Guy de Maupassant used an active literary element called irony to illustrate the people’s pretension and vanity in late 19th century France in his short story “The Jewelry.” Famous French novelist Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant is regarded as a master of the fast tale genre (Kapau et al.). He represented the naturalist school of writers, who used dejected and pessimistic language to describe human lives, destinies, and social forces (Kapau et al.). His narrative has a tropical economy of language and a seamless, effective conclusion. The fake diamonds told a tale of Monsieur Lantin’s beautiful wife, who seemed to have all the right qualities. She only has one weakness—a love of jewelry—so she gathers some fake stones to indulge that weakness. Monsieur Lantin discovered that he continued to believe the lie that his lovely wife had created after her untimely death. The lesson that things are not always as they seem was introduced through this narrative. Although the author employs several literary methods, including irony, to convey the story’s theme, “The Jewelry” begins with a character’s action that provides readers with far too much information before the plot can develop fully. This essay hypothesizes that irony is the main literary device and is straightforward in this novel.
Character, irony, and symbolism were the author’s three literary strategies most frequently in this novel. Characterization is a literary device employed incrementally to spotlight a character and clarify a plot’s details. The author introduces the main character with a clear emergency in the first scene (Bloom 22). After establishing the narrator, the author typically discusses his behavior before moving on to the character’s thoughts as the novel progresses. The protagonist, M. Lantin, undergoes a significant change in personality, behavior, and ideals during Guy De Maupassant’s short fiction. Guy De Maupassant, recognized as the most important French short story writer and one of the best writers of contemporary short tales, illustrates how a protagonist gradually loses his integrity due to his sudden wealth after having had a tough childhood and an unhappy marriage. The author selects important details from well-known minor items that reflect the reality of everyday existence. Irony has a significant impact on the story as well. M. Lantin first appears to be content with his existence and to love being with Madame Lantin (Maupassant par.15). Guy De Maupassant’s short story “The Jewelry” features M. Lantin, the main character, who undergoes a significant change in personality, behavior, and ideals. Lantinis devastated by his wife’s passing and overcome with grief after she passes away, albeit at the novel’s end. As he loses track of his complaint and after being given the proceeds from the sale of the jewelry (Maupassant par. 62), Lantin’s demeanor appears to change. The primary characters, M. Lantin and his wife, Madame Lantin, are highlighted through characterization. This reveals the key characters’ true motivations and highlights the irony.
As M.Lantin falls in love with the woman at the novel’s beginning, the author thoroughly characterizes her as a rare find. According to the narrator’s description of Madame Lantin’s initial interest in the man who would become her husband: “the young girl seemed to be the very ideal of that pure good woman to whom every young man dreams of entrusting his future” (Maupassant 69). This young woman’s appearance was described using epithets, which makes her apparent virtue, her “angelic modesty,” and the impression that she has a “pure and wonderful soul” untrue or deceptive (Maupassant par. 35). Madame Lantin holds the significance she accords to them. The fact that they serve as proof of her covert, double life all serve as symbols. The gems demonstrate Madame Lantin’s deceit. The main irony is that the stones are real, as the jewelry stands for the phony character of the Lantins’ union.
The values of contemporary society, which are revealed as false, are the overarching theme of this short story. In contrast, “fabricated” jewelry, shown to be genuine, is the micro-theme. The protagonist, Monsieur Lantin, is the center of macro and micro topics. Maupassant’s artistic talent as a novelist is most evident in this systematic re-emphasis of opposing fundamental concepts. She was an angelic-looking, dishonorable wife who brought Monsieur Lantin much pleasure. A loyal and truthful wife is the true devil, “He suffered greatly because of her. Similar to fake diamonds, false jewels can be displayed that seem exactly like real ones” (Maupassant, par. 65). In addition, they may be true. Their brilliance temporarily obscures the fundamental virtues of kindness, love, and tolerance. There are several questions that readers may feel need to be answered even after reading the novel numerous times, such as the novel’s main topic, the location of the narrative’s climax, and part of the irony in the plot at the end.
Storytelling needs basic literacy tools and techniques to convey the intended message properly. If these devices are employed effectively, the author’s objective may only be described as intended. Notwithstanding several times when I feel some concerns need to be answered. After analyzing the work, it was found that the story’s irony is more complicated and profound. In addition, symbolism and characterization were used to demonstrate the novel’s main morals.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Guy De Maupassant. New York, NY: Infobase publishing, 2001. Print.
Maupassant, Guy De. The Jewelry. Edinburg, UK: Edinburg University Press, 2007. Print.
Kapau, Humphrey, et al. “The Characterisation of Mathilde in the Ideational Metafunction of Guy Demaupassant’s the Necklace: A Monogeneric Corpusbased Analysis.” International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, vol. 7, no. 7, 2019, Web.