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

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

1. The character of Mathilde and how she is presented

   • young
     • Baeutiful
   • disontent
   • materialistic
     • shallow
   • ambitious
   • vain
     • selfish
     • ungrateful
     • a snob

2. What the necklace itself represents

   • To Mathilde it symbolises wealth and beauty
     • Its shininess represents her brief shining moment at the reception
     • By wearing it she appears wealthy
       • She has achieved her heart's desire
   • The shallowness of appearances
   • deceptiveness of appearance
   • The reality that Mme. Forestier is wealthy but fakes it!

3. The ending of the story

   • ironic
     • Her attempts to appear rich have led to her being poor in reality
     • The symbol of wealth and power turns out o be a fake
     • Her rich friend only appeared rich
   • gets what she deserves
     • Her need to keep up appearances has led to her downfall
     • No moral judgement by the writer
     • her fate is punishment?

4. Any other interesting use of language

   • Third-person limited viewpoint
     • No moral judgements
     • No psychological analysis of motives
       • Reader allowed to make their own judgements
   • Dialogue of her husband is coarse
     • He speaks informally
     • His coarse speech is at odds with her social ambitions
   • in the party section lots of verbds adjectives & adverbs that convey the extent of her happiness