The Irony in "The Necklace"
             In Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace", he demonstrates two types of irony. Verbal irony is when the irony is spoken, like a sarcastic remark. This type of irony is seen here and there throughout the short story. Another type of irony he uses is irony of fate. This type of irony is almost better labeled as bad luck, or Murphy's Law. Basically, when you say "with my luck" something bad will happen. "The Necklace" is draped in a shroud of irony of fate, from the opening paragraph to the closing line.
             After receiving the invitation to the gala, Mathilde is in need of a dress and some gems. She instructs M. Loisel that she is in need of some money to purchase a dress for the evening. When asked how much was needed, she replied "I think I can manage it with four hundred francs". What is ironic about this, you ask? Well, this just happens to be the exact amount M. Loisel "was laying aside to buy a new gun" that he was to take on an expedition to the wilderness.
             The irony of fate, as stated earlier, runs rampant from beginning to end. At the start of the story, Mathilde, "was a mistake of destiny" when born to a family of clerks, not nobility. Being born to clerks she had "no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood, loved, wedded by a rich and distinguished man". Since she had no gems to drape herself for the party, she visited an old friend to borrow some. She found a beautiful necklace, shining and elegant. Because of the necklace, at the party, she was seen as having money, course she felt the same way. She was important, she was known, understood, and loved by all attending. After returning home, she discovered the necklace was lost. Instead of telling the old friend, a new one was purchased for thirty-six thousand francs, and then returned with no explanation, as it looked i...