Compare and Contrast Essay - Cinderella and the Necklace

The deceptiveness of appearance and the theme of appearance vs reality are prominent in both stories. In The Necklace, Mathilde is not wealthy nor of a higher social class, however, she dreams of living an extravagant life and covets what other people have that she does not. At the night of the party, she matches the ideal persona she always envisioned deceiving others into believing she was of a higher class. This illusion illustrates the theme of appearance vs reality where Mathilde portrays herself as a woman of wealth, where in reality, she was poor. Cinderella on the other hand did not desire the material belongings that Mathilde did and was grateful for the little that she had. Thanks to her godmother, she was fortunate enough to attend the ball and her beauty impressed all. Her appearance did not reflect the usual personality of Cinderella relating to the state Mathilde was in at the party. Their deceptive appearance had the entire gathering in awe of their beauty and as the night began to end they both hurried home to prevent revealing their true state. Both Cinderella and Mathilde enjoyed the one night that meant the most to them and it ended as both characters misplaced an element representing their beauty.

The representation of the necklace and the slipper in the short stories also relates to the theme of appearance vs reality and may also link back to the theme of social class. The necklace Mathilde wore to the party impressed many people and gave Mathilde a sense of belonging to a higher social class. Cinderella’s slipper was found by the prince and determined him to find the beautiful owner. These two items played an essential role in the lives of Mathilde and Cinderella. Mathilde borrowed the necklace that she had misplaced from a friend and decided to replace it without telling her. Mathilde and her husband bought a new necklace to return to the rightful owner and had spent the following ten years working to repay the debts owed. After the ten years, Mathilde had aged immensely and her life had turned out for the worse ever since the party. Upon reuniting with the old friend whom she borrowed the necklace from, she was told the necklace was an imitation and that it was inexpensive. This symbolizes the lifestyle of Mathilde as she made an effort to impress people by her looks but her personality and intentions were did not reflect her looks. Much like the necklace, Mathilde was beautiful but worthless within. Cinderella’s slipper also had a major impact on her life. After the ball, the prince found her slipper and was determined to find who it belongs to. After having all the women in the town try on the slipper searching for a perfect fit, he discovered Cinderella was the women of his dreams. The prince married her and they stayed in a palace together and lived happily ever after.

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