The Diamond Necklace - Using Primitive Defense Mecanism Approach

The Diamond Necklace

               "The Necklace" tells the story of Madame Mathilde Loisel and her husband. Mathilde always imagined herself in a high social position with wonderful jewels. However, she has nothing and marries a low-paid clerk who tries his best to make her happy. Through lots of begging at work her husband is able to get a couple of invitations to the Ministry of the Public Instruction party. Mathilde then refuses to go, for she has nothing to wear.

                 Her husband is upset to see her displeasure and, using money that he was saving to buy a hunting rifle, gives Mathilde 400 francs to use. Mathilde goes out and buys a dress, but even with the dress she is not happy, as she is without any jewels to wear with it. The pair does not have much money left, so her husband suggests that she buy roses to wear with it. After Mathilde disagrees, he suggests borrowing something from her friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde picks out the fanciest diamond necklace that she can find. After attending the party, Mathilde discovers that she has lost the necklace. She tries to find a quick way to replace it. She goes to a shop and discovers the price of a similar necklace to be 36,000 francs. She gets the new necklace after borrowing the money, but the long path of her financial struggles begins.

Ten years later, while in a park, she suddenly sees Madame Jeanne Forestier and was shocked to find that the original necklace which she lost in the ball was an imitation, worth a very low amount at the most.

Analysis

Using Primitive Defense Mecanism Approach

               Denial is the refusal to accept reality or fact, acting as if a painful event, thought or feeling did not exist. It is considered one of the most primitive of the defense mechanisms because it is characteristic of early childhood development. Many people use denial in their everyday lives to avoid dealing with painful feelings or areas of their life they don’t wish to admit. For instance, a person who is a functioning alcoholic will often simply deny they have a drinking problem, pointing to how well they function in their job and relationships.

From the statement above, the story of “the diamond necklace” can be concluded that both Madame Mathilde Loisel and her husband do not admit that they are poor. So they pretend to be rich by borrowing  Madame Jeanne Forestier’s necklace to attend the party. The theory above resemblances to the case of the diamond necklace. The example of the denial theory that states “a person who is a functioning alcoholic will often simply deny they have a drinking problem, pointing to how well they function in their job and relationships.” It is similar that both the actors of the story do not want to admit the sorrow of their poverty. They buy new dress and borrow a necklace, however, after they lose the borrowed necklace, they still do not want to admit it to  Madame Jeanne Forestier due to their fear. They owe to the store which sells the similar necklace and attempt to fulfill their debt by working hard without realizing that they look so old and ugly. They point to Madam Jeanne that they can turn back her jewels, however, the way they do is dishonest.