In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, the characters are skillfully portrayed to be memorable. Their traits are critical for the plot, themes, and symbolism. While their actions may be transparent and predictable, the characters are actually more multifaceted than they seem.
For example, Mathilde is driven by greed and envy. Most readers perceive her as unlikable – however, some critics have a more sympathetic opinion about her. For instance, if we look at her through the prism of Alfred Adler’s theory of an inferiority complex, we will see that Mathilde suffers from low self-esteem and struggles to actualize herself.
In this article, our experts will examine the story from unexpected angles, focusing on the characters in “The Necklace”: Mathilde, Monsieur Loisel, and Madame Forestier. We will also investigate their character types and relationships.
🗺️ The Necklace Character Map
Check out the character map below to see who the main characters are and how they relate to each other:
📚 The Necklace’s Main Characters
In “The Necklace,” the main characters are:
- Mathilde Loisel, an attractive young woman who wants to belong in high society
- Monsieur Loisel, a ministerial clerk who loves his wife above all
- Madame Forestier, Mathilde’s wealthy friend who lends her a necklace
Read on to learn more about them!
Who Is the Protagonist in The Necklace?
Mathilde is the protagonist in “The Necklace.” The short story narrates the events from her perspective. The readers see and feel what Madame Loisel witnesses and experiences. The plot unfolds around her obsession with expensive things, highlighting her struggle to realize other values in life.
Who Is the Antagonist in The Necklace?
Interestingly, there is no antagonist in “The Necklace” in the traditional sense. While there’s a widespread opinion that Mathilde herself is an antagonist due to her greed and selfishness, we can also view her as a victim of circumstances.
If we consider the story from this perspective, the antagonists can be:
- Bad luck. Mathilde was unlucky to be born middle-class. Since she couldn’t be happy in her reality, she preferred to daydream about a better life. Her dreams were crushed by another unfortunate event – accidentally losing a borrowed necklace.
- Patriarchy. In the patriarchal society of 19th-century France, attractiveness was women’s most significant value, often linked to expensive clothes and jewelry. Mathilde lived within the framework of social norms and felt miserable in those conditions.
💅 Madame Loisel: The Necklace Character Analyzed
Mathilde Loisel is a middle-class woman whose ultimate dream is to be wealthy and beautiful – or at least to appear so. These aspirations make her insecure and dissatisfied with her lot. Even her husband’s love and a satisfactory quality of life don’t outweigh Mathilde’s reservations.
She was unhappy as if she had once been wealthy.
The Necklace, Narrator
She is aware of her exceptional beauty and believes her looks can get her into high society. Such a contrast between the truth and wishful thinking prevents Mathilde from making realistic judgments.
The protagonist’s illusion can be compared to the tale of Cinderella in reverse. No matter how fancy a dress or expensive jewelry she borrows, she will remain middle-class. The ball will end, the carriage will turn into a pumpkin, and she will become even poorer than before.
Mathilde’s primary traits are pride and greed, which are demonstrated via direct and indirect characterization:
- Direct characterization occurs when the narrator talks about Mathilde’s feelings or appearance. For example, her youth and beauty are not just hinted at but are described directly.
- Indirect characterization is more subtle and is shown mainly through her actions, such as her borrowing a diamond necklace to appear wealthier.
Madame Loisel in The Necklace: How Does She Change?
What sets Mathilde apart from other characters in the story is that she doesn’t remain the same throughout the plot.
Here’s what this means.
There are 4 types of characters in terms of changes they undergo in a story: dynamic, round, static, and flat. They usually combine and form the following types:
- Dynamic round characters are complex and evolving. Their personalities will be changed at the end of the narrative.
- Static flat characters are predictable and stable. They remain the same, no matter how many years the story covers.
Madame Loisel is a dynamic round character. Initially, she is a dreamy and delicate lady who only wants to become the upper-class version of herself. But after ten years of hardship and toil, she transforms into a hardened, strong woman.
She had become the woman of impoverished households–strong and hard and rough. With frowsy hair, skirts askew and red hands, she talked loud while washing the floor with great swishes of water.
The Necklace, Narrator
The personal and financial disaster of losing the necklace brings out Mathilde’s intrinsic strength of character. She develops from a superficial housewife into a hardened, capable individual. And while she still recalls the party as the most remarkable moment in her life, she makes no more attempts to join the higher class.
