Mathilde The Missing Jewelry

She danced joyfully, passionately, intoxicated with pleasure, thinking of nothing but the moment, in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, on cloud nine with happiness made up of all the admiration, of all the aroused desire, of this victory so complete and so sweet to the heart of any women (Maupassant 8).

Feeling trapped in a life that she does not want or appreciate because she lacks the finer things already presents the negative impact it has on her. Her life is comfortable, yet the appearance of her walls and furniture is not high-class enough for her, damaging not only her happiness but also her own self worth. Another description of Mathilde states, “She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but that; she felt made for that. She would so have liked to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after” (1). Mathilde not only wants to have money to selfishly better her own social life but in her dreams of being wealthy, she does not seem to want to do anything more impactful with it. Her focus on the material things such as dresses and jewels traps her in a bubble where she can only be the person she aspires to be if she has items that can be acquired with more money. This will never bring her true happiness or fulfillment because even if she does become incredibly wealthy, she will always want more or to be at a higher class. Mathilde’s dreams become especially impossible to reach when she accidentally loses her upscale friend’s supposed diamond necklace and goes into debt buying an identical one to return back to her friend. Mathilde’s life turns into days full of labor trying to earn back the money and the narrator states, “That dreadful debt must be paid.

Mathilde believes she does not belong in the social class she is in. Instead Mathilde’s desire is for a wealthier living environment, but she cannot contain it because of her husband’s more underclass job. “She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but that; she felt made for that. She would so have liked to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after” (68).

Thereafter, by learning a lesson from her doings there was a great transformation in Mathilde’s character from beginning to end of the story. After giving the diamond necklace to Forrestier she knew they have to live a “horrible” (5) life “of the needy.” (5) . Thus “with sudden heroism” (5) she decided to repay the debt taken for that necklace and “dismissed their servant, changed their lodgings and rented a garret under the roof.” (5) The woman who valued her youth and beauty the most lost it and became the woman of “impoverished household-strong and hard and rough.” (5) But sometimes she

It is also very apparent in the story that Mathilde is willing to sacrifice her relationships for material things. This can be seen with the following quote “‘Let’s see, Mathilde. How much would a suitable outfit cost-one you could wear to other affairs too-something very simple?’ She thought it over for several

Beautiful Mathlide Loisel is an unsatisfied wife that lives a life that she most brutally hates. Her life consists of a loving husband and a comfortable home, but she still seems to be totally unhappy, “She was a simple person without the money to dress well, but she was as unhappy as if she had gone through bankruptcy, for a woman have neither rank nor race”(Maupassant 7). Loisel 's sorrow over wealth and fancy things puts a constant pain on her husband. In Guy de Maupassant short story “The Necklace,” Mathlide Loisel goes from being a materialistic, dishonest woman to becoming an honest, hard-working woman.

She was always dreaming and seeing things as if it was fantasy. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born with all the delicacies and all the luxuries” (Maupassant). The author allows the reader to foreshadow that her ways brings her into a devastation. She had everything she needed: a husband, a nice income, and she even had the looks. She just wanted more. Mathilde didn’t understand how with such great looks why she couldn’t have riches. Even though her husband bought the both of them tickets to a ball, Mathilde still refused to go because she had not one thing to wear. However, when she easily convinces her husband into buying a dress that cost four-hundred francs, even though her husband had other plans to do for the money. Now, she had a dress, but, with greed, she still demanded she needed something else. “It annoys me not to have a jewel, not a single stone, to put on. I shall look like distress. I would almost rather not go to this party” (Maupassant). Maupassant clarified that even though her husband went and bought her a dress, she still wanted something

Throughout history, women have had little power in the world. Many times a woman’s family and connections determined what social standing she had. How much money a woman’s family had often would determine whom a woman would marry and how comfortably she would live her life. France in the late 1800’s was no exception. Guy de Maupassant in his story “The Necklace” through Mathilde’s life and the social event of a party. At first Mathilde might seem greedy and ungrateful, but her character shows through in the event of enormous debt. The social setting of The Necklace shows that Mathilde’s greed comes more from social norms rather than her character.

Not long after, her husband sacrifices 400 francs, his gun trip with his friends, a gun, his time, and his life. She doesn’t even say thank you to her husband once, even though he did so much work for her. Additionally, Mathilde’s personality is very self-centered and very

She also had the mentality that because she finished school working and with a family she should be rewarded.

All of the sacrifices she made was not worth the reward of wearing the necklace. Before, her life wasn’t so bad after all. She had a roof on top of her head, also she had a maid. Which means that her life was not as bad as she thought it was. She turned her life into a misery.

Mathilde is depicted by Maupassant as feeling “unhappy as though she had really fallen from her proper station” (68). Mathilde’s frequent remarks about her husband also show the reader that she is not happy. Another time the reader can see that Mathilde is unhappy where she is socially is when Maupassant writes, “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls, from the worn

To show that Mathilde is dissatisfied with her ordinary life, the author mentions “She grieved over the shabbiness of her apartment, the dinginess of the walls, the worn-out appearance of the chairs, the ugliness of the draperies” (Maupassant 198). This quote tells the reader that Madame Loisel has many complaints about her lifestyle as well as her

She would have never thought that life would turn out like this. Growing up as one of the rich kids she always thought that being poor was a life-choice, that poor people were just lazy or uneducated and that this would be the reason for them to end up on the streets. Now she knew better. Being poor was not a choice. Everything could change in a heartbeat.

Mathilde Loisel typifies an obsession with wealth, serving as the physical representation of an overpowering desire that is ultimately self-destructive and causes a loss of her social identity. When detailing the appearance of her home, Mathilde “suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the