In de Maupassant's Necklace, Mathilde and her husband are dissimilar in character. Mathilde Loisel, a wife of a clerk, is very discontent and unloving to her husband Monsieur Loisel. She refers to her husband as “... a little clerk…”(1). This demeans her spouse and her lifestyle that he provides that is not quite desirable seem much more tragic and troublesome. Mathilde also thinks that her husband is not enough for her and longs for a richer husband. Not only that, she also desires to be lusted after by many men and for women to be jealous of her. She declares “ … with men - famous and sought after, whom all women envy and whose attention they all desire.” (1). On the other hand, her husband, Monsieur Loisel, is very loving and adores his wife. …show more content…
Monsieur makes tremendous efforts to get the items to go to the ball and to get the tickets itself. On the issue of the dress, Mathilde states “ … I could manage it with four hundred francs.”(2); In response, “He had grown a little pale, because he was laying aside just that amount to buy a gun…” (2). Monsieur Loisel lovingly gives up the money he was coveting to buy a gun for his wife’s needs. Nonetheless, Mathilde Loisel has a burning desire to be glamorous and rich. She is enamoured with the idea of being wealthy and living in grandeur. It is unlike the dingy lifestyle that she has. Mathilde is chasing the unattainable. It also shows that she is not truly satisfied with her husband and the life that he provides for her. At the same time, Monsieur, a clerk and her husband, is completely content with the lifestyle that they lead. It is shown depicted particularly well when he exclaims “ … with an enchanted air, ‘Ah, the good pot-au-feu! I don’t know anything better than that,” (1). Simultaneously, Mathilde is thinking of grand and luxurious dinners with nobles and how poor their homely meal that they are having is in
Upon finding out that both she and her husband are invited to the palace, “Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped she threw the invitation on the table,” (Maupassant 555). Mathilde does not appreciate the invitation and instead starts worrying about her lack of proper dress, or in this case her lack of an expensive dress to wear. Her poor husband had trouble getting an invitation in the first place, and only wanted one because he thought Mathilde would be happy, “But my dear, I thought you would be glad. You never go out, and this is such a fine opportunity. I had awful trouble to get it. Everyone wants to go; it is very select, and they are not giving many invitations to clerks,” (Maupassant 555). Her husband only wants what’s best for her and couldn’t care less about going to the palace, he only wants to go because he thought his wife would like the change of scenery. This shows that the husband loves Mathilde dearly and would do anything for her. He further proves his loyalty and love by sacrificing the money he put aside for himself to buy a gun, to buy Mathilde an expensive dress with. Unlike his wife, M. Loisel appreciates and is thankful for his lifestyle. He knows there’s no use in dreaming for more, and so he’s always accepted his lifestyle without having any burning desires to be wealthy. Mathilde on the other hand, spends so much of her time convincing herself that possessions only have value if they are expensive, that she loses sight of the real value
First, Maupassant makes the character, Madame Loisel, seem as though she does not appreciate the things she has in her life. As the narrator states in the story,““She had a rich friend, a schoolmate from the convent which she had
In “The Necklace”, Mathilde Loisel is a woman who cannot tolerate her lower-class status, believing “herself born for every delicacy and luxury”(82). Mathilde’s vain materialistic goals, make her bitter and unhappy. The main point of irony in the story is the fact that Mathilde borrows the necklace and looses it. The necklace was very expensive, or so she thought, so she ended up in poverty
Mathilde never seemed satisfied with what she had. She envied the upper class and felt she should have what they have. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling” (Maupassant). This desire to belong in the upper class caused her only to focus on what she did not have. When her husband surprises her with the invitation to the ball the only thing she can think about is not having the proper dress for the occasion. “She looked at him with an irritated eye, and she said, impatiently: “’And what do you expect me to put on my back?’” (Maupassant). It seemed
In Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" is the story of Mathilde Loisel, who resents her "station" in life. Mathilde Loisel is shown to be a vain and ungrateful person who believes that she was born to have a better life. She feels that she has married beneath her, in spite of the fact that her husband is a hard working and dependable man. Mathilde is unable to recognize and appreciate the
When she is given the opportunity to dress in extravagant clothing and act like she is wealthy, she found a “sense of triumph that is so sweet to a woman’s heart” (3). Mathilda Loisel’s change from the exposition of the short story to the rising action is dramatic. The reader’s first impression of the character is that she is unhappy and resentful but at the party she comes off just the opposite. She was joyful and “danced wildly, with passion, drunk on pleasure, forgetting everything in the triumph of her beauty” (3). Mathilda Loisel’s true character starts to reveal itself when the reader sees how much value she puts in possessions.
Do you know a materialistic person, who only cares about money? Do you like this person? Usually, people like this are not so friendly, just like Mathilde was. But in this case, Mathilde was able to change, and we can see this by some facts in the text; she was arrogant and materialistic, then became a motivated and comprehensive, and also she was lazy, but in the final she became a very hard worker woman. Mathilde actions and attitudes changes are very complex, but with these two things as support, it is possible to make this change very clear to understand.
