In Guy de Maupassant's short story, "The Necklace," Mathilde Loisel is a
pretty and charming girl who was born into poverty. She is described as
"having no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood,
loved, wedded by any rich and distinguished man" (de Maupassant 983).
Mathilde becomes bitter because she is not rich. Over time, she becomes so
obsessed with materialism that everything she sees reminds her of what she
does not have. When she sat down to dinner with her husband, she imaged a
more luxurious dining setting. The dance presents her with a situation to
have something nice, and even though they could not even afford her dress,
she bought one anyway. "All those things, of which another woman of her
rank would have never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her
angry" (984). Clearly, Mathilde is envious of the life she does not have
and resentful of the life she does have.
Mathilde's thoughts and actions clearly demonstrate the depth of her
vanity. She was not happy. We are told, "She had no dresses, jewels,
nothing. And she loved nothing but that" (984). This statement
demonstrates her true selfishness. She also reveals how manipulative she
can be when she makes her husband feel guilty when she tells him, "Give
your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I" (985).
It is also interesting to note how she knew how much money would buy her a
nice enough dress for the ball. In addition, when she sees Mme.
Forestier's diamonds, "her heart began to beat with an immoderate desire"
(986). Additionally, the only time she ever seemed to enjoy herself was at
the ball. All of these scenes illustrate how Mathilde was completely
consumed with her vanity to the point that she could not enjoy her place in
Many would consider Mathilde's fate exactly what she deserved. Her
vanity caused her to take the most expensive necklace ...