It is shown in the story that Mathilde Loisel cares only for herself and takes very little consideration of others around her. This selfishness is shown through the story by her thoughts and what she says. In the story Madame Loisel shows how selfish she is by a few of her thoughts. “"Look here, Mathilde," he persisted. "What would be the cost of a suitable dress, which you could use on other occasions as well, something very simple?"(3). How would she answer this question some may ask? “She thought for several seconds, reckoning up prices and also wondering for how large a sum she could ask without bringing upon herself an immediate refusal and an exclamation of horror from the careful-minded clerk.”( 3) Her husband is not a rich man yet
To start off with, Mathilde had many conflicts she had to face during the story. First, she was poor and low in the social class. In the textbook it says, “she dressed plainly because she could not afford fine clothes.” She does not have money to buy new clothes because she is poor. Secondly, she got invited to the ball but had no evening clothes. “Only I don’t have an evening dress and therefore I can’t go to the affair.” Mathilde is poor and does not own an evening dress and can’t afford a dress she thinks she can’t go to the ball. Next, she has no jewelry to wear. . “It’s embarrassing not to have a jewel or gem-nothing to wear on my dress. I’ll look pauper.” She has no jewels or gems to go with her dress. Finally, she overcame many conflicts
For many years the way one looked was very important but not as much as being rich. Mathilde was a beautiful women but she was not wealthy "She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans." (Maupassant 224) and this made Mathilde want to be a...
She suffered all those ten years just for a necklace that she absolutely had to have. It’s ironic because she suffered and worked for a necklace that was not worth all of that at all. The author didn’t reveal this until the very end of the story. “Oh, my poor Mathilde? Why, my necklace was paste. It was worth at moat five hundred francs” (Maupassant 558). This is situational irony in the short story The
Details about the modest apartment of the Loisels on the Street of Martyrs indicate Mathilde’s peevish lack of adjustment to life. Though everything is serviceable, she is unhappy with the “drab” walls, “threadbare” furniture, and “ugly” curtains (5). She has domestic help, but she wants more servants than the simple country girl who does the household chores in the apartment. Her embarrassment and dissatisfaction are shown by details of her irregularly cleaned tablecloth and the plain and inelegant beef stew that her husband adores. Even her best theater dress, which is appropriate for apartment life but which is inappropriate for more wealthy surroundings, makes her unhappy. All these details of the apartment establish that Mathilde’s major trait at the story’s beginning is maladjustment. She therefore seems unpleasant and unsympathetic.
At the beginning of the story, “The Necklace” Madame Loisel was young, beautiful, and had a loving husband, but was very concerned about her looks, reputation, and status. She wishes for an elegant upper class life and longs to have much more than she does. The story starts off by telling about the beauty and youthfulness of Loisel, “ She was one of
Although, because he is seen as an enemy of humans, it causes him to be scared of how people will treat him. This relates to the topic, because when humans go out and hunt predators, they do so without seeing whether or not the dragon is worthy of life. Dragon, believes that because he is so kind, he will be spared the cruel justice of humans. It is because of the selfish decisions of humans, that innocent beings get hunted.
Since the very day of her birth, Mathidle has constantly chased after the affluent existence as she fantasizes that women like her friend, Madam Forestier, relish. Through her husband’s invitation to the minister’s gala, she adorns herself in a fine dress and a priceless diamond necklace, and transforms her into a beautiful envied person far from her usual impoverished disposition. However, after she loses the necklace, replaces it, and repays the debts, she finds pleasure within her “new” life as a lower class woman, which is who she was destined to
In Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel, “Coraline,” the story takes place in a rather boring/simplistic time in which a young girl named Coraline, is always in seek of a new/better adventure. Coraline is explores her gray world and eventually comes across another world in which she finds her “other mother” who seems to portray Coraline’s view of the “perfect” lifestyle. The main idea of this text is selfishness, however the complex lesson that the story develops is how selfishness teaches us that we should self-reflect on selfish behavior and fix our actions so therefore we can avoid negative outcomes later.
The development of a character on paper is key to being able to create that character on stage. The development of character on paper is also key to understanding it in our imaginations. I read and understand stories and novels much the same way that I read a play script…through character analysis.
It is evident throughout the story that Mathilde is caught up in a dream world because she feels the need to have luxury on daily basis. “She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments, and small, charming, perfumed rooms, created just for little parties of intimate friends, men who were famous and sought after, whose homage roused every other woman's envious longings”(Maupassant). She never really seems happy, and her lack of luxurious things makes her feel even more worthless, kind of like a person with no purpose on earth. The main reason why Mathilde is so greedy for more things is because she feels like her life would be even more complete with glorious & fancy possessions. Mathilde may feel like by having clothes, jewels, and money, her life will be fulfilled. Mathilde may even feel that by Mr. Loisel not attending to her needs with showers of gifts she truly wants is because maybe he does not love and appreciate he...
Mathilde lives in an illusive world where her desires do not meet up to the reality of her life. She yearns for the status of being upper class, and she believes that her beauty and charm are worthy of much more. Mathilde spends her life doing everything in her power to create the dream life she has always imagined, to be beautiful, rich, and admired. Her husband provided her with a well-off lifestyle that she neglected and treated poorly due to her selfishness and greediness, and took advantage of his hard work at the first chance possible. When presented with the invitation to the party, she immediately rejects the request due to her fear of others judging her “middle class appearance”. But her loving husband offers her the hard earned money he had been saving up so she can treat herself to a brand new dress for the party. Her actions are centered around the happiness of herself, and have no good intentions towards her husband or
Envy, it is one of the well-known seven deadly sins. It is a sin that poisons the world in numerous forms. Envy can be found almost anywhere you look. Envy is present in the world in a many different ways, such as someone desiring what someone else has because it is superior than what they own or don’t own. The short story “The Necklace” by Guy Be Maupassant tells of a narcissistic wife that envies what her friend Madame Forester has: her clothes, jewelry, and her wealthy life. Mathilde Loisel feels as though she has been cheated by life from all of the pleasing things that she could have had in her own life.
In actuality, she was defiant, and ate macaroons secretly when her husband had forbidden her to do so. She was quite wise and resourceful. While her husband was gravely ill she forged her father’s signature and borrowed money without her father or husband’s permission to do so and then boastfully related the story of doing so to her friend, Mrs. Linde. She was proud of the sacrifices she made for her husband, but her perceptions of what her husband truly thought of her would become clear. She had realized that the childlike and submissive role she was playing for her husband was no longer a role she wanted to play. She defied the normal roles of the nineteenth century and chose to find her true self, leaving her husband and children
It gave the audience kind of a Cinderella approach. The reason I say this is because of everything she has to do before going to make herself fit in. She had to borrow a necklace from a good friend named Jeanne and her husband gave her money for a gown. Madame Loisel then looses the necklace and has a difficult time finding it. Since she was unable to find it and was very poor, it took her ten years to replace it. This caused many hardships and trials. She never told her friend that she bought a new one to replace the one she lost. That is until they met up ten years later. That is when the truth is revealed as to the true value of the
The moral of Guy de Maupassant’s story “The Necklace” seems to be suggested by the line, “What would have happened if Mathilde had not lost the necklace?” If Mathilde had not lost the necklace, or in fact, even asked to borrow the necklace, she and Mr. Loisel would not of been in debt ten long years. Because Mathilde had to borrow the necklace to make herself and others like her better her and Mr. Loisel’s economic situation had become worse than it already was. I think that the moral of the story is that people need to be happy with what they have and not be so greedy.