Now consider the role of Mathilde Loisel in “The Necklace”. She constantly grieves about her simple life and fantasizes about extravagant life style with rich people and food surrounding her. Her husband is a simple man and is satisfied with his life. He appreciates her for the food which is cooked and never complains. Being in the Ministry of Education their lifestyle is modest. Mathilde is not satisfied on the other hand even when her husband proudly announces that they have been invited at a formal party held by the Ministry of Education. The irony in the story is more or less the same with regard to the female characters. Mathilde cries and gets her prize in the form of a dress but she is never satisfied. She wants jewelry as well. The necklace that she borrows from Madame Forestier teaches her a lesson of life. Since she is not familiar with the real jewelry she picks the cheapest one from her collection and wears it to the party why she loses it. Upon not finding the jewelry her husband takes the pain of selling everything out just to purchase an identical necklace worth 40,000 francs which leaves them poverty stricken for the next ten years during which her husband does three jobs and
Monsieur Loisel and Mathilde Loisel have little interaction physically within the story, however their relationship can be described through their dialogue. Monsieur Loisel often sees Mathilde’s bodily expressions and attempts to make conversation. This usually ends in Mathilde ranting about her envies and “needs”. Monsieur Loisel ends up trying to buy her happiness, but nothing is ever enough for her. Her social class is holding her back from happiness, and nothing he can say or buy fills the gap that she has for joy. The only visible moment of happiness we see of her is during the
He is satisfied with his talents and almost never asks for more than what he needs. These two are opposites in many ways, but are also similar to each other because of their tragic flaws that led to their downfalls-Mathilde’s being greed and Finny’s being contentedness in a greedy world. Madame Mathilde Loisel is a beautiful woman who thinks she was cursed by not being able to enjoy the luxuries that many women around her can. She longs for more exquisite dinners, for example, while her husband, Monsieur Loisel, is happy with a simple beef stew. When Monsieur and Madame Loisel receive an invitation to a ball hosted by the minister of education,
When her husband gave her the invitation to the ball, which was a perfect place to meet the rich people, Mathilde got mad and cried. It was a shame since she has nothing to wear. Mr Loisel gave his money to Mathilde and she got an elegance dress. But she didn’t stop and wanted to have jewels. Mathilde met her friend, Madame Forestier and chose an gorgeous diamond necklace. Of course, she became the prettiest woman in the ball, with everyone stared at her, as if she was the most attractive woman ever. She felt fascinated, just like her dream came true. But then a tragic came to her. She lost the necklace! Mathilde and her husband tried to find the necklace, but they found nothing. Mathilde lost her hope and had aged five years. The Loisels finally decided to replace the diamonds for 36 000 Francs, spent all of their money and accepted to pay the debts. It was such an unfortunate situation. After Mathilde lost the necklace, she was described as “ And, clad like a poor woman, she went to the fruiterer, to the grocer, to the butcher, a basket on her arm, haggling, insulted, fighting for every wretched halfpenny of her money”. (Maupassant 8). The family was suffering from poverty and have to pay the debts continuously. Mathilde changed immediately and did everything. They have worked so hard to earn every single penny for their life, to survive and pay all those debts. The third person limited
The internal conflicts established in “The Necklace” were a result of Madame Loisels perception of happiness. Because of her ungrateful and dejected views on life, she didn’t realize nor recognize true merriment. In the text, Guy De Maupassant shows how Madame “..was one of those pretty and charming girls born as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of
Monsieur Loisel, in contrast, is content with his place in life. He too is proud, but of what he has achieved, not what he desires to be. He does not yearn for dainty dinners but is satisfied with plain cooking: “... her husband, who uncovered the soup-tureen and declared with an enchanted air, ‘Ah, the good pot-au-feu! I dont know anything better than that.’” (Maupassant 1). Monsieur Loisel is happy and shows pride in the simple things in life. He is also proud when he receives the invitation to the ball and cannot understand his wife’s negative reaction to the invitation: “Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she threw the invitation on the table with disdain…” (Maupassant 2). He sacrifices money he has saved to buy a gun so that his wife can buy a suitable dress, but she is still not happy.
The nineteenth century French writer, Guy De Maupassant, tells an intriguing story in "The Necklace." He depicts the painful life of a beautiful woman, unhappily born into an average family of clerks. She felt that she was destined to marry into wealth but sadly found herself settling as she married an average copyist. Unlike the women of today, women in the nineteenth century were not fortunate enough to have a career of their own; they were either born into a wealthy family or married a man with money. In "The Necklace", Guy De Maupassant creatively reveals Mathilde Loisel's dreams of a decadent lifestyle. As her struggles start to unravel, it becomes obvious that her heartache is solely
But he said: ‘Very well. I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty gown’” (3). This generosity, in consequence, makes Madame Loisel become even more spoiled. Madame Loisel’s unhappiness, in turn, causes Monsieur Loisel to become even more adulating, as he not only pays for her dress, but also allows her to dance with other men while he sleeps in the anteroom instead of his own home. Finally, Monsieur Loisel’s suggestion to lie to Madame Forestier about the necklace causes Madame Loisel to become strong and hard-working in order to pay off their debt, “Thereafter Madame Loisel knew the horrible existence of the needy. She bore her part, however, with sudden heroism. That dreadful debt must be paid. She would pay it” (8). These mutual changes in response to the other’s flaws, such as Madame Loisel becoming more hedonistic as her husband becomes more sycophantic and Madame Loisel