🎩 Monsieur Loisel Character Traits
Monsieur Loisel is a static, flat character who remains unchangeable throughout the story. Compared to Mathilde, there is little information about him and his personality. He works as a clerk at the Ministry of Education, and he’s likely good at his job since he received the invitation to the ball that “not many clerks had a chance” to get. Still, his career doesn’t bring him a lot of money.
In his private life, he is caring and considerate. He does his best to ensure his wife’s happiness, making irrational decisions against his own interests and preventing Mathilde from feeling the consequences of her actions.
He grew a little pale, because he was laying aside just that amount to buy a gun and treat himself to a little shooting next summer on the plain of Nanterre, with several friends who went to shoot larks there of a Sunday.
The Necklace, Monsieur Loisel
But he said:
“Very well. I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty gown.”
Throughout the narrative, Monsieur Loisel endures a lot for Mathilde, effectively sacrificing his own needs:
- He gives her the money he has saved for a new rifle for his hunting hobby.
- He drowses in an empty room while she has fun at the party.
- He looks for and finds a jeweler who can sell a similar necklace.
- He works at three jobs for ten years to repay the debt.
Despite being a flat character, he is responsible for the story’s main events. He’s the one who brought the invitation to the ball, suggested borrowing jewelry from Mathilde’s friend, and came up with the idea of replacing the necklace instead of telling the truth about losing it.
“You must write to your friend,” said he, “that you have broken the clasp of her necklace and that you are having it mended. That will give us time to turn round.”
The Necklace, Monsieur Loisel
💎 Madame Forestier in The Necklace: Character Analysis
Madame Forestier is another flat character in “The Necklace” who stays the same throughout the plot. Thanks to her wealthy husband, she occupies the social role Mathilde would like to have.
This character is barely described in the short story. All we know is that she embodies the upper class. She easily lent the necklace to Mathilde because she had a lot of jewelry or because, as we later learn, the piece wasn’t really expensive (attentive readers can suspect this before the twist ending).
💡 Characters of The Necklace as Foils to Mathilde
In “The Necklace,” the main characters have another distinctive feature. Monsieur Loisel and Madame Forestier are character foils of Mathilde.
Here’s why.
In fiction, a foil is a character introduced to contrast with the protagonist and highlight certain qualities. The higher the contrast, the more visible the difference is.
Just like that, the features of Mathilde’s friend and husband highlight her own traits. Madame Forestier embodies Mathilde’s dreams of a wealthy life, while Monsieur Loisel represents the reality where Mathilde exists. Both characters are more realistic and practical than Mathilde, who spends most of her life lost in her daydreaming.
Madame Forestier is a wealthy woman who nevertheless lives within her means. For example, she has fake necklaces that she can wear to look beautiful without spending additional money. The author contrasts Mathilde with Madame Forestier to demonstrate Mathilde’s conflict with herself and the people surrounding her. She wants to be a rich socialite rather than a respectable woman in her social class – this inconsistency leads her to her misery.
Now, let’s recap what you’ve learned about the main characters in “The Necklace”:
- Mathilde is a dynamic character who evolves with the story.
- Monsieur Loisel and Madame Forestier are flat foil characters for Mathilde. Their role is to set the plot in motion and to showcase the protagonist’s vices.
You can learn more about Maupassant’s story in other sections of this study guide, including our detailed Q&A page. And if you need to write an essay about the short story, check out our The Necklace” topics list.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
The main character is a young Parisian woman named Mathilde Loisel. Despite her physical beauty, she was bitter and dissatisfied with her looks because she didn’t appear wealthy. Before losing the necklace at the ball, she looked her best.
Madame Loisel is the main character of “The Necklace”. She undergoes a radical change throughout the story. Before losing the necklace, she was preoccupied with material possessions. Later, when she and her husband spent a decade repaying the debt, she grew into a hardworking person.
Mme. Jeanne Forestier learns from Mathilde Loisel that she and her husband replaced her fake necklace with real diamonds. At first, she is surprised by the appearance of her friend – she feels sorry for Mathilde. Forestier does not understand why her friend did not tell her the truth.
The exposition of the story reveals the protagonists’ traits, which are closely tied to the common traits of Maupassant’s generation. The exposition also presents the inner conflict within Matilde, who is unhappy with her social position and dreams of being rich.
The antagonist in Maupassant’s story is not so much a person as a negative concept. The protagonist, Mathilde, is consumed by greed and desire to appear wealthier than she is. She’s also obsessed with material possessions, which eventually leads to her downfall.