And here is the second part of my analysis.

         In order to portray the characters, to describe the setting, to reveal the idea or to render the general mood of the story vividly and convincingly the author of the analysed text resorts to the following devices:

Lexical:

v Simile

·        “SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE PRETTY AND CHARMING GIRLS BORN, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans”.

·        “…Her tastes were simple because she had never been able to afford any other, but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her…”

·        “…"No . . . there's nothing so humiliating as looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women."…”

·        “…At last they found on the quay one of those old night prowling carriages which are only to be seen in Paris after dark, as though they were ashamed of their shabbiness in the daylight…”

·        “…And, clad like a poor woman, she went to the fruiterer, to the grocer, to the butcher, a basket on her arm, haggling, insulted, fighting for every wretched halfpenny of her money…”

·        “…She had become like all the other strong, hard, coarse women of poor households…”

I think that the author uses all these similes to give us a more exact and expressive description of the main character’s appearance and character and other things around. Especially the last two quotes. We see a perfect comparison of Mathilde Loisel to poor women whom she despised and never wanted to be one of them. It’s like the irony of the fate.

v Personification

·        “…She tried the effect of the jewels before the mirror, hesitating, unable to make up her mind to leave them, to give them up…”

I guess that this stylistic device is used to show the materialistic and greedy to wealth trait of character of Mathilde. She wanted to be rich so much that even jewels were like alive objects to her. She was in love with that “superb diamond necklace” as if with a real man.

·        “…"Wear flowers," he said. "They're very smart at this time of the year…”

v Epithets

·        Instinctive elegance;

·        Heavy warmth;

·        Antique silks;

·        Delicate meals;

·        Inscrutable smile;

·        Careful-minded clerk;

·        Ruinous agreement;

·        Chilly voice;

·        Hateful duties

·        Proud and innocent happiness etc.

These epithets are used to make the presented events in the story more true-to-life, vivid and expressive to the reader.

v Irony

·        “SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE PRETTY AND CHARMING GIRLS BORN, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans…”

·        “…"You say you bought a diamond necklace to replace mine?"… "Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs! . . . "”

Here irony formally shows the positive or neutral attitude of the narrator to the main character and her ambitious and the joke the fate had played with her but in fact it expresses the negative evaluation of it.

v Oxymoron

·        “…She had longed so eagerly to charm, to be desired, to be wildly attractive and sought after…”

It is created by the author to make the utterance emotionally charged, vivid and fresh. And with the help of this SD we can understand the desires and wishes of Mathilde Loisel better.

v Hyperbole

·        “…From the very first she played her part heroically…”

·        “…She waited all day long, in the same state of bewilderment at this fearful catastrophe…”

No doubt that it is used here for intensification, for the reader better to feel the moment or event happened.

v Zeugma

·        “…They walked down towards the Seine, desperate and shivering…”

Well, I suppose that the main function of zeugma – to create a humorous effect, perfectly matches to this statement too. The ball ended, the magic power flew and they had to return to the cruel and cold reality.

Syntactical:

v Ellipsis

·        “…"What's the matter with you? What's the matter with you?" he faltered…"Nothing. Only I haven't a dress and so I can't go to this party…”

·        “…"What! . . . Impossible!"”

·        “…"No. You didn't notice it, did you?". "No."…”

Elliptical sentences are used in this short story to present the emotional tension of the speech.

v Aposiopesis (break in the narrative)

·        “"Why, the dress you go to the theatre in. It looks very nice, to me...."”

·        “"No . . . there's nothing so humiliating as looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women."”

·        “"I . . . I . . . I've no longer got Madame Forestier's necklace. . . ."”

·        “"What! . . . Impossible!"”

·        “"But . . . Madame . . ." she stammered. "I don't know . . . you must be making a mistake."”

·        “"No . . . I am Mathilde Loisel."”

·        “"Oh! . . . my poor Mathilde, how you have changed! . . ."”

·        “"Yes, I've had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows . . . and all on your account."”

·        “"On my account! . . . How was that?"”

·        “"I brought you another one just like it. And for the last ten years we have been paying for it. You realise it wasn't easy for us; we had no money. . . . Well, it's paid for at last, and I'm glad indeed."”

·        “"Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs! . . . "”

To my mind, all these cases of aposiopesis are used because the speakers’ emotions prevent them from finishing the statements.

v Asyndeton

·        “…Her tastes were simple because she had never been able to afford any other, but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her; for women have no caste or class, their beauty, grace, and charm serving them for birth or family…”

·        “…she imagined delicate meals, gleaming silver, tapestries peopling the walls with folk of a past age and strange birds in faery forests; she imagined delicate food served in marvellous dishes, murmured gallantries, listened to with an inscrutable smile as one trifled with the rosy flesh of trout or wings of asparagus chicken…”

·        “…And these were the only things she loved; she felt that she was made for them…”

·        “…Everyone wants one; it's very select, and very few go to the clerks…”

·        “…They changed their flat; they took a garret under the roof…”

·        “…She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and dish-cloths, and hung them out to dry on a string; every morning she took the dustbin down into the street and carried up the water, stopping on each landing to get her breath…”

·        “…I've had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows…”

·        “…You realise it wasn't easy for us; we had no money…”

With the help of this SD the author made the narrative measured, energetic, dynamic and tense.

v Polysyndeton

·        She danced madly, ecstatically, drunk with pleasure, with no thought for anything, in the triumph of her beauty, in the pride of her success, in a cloud of happiness made up of this universal homage and admiration, of the desires she had aroused, of the completeness of a victory so dear to her feminine heart.

