The Necklace Mme. Jeanne Forestier Quotes

When Mme. Loisel took back the necklace to Mme. Forestier, the latter said, with an irritated air: –

"You ought to have brought it back sooner, for I might have needed it." (95-96)

It's interesting that Mme. Forestier reacts so snippily to having the necklace returned late. One would think that because she has so much, it wouldn't really matter when one particular piece of jewelry was returned. This could either mean that her wealth makes her more greedy with what she has or that she considers the necklace one of her best pieces of jewelry. Which is a little interesting, since we learn later that it's a fake…

The other did not recognize her, astonished to be hailed thus familiarly by this woman of the people. She hesitated –

"But – madam – I don't know – are you not making a mistake?" (111-112)

Mme. Forestier and Mathilde are now greatly separated by their wealth, which translates into social class. The class difference is so big that it seems improper for Mathilde to even address Mme. Forestier by her first name. Their classes are also immediately apparent from the way they look.

"Oh, my poor Mathilde. But mine were false. At most they were worth five hundred francs!" (128)

Mme. Forestier reveals that the diamond necklace Mathilde lost was actually a fake. Does the falsehood of the jewels symbolize the falsehood of wealth? Does it change the way we think of Mathilde's former dreams? Or, on another note, does it perhaps mean something about Mme. Forestier? If her best piece of jewelry is a fake, maybe she's not quite as wealthy as she initially seems.