Ironies in "A Respectable Woman" and "The Necklace"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that in both stories---"A Respectable Woman" by Kate Chopin and "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant---the authors' use of dramatic and situational irony to force the reader's perspective into the minds of the protagonists, making the pain of what they experience surreally intense. The author of this paper believes that in these stories the irony can make us understand truths and sharpen our focus on the absurdity of a situation.

From the Paper:

"Helen Taylor wrote about Maupassant that he was a man who escaped from tradition and authority, who had entered into himself and looked out upon life through his own being and with his own eyes (5:700-701).
In Kate Chopin's, "A Respectable Woman" and Guy de Maupassant's, "The Necklace" the protagonists are female. They are both dynamic and radius characters who strive with inner conflicts. The stories take place in the late 1800's. During this time, women were controlled by their spouses and they had to be submissive to their husbands."

More papers on Ironies in "A Respectable Woman" and "The Necklace":

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• Analytical Essay # 25351 : "Kate Chopin's "A Respectable Woman"
• Comparison Essay # 90900 : "'The Story of an Hour' and 'The Necklace'"

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