In the Necklace Guy de Maupassant did not really describe the necklace itself, he only stated that it was "superb" (paragraph 47). However, the author used three different settings such as the original apartment, the ball at the Ministry of Education, and the cold water flat upon the lives of the Loisels. In fact, the author associated the settings with the changing character of the main character, Mathilde Loisel. .
The original apartment was described as "grim with drab walls, threadbare furniture, and ugly curtains" (paragraph 3); literally that was exactly the way Mathilde was feeling with the kind of life she was having. In addition, the author described the settings of the apartment reflecting on Mathilde's unhappiness; for instance, he compared the drab walls with Mathilde's plain and monotonous life, the shabby furniture with her feelings of living like a second-class citizen who cannot enjoy of luxurious, expensive, and comfortable things, and the ugly curtains with the fact that she could not show her beauty due to her cheap belongings. Therefore, it is predictable that Mathilde's taste was for luxurious and exotic things. She did not appreciate what she had, not even the "good boiled beef" (paragraph 4) that was considered a delicious banquet to her husband.
On the other hand, Mathilde's character and settings as well suffered an impressive change the day of the ball at Ministry of Education. Mathilde is described as "stylish, graceful, smiling, and wild with joy" (paragraph 51). Even tough the settings are not really given in detail, it is expected that that place was pretty elegant maybe "decorated with oriental tapestries and lighted by high bronze floor lamps" (paragraph 3) just like the way she dreamed. Thus, Mathilde's dreams of wealth became true; although it was only for a few hours, she knew how to spend that night and make it unforgettable. In addition, that was definitely the night she was waiting for because even her dreams of "expensive banquets with shining place settings" (paragraph 4) and being "courted by a distinguish man" (paragraph1) became true.