When she finds herself in debt, Madame Loisel plays her part with

"sudden heroism." What does she do that might be called heroic? Cite

evidence from the text to support your response.

During her time of deprivation, Madame Loisel plays her part "with sudden heroism" to pay the "dreadful debt," after she lost the necklace.

Explanation:

In Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace," Madame Loisel is beautiful but is unhappy with the life she is born into, and with her marriage. She values beauty and wealth. She thinks that she deserves social recognition, admiration and attention but when reality and fantasy clash, things are different. She can't distinguish between the two. She is not poor at the beginning of the story. Her husband and she live very modestly, go to the theatre and have a servant, but they are far away from the class to which Madame Loisel thinks she should belong based on her beauty. There is dissatisfaction to everything she sees or her husband does. But the tables turn when she loses the necklace and, instead of admitting this to Madame Forestier, she and her husband decide to mortgage their future and pay for the lost jewellery. The change is an unexpected turn for Mathilde, who was never satisfied. This shift in her attitude is the sign of "sudden heroism."

The evidence from the text which supports this is -

"She bore her part, however, with sudden heroism. That dreadful debt must be paid. She would pay it."

" ... had become the woman of impoverished households--strong and hard and rough."