The False Appearance of Wealth in the Necklace

The False Appearance of Wealth in “The Necklace”

In the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Mathilde Loisel is blinded by this

idea of wanting to be wealthy. In this short story, we see Mathilde go to great lengths in order to live

the rich lifestyle because she is unhappy with the life she is living now. However, her journey to wealth

ultimately ends up leading her to her downfall. In “The Necklace,” Maupassant portrays that one's

greed for wealth blinds an individual making them inconsiderate for the things that they already have.

Maupassant shows that pursuing wealth and trying to live more than one's means, will eventually leave

an individual to their downfall. Mathilde's greed for wealth and her pride in the end, lead her to deep

poverty. In the short story, the author is showing that wealth is not all what it seems to be on the

outside.

In “The Necklace,” Mathilde is portrayed as a character who is unhappy with her life. Although

she lives a comfortable life with a nice house and a husband who has a steady job, she still feels like

she needs more. She felt as if, “she suffered from the poorness of her house from it's mean walls, mean

chairs, and ugly curtains” (1,2). The author portrays Mathilde as an inconsiderate individual who fails

to appreciate her decent lifestyle. Her idea of the perfect lifestyle consists of, “silent antechambers,

heavy with Oriental tapestries lit by torches in lofty bronze sockets” (1,2). The reader can see that

Mathilde constantly loves to imagine a lifestyle that is beyond her means. Because of this fantasy she

dreams of, her husband chooses to make sacrifices in order to please his greedy, inconsiderate wife.

One way he does this is by going to such great lengths to get her invited to a party. Her ungraciousness

is shown once again when she is unhappy about the invitation because she claims she has nothing to

wear to this party. Mathilde's husband once again sacrifices some money in order for his wife to buy

herself a dress. Instead of showing some gratefulness, she becomes irritated with him. This shows that

Mathilde is so blinded with this idea of becoming wealthy that she loses all consideration for her

husband and the sacrifices he makes for her. Mathilde's reaction to the invitation she receives, shows

her deep feeling of wanting to become prosperous. This deep feeling blinds her from seeing what she

has and appreciating them.

After Mathilde's husband lends her money to buy herself a new dress, one would assume that

she would be grateful. However, she once again is unsatisfied when she says, “I'm utterly miserable at

not having any jewels, not a single stone, to wear” (3,13). This statement once again shows Mathilde's

craving for wealth. Her husband then suggests to wear flowers to the party. She refuses thinking she

will look poor. The reader can see that Mathilde's idea of wealth is buying the most expensive things in

order to look wealthy. Mathilde's inconsiderateness is shown once again when she whines about having

no jewels although her husband had already gone through a lot to please her. However, to Mathilde, it

is still not enough. Once again, the idea of greed is blinding Mathilde from truly realizing and

appreciating the things her husband has done for her so far. Her husband then tells her to borrow jewels

from Madame Forestier. Madame Forestier ends up letting Mathilde borrow a diamond necklace. This

diamond necklace to Mathilