The short stories “Cinderella” by Charles Perrault and “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant develop strong topics through three similarities and differences in the plot.
In both stories, the inciting incident occurs when the characters go to a momentous event. In “Cinderella”, the protagonist goes to the prince’s ball. She is poor and not worthy enough to go to the occasion which “invited all persons of fashion” (1), causing a conflict between her and society. In “The Necklace”, Mathilde Loisel’s husband gives her an invitation to the Ministry’s party. She feels insecure about her appearance, and will only go if she has a pretty dress and jewelry. Eventually, the events that transpire change their lives and start a slow incline leading to the climax. Cinderella is
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Mathilde on the other hand, loses the diamond necklace she borrowed from Mme. Forestier. Not wanting to abandon her pride, she spends 10 years of her life paying the debt off for the necklace she replaced the old one with. Clearly, without these events, their lives would have remained the same; Cinderella would have never been recognized as beautiful or have gotten married, and Mathilde would have never had to do hard labour for 10 years to pay off her debts. Another similarity rises from the justice that is achieved by the end of the story. Cinderella’s step-sisters and step-mother treated her like a slave; they made her do all the chores, clean up the house, and did not let her go to the prince’s ball. Nearing the end, justice is achieved when the prince realizes that Cinderella is the girl he was looking for. The step-sisters, as hard as they persisted, could not fit in the glass slipper, and although Cinderella treated them well, they did not get the prince they longed for. In Mathilde’s case, she was too prideful to let Mme. Forestier know that she had lost the necklace. She replaced it with another