The Necklace: Character Analysis of Mathilde Loisel
Summary:
Analyzes Guy DeMaupassant's story, "The Necklace." Provides a character analysis of Mathilde Loisel. Discusses her greed and inner weaknesses.
In Guy DeMaupassant's "The Necklace" Mathilde Loisel dreams for a better life. These dreams cause her to halfway leave reality, then come back greedy for more than she has, or can afford. This greed is a sign of her inner weakness, a weakness for wealth and beauty. The difference between Mrs. Loisel's dreams and reality cause her emotional distance and emotional problems, her financial difficulties, and eventually she changes because of her faults.
In Mathilde's dream world she is content and idle. When she comes back to Earth she is driven by greed for more than she has. Mrs. Loisel knows she is not rich, and can not bear to be around her rich friends, so she socially distances herself from the real world. This causes her to resent her life even more. This is a form of greed twisted into intense jealousy. Instead of seeing what she has she only whines and complains. This weakness for wealth is a trait that causes most of her problems. Her weakness for beauty and glamour results in the borrowing of the necklace. Therein all her problems lie.
Some say the root of all evil is money. This is especially true in Mathilde Loisel's case. She is so centered on herself and getting what she what she ignores, or just doesn't realize how she hurts others. She could love and care for her husband more, but she only sees what he can't provide. Mathilde can't appreciate what she has. Mathilde is ambitious, but doesn't want to work to achieve her dreams. She expects to have it because she simply deserves it. Her greed blinds her by giving hr dreams of grandeur, but she can only see what she doesn't and can't have. When, for a night, Mathilde has everything she wants she throws it away by covering up the fact she lost the necklace. Thus, she loses everything to replace that necklace. This loss changes her.
Mathilde Loisel's weakness was a huge flaw. The weakness results in the loss of everything she holds dear. She also loses who she is. Mathilde develops new traits, such as her coarseness, her loudness, and physical strength. When Mrs. Forrestier saw her the new Mathilde goes unnoticed, unrecognized. Mrs. Loisel didn't deserve the hard life she got, but in the beginning had her weakness for wealth and her greed not overcome her she wouldn't have been so disappointed with her life. Then, if her fear of embarrassment and blemishes on her name hadn't surmounted her she wouldn't have lost her good life.
In conclusion, Mathilde Loisel's beginning traits are her dreamy ways, her half-ambition, her greed, and her weakness for wealth and beauty. She is known as a beautiful woman. After the party she changes into a hard, coarse, and loud woman. Inside she is bitter and regretful. Her moral weakness brought this change upon her. Her own dreams chained her down to her hard life. Had Mathilde not been so greedy and eager for splendor this horrible life of drudgery would have been avoided. Mrs. Loisel could have prevailed over her nature to be a better person. She may not have deserved the hard life she got but, her lack of moral stamina causes her emotional difficulties, her financial straits and eventual loss of her way of life and ultimately her own self. Mathilde is no longer the refined, elegant person she dreamed of. She transformed herself and she has no one to blame but her own poor behavior and poor judgment.
This is the complete article, containing 587 words
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