The main character in Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" is a dynamic character who significantly changes over the course of the story. The author uses specific language to characterize Madame Loisel. The exposition of the story tells us that she was born into a middle class family. Her relatively comfortable life changes drastically after the incident with the necklace.
In the first half of the story, Madame Loisel is portrayed as dreamy and petulant. She is "pretty and charming," but these attributes are not satisfactory as she imagines material luxury and what it would be like to associate with the wealthy upper class. She grieves over the "dinginess" of her home. Her simple life "gnawed at her and made her furious." She would "weep for days on end from vexation, regret, despair, and anguish." She wanted to be "envied" and "sought after." She has "disconsolate regrets" over her common life, so she dreams. Her dreams conjure up a world of the idle rich:
She would dream of silent chambers, draped with Oriental tapestries and lighted by tall bronze floor lamps, and of two handsome butlers in knee breeches, who, drowsy from the heavy warmth cast by the central stove, dozed in large overstuffed armchairs.
Her dissatisfaction with her life grows to a fever pitch after her husband brings home an invitation to a fancy ball. At last her dreams materialize, but all she can think about is what she lacks. Even though she has a new dress, she is still "sad, moody, and ill at ease." When she does finally have the dress and the necklace, she makes a splash at the ball:
She danced madly, wildly, drunk with pleasure, giving no thought to anything in the triumph of her beauty, the pride of her success, in a kind of happy cloud composed of all the adulation, of all the admiring glances, of all the awakened longings, of a sense of complete victory that is so sweet to a woman’s heart.
In the second half of the story Madame Loisel achieves dynamic character status as she rises above her circumstances. She has to help her husband pay back the "exorbitant" debt which they incur by replacing the lost necklace. She changes from a spoiled child to a mature woman who lives up to her responsibilities. De Maupassant writes:
Mme. Loisel experienced the horrible life the needy live. She played her part, however, with sudden heroism. That frightful debt had to be paid. She would pay it. She dismissed her maid; they rented a garret under the eaves.
She is heroic and hardworking in playing her new role. Eventually the couple pays back the entire debt, but the reader is shocked, and maybe a little sad for Madame Loisel, as it is learned the necklace was worthless.
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