. Loisel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reality and Illusion Theme Icon
).
The Necklace Quotes

Whenever she sat down for supper at the circular table covered with the same tablecloth for three days, she faced her husband, who, removing the lid from the tureen, ecstatically declared: “Ah! A good stew! I don’t know of anything better!”

But she fantasized about elegant dinners, about shiny silverware, about tapestries filling the walls with ancient figures and exotic birds in the midst of a magic forest; she fantasized about exquisite courses served in wondrous vessels, about gallantries whispered and listened to with sphinxlike smiles, while the diners consumed the rosy flesh of a trout or the wings of a grouse.

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel, M. Loisel
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:

The night of the ball was approaching, and Madame Loisel appeared sad, worried, anxious. Still, her gown was ready.

One evening, her husband said to her: “Listen, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting funny for three days now.”

And she replied: “I’m annoyed that I don’t have any jewelry—not a single gem, nothing to put on. I’ll look downright poverty-stricken. I’d almost rather not go to the ball.”

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel (speaker), M. Loisel (speaker)
Page Number: 6
Explanation and Analysis:

Monsieur Loisel, bringing the wraps for their exit, tossed them over her shoulders: they were the modest garments of ordinary life, their poverty clashing with the elegance of the ball gown. She sensed the discord and wanted to flee, to avoid being noticed by the other women, who were bundling up in expensive furs.

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel, M. Loisel
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:

[The carriage] brought them to their front door on Rue des Martyrs, and they sadly trudged up to their apartment. It was all over for her. And as for him, he knew he had to be at the Ministry by ten a.m.

Related Characters: Mathilde Loisel, M. Loisel
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis: