Mathilde Loisel Character Analysis in The Necklace Essay Example

In the story, “The Necklace” Guy de Maupassant talks about Mathilde Loisel. A Middle-class wife who fantasizes about leading a life of wealth and what her life would be if she were wealthy. This story takes place in Paris. Mathilde had always felt like she belonged in the upper-class lifestyle. Her character strongly portrays the idea of not taking what you have in the current moment for granted. This story is relevant due to its concept of how fast someone can go from having what they view as everything, to absolutely nothing. By putting in front of us someone who worked for nothing and later on lost everything, we can acknowledge that anything and everything can change suddenly. At the beginning of the story her character took many things for granted and was extremely unappreciative. 

However, this changed later on in the story as her character developed into someone honest. Mathilde did not like living the middle-class lifestyle. She was very unhappy with the life she had made for herself. She would constantly daydream about owning very expensive stuff that she could not afford. The author uses the idea of reality and illusion because she so badly wants to be something she is not. This is established when the author states, “She dreamed of vast living rooms furnished in rare old silks, elegant furniture loaded with priceless ornaments, and inviting smaller rooms, perfumed, made for afternoon chats with close friends - famous, sought after men, who all women envy and desire” (Guy de Maupassant). Here the author is implying that because she allows herself to become more focused on having all of the things she does not have, she suffers from emotions that stem from her sense of lack. Yet, if she were to focus on what she does have and be grateful for it, she might just suffer a little bit less. Guy de Maupassant states,  “When she sat down to dinner at a round table covered with a three-day-old cloth opposite her husband who, lifting the lid off the soup, shouted excitedly, "Ah! Beef stew! What could be better," she dreamed of fine dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestries which peopled the walls with figures from another time and strange birds in fairy forests; she dreamed of delicious dishes served on wonderful plates, of whispered gallantries listened to with an inscrutable smile as one ate the pink flesh of a trout or the wings of a quail.” This indicates that she has never acknowledged her reality and that she refuses to accept the fact that she is not living a high-class lifestyle, but instead a middle-class one.

After she attends the ball her life starts going downwards. When Matildes’s husband agreed to get her a dress, she didn't think that it was good enough and claimed she looked “cheap”. She said she wanted jewelry so she could look high-class and be perceived as a wealthy woman. "I'm upset that I have no jewels, not a single stone to wear. I will look cheap. I would almost rather not go to the party" (Guy de Maupassant). This proves that even though her husband lent her money so she could buy herself a nice dress, that didn't seem like it was enough for her. The author states, “In front of the mirror, she took off the clothes around her shoulders, taking a final look at herself in all her glory. But suddenly she uttered a cry. She no longer had the necklace around her neck!” (Guy de Maupassant). From being so greedy and not having everything she wanted, to daydreaming about all the stuff she wanted, she had finally gotten a chance to put on a stunning necklace and only ended up losing it. 

This story represents the idea of how deceiving others can lead to one's ruin, and how greed can alter one’s personality. Mathilde suffered badly mentally by daydreaming and imagining things about stuff she has never had and never realizing her reality. After the ball, she loses the necklace and has not told her friend. Later in life, she sees her and Jeanne says that they are not real diamonds. This story tells us that if Mathilde had been honest from the start to her friend Jeanne, she would not have been through everything she did to get the money.