This SD makes the utterance more rhythmical and dynamic.

v Inversion

·        “…Their natural delicacy, their instinctive elegance, their nimbleness of wit, are their only mark of rank, and put the slum girl on a level with the highest lady in the land…”

·        “…One evening her husband came home with an exultant air, holding a large envelope in his hand…”

·        “…Swiftly she tore the paper and drew out a printed card on which were these words…”

·        “…Instead of being delighted, as her-husband hoped, she flung the invitation petulantly across the table, murmuring…”

·        “…But with a violent effort she overcame her grief and replied in a calm voice, wiping her wet cheeks…”

·        “…Since midnight her husband had been dozing in a deserted little room, in company with three other men whose wives were having a good time…” etc.

The main function of it is to put emphasis on some moments and events happened.

v Emphatic constructions

·        “…"It was not I who sold this necklace, Madame; I must have merely supplied the clasp."…”

·        “…He did borrow it, getting a thousand from one man, five hundred from another, five louis here, three louis there…”

My respect to the author who made such a great choice of intensifiers.

v Climax

·        “…She danced madly, ecstatically, drunk with pleasure, with no thought for anything, in the triumph of her beauty, in the pride of her success, in a cloud of happiness made up of this universal homage and admiration, of the desires she had aroused, of the completeness of a victory so dear to her feminine heart…”

v Anticlimax

·        “…She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing…”

v Rhetorical questions

·        “…What could be better?...”

·        “…If she had noticed the substitution, what would she have thought? What would she have said? Would she not have taken her for a thief?...”

·        “…Why not?...”

It is used to describe the characters’ inner state in a definite moment:

1-st quote – Mr. Loisel is satisfied with the life he has. Maybe, he also wanted to raise his wife’s mood.

2-nd quote – Mathilde is frightened that their cheat would be open.

3-d quote – Mathilde became indifferent to the opinion of others. She is ready to tell the truth.

v Exclamations

·        “…Aha! Scotch broth!...”

·        “…"How stupid you are!"…”

·        “…"What! . . . Impossible!"…”

·        “…"Oh! . . . my poor Mathilde, how you have changed!...”

·        “…"On my account!...”

·        “…"Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs! . . . "”

v Foreign words (borrowed from French)

·        Monsieur and Madame;

·        the Rue des Martyrs;

·        Louis.

They help the reader better to guess where the events take place and the background of the characters.

Phonetic:

v Alliteration

·        “…She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing…”

·        “…She would weep whole days, with grief, regret, despair, and misery…”

·        “…The Minister of Education and Madame Ramponneau request the pleasure of the company of Monsieur and Madame Loisel at the Ministry on the evening of Monday, January the 18th…”

·        “…Instead of being delighted, as her-husband hoped, she flung the invitation petulantly across the table…” and a lot of other examples.

v Assonance

·        “…She had no marriage portion, no expectations, no means of getting known, understood, loved, and wedded by a man of wealth and distinction; and she let herself be married off to a little clerk in the Ministry of Education. Her tastes were simple because she had never been able to afford any other, but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her; for women have no caste or class, their beauty, grace, and charm serving them for birth or family…”

·        “…Their natural delicacy, their instinctive elegance, their nimbleness of wit, are their only mark of rank, and put the slum girl on a level with the highest lady in the land…”

·        “…She imagined silent antechambers, heavy with Oriental tapestries, lit by torches in lofty bronze sockets, with two tall footmen in knee-breeches sleeping in large arm-chairs, overcome by the heavy warmth of the stove…” and a lot of others.

Both these SD are used to make the utterances expressive and melodic.

Graphic:

v Capitalization

·        “SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE PRETTY AND CHARMING GIRLS BORN…”

·        “…They begged the jeweller not tO sell it for three days…”

It is used to give more emotive significance to the word or statement. Moreover, it helps us to see the narrator’s attitude to the characters or, as in the second case, to feel the inside and desperate emotions of the characters.

          Summing up the analysis of the chosen short story I should admit that the writer Guy de Maupassant brilliantly, marvelously and magically uses ALL the mentioned above stylistic devices which help to reveal the main character’s nature, to create true-to-life atmosphere of the events depicted and bring home to the reader the main idea of the text.

          I’m Awfully Glad that I’ve chosen this story! It’s worth reading!

          I'm FINALLY DONE with it!!!!!!!!!))))))))))What a glad person I am!