The Necklace revision notes

Página 1

1: Characters

Mathilde Loisel: A young, discontent lower middle class woman. She is typical of the kinds of main protagonists used by French Realist writers at this time and is used to explore the deeper meanings of everyday life.

Monsieur Loisel: A lowly middle class clerk. He is the ordinary everyman. His speech gives away his lowly class.

Madame Forestier: Mathilde's upper-class friend. She is symbolic of the shallowness of the upper classes, symbolized through her fake necklace

Understanding character in The Necklace

2: Themes :

Appearance – vs - Reality

Mathilde

tries to appear to be of a higher social class than she really is

There

is a discrepancy between Mathilde’ s perceived life and her real life

The

necklace appears to be an expensive diamond necklace but is actually a fake

Mathilde’

obsession with keeping up appearances of wealth leads, ironically, to her and

her husband’s descent into a reality of grinding poverty.

Envy and covetousness (deadly

sins!)

Mathilde

makes herself miserable by measuring her self-worth against others and envying

their material wealth Mathilde

only feels happy when she achieves all of the things that she envies in others

Her

covetousness of the material trappings of wealth and status lead to her

downfall and prevent her from ever possessing them

Materialism

Mathilde

believes that possessing the material trappings of wealth will bring her

happiness

Mathilde

invests physical objects with a power they do not actually possess

Mathilde

feels complete when she possesses a beautiful dress and, as she believes, an

expensive diamond necklace

Madame

Forestier is wealthy but does not place value on the material trappings of

wealth. The necklace she loans Mathilde is actually cheap costume jewellery

3: Key ideas:

Appearances can be deceptive.

Monetary and material wealth are of little importance

Pride comes before a fall! Mathilde's pride and vanity are the root causes of the problems she and her husband endure.

It is always better to own up to a mistake rather than try to cover it up.

Beauty is fleeting and should not be depended upon.

How does the writer bring out the importance of appearance and reality in The Necklace?