Title: What is the complication in Maupassant's "The Necklace" that sets up the conflict? - eNotes.com
Headings: 
The Necklace
What is the complication in Maupassant's "The Necklace" that sets up the conflict?
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The complication that causes the conflict in " The Necklace " is for Madame Loisel to find the things in life that will make her fit into a higher social class. This is based on material things. In her mind she feels that she was deprived the life of a socialite and that she deserves to have whatever it takes to get her there. Mr. Loisel begins to take her on this journey by getting her a ticket to a very prestigious event that only "the finest" are invited to. Once she has the invitation, she now pouts because she has nothing to wear. When her husband gives her the money, he has been saving for a rifle, it still is not enough. She then complains that she has no jewelry to wear, so her husband tells her to ask her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier, to borrow a bauble to wear. Based on these three problems, the conflict is set. From the time she borrows the necklace, to the end of the story, her life is all downhill, reducing her to a lower social class than when she started.