Theme Of The Diamond Necklace By Manbert Guy De Maupassant

In early August of 1850, Henri Ren Albert Guy de Maupassant a French author was born near Dieppe, France into a prosperous family. During his lifetime (1850-1893) Guy de Maupassant was a busy man. He attended the University of Caen following his education at the Rouen Lycee. After serving time in the Franco-Prussian war, his experiences led him to spend much of his time writing. At the age of 30 he was a successful short story writer, who published short stories and novels between 1875 to 1891. The Diamond Necklace and Boule de Suif have been considered some of his most famous works. As he got older Maupassant became increasingly erratic due to mental illness. After trying to commit suicide in early 1892, his mother had him committed to a private mental institution in Paris, where he died on July 6, 1893. The Diamond Necklace includes Mathilde Liosel the protagonist of the story who is dissatisfied with her lower class economic status and her husband, Monsieur Loisel who bears an invitation to a wealthy party in hopes of pleasing his wife. She longs the attendance due to the fact that she obtains no fancy jewels …show more content…
The diamond necklace, the center piece of the story, is a symbol of the theme, appearances can be deceiving. The necklace’s illusion of belonging to Madame Forestier and being placed in fancy “back satin box” gives it the appearance of a real diamond and value. Mathilde 's judges herself by the items the possesses, and believes others will too. While the necklace is used to highlight that appearances do not always represent reality, Mathilde feels beautiful at the dance. Even though the necklace is of no value, Mathilde cares more about the appearance of being wealthy rather than the reality of being high class. She was also deceived by the necklace and its’ authenticity that she replaces the lost necklace with a valuable one. Overall, the necklace symbolizes