Formalist Theory

The formalist theory looks at works of literature based on craft, that is, how the story is put together. They look at things like character, plot, setting, and point of view to analyze the work. The main thought behind it is that everything, every word, comma, and apostrophe was used by choice, specifically put there by the author for a reason.

The first set of stories we had to analyze in this fashion were from France (as this is also our international stories unit). The first I quite enjoyed, "The Other Wife," by Colette, and "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant. Unfortunately for me, this blog is supposed to be on "The Necklace," as we discussed "The Other Wife" at length in class.

Let me say that I am not a fan of this story. I had to read it in my ninth grade English class as an explanation of irony, and while it is an incredible example of this, it's not a style of story I am fond of. I do not care for dramatic irony, as I feel that the problems it causes could easily be solved by simple common sense.

Anyway, "The Necklace" we are to discuss so "The Necklace" I shall talk about. I'm just going to focus on one part of it, to make this as painless as possible--the words, more importantly, the imagery. Maupassant uses a blend of juxtaposed words to cast a sharp distinction between Madame Loisel's real life, and her imagined. This shows the audience exactly how much she longs for riches, how much she craves it. Phrases like "She suffered endlessly...from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains. All these things...tormented and insulted her (The Necklace, page 1)," phrases like these show poor Madame's life.

Her imaginings, however, are filled with richness. Take this phrase, for example. "She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments..." Even with this one small sentence, we are given access to Madame's mind, to her dreams, and they are truly wondrous.

If not for the words Maupassant chose, this distinction would not be so glaring, and the entire point of the story would be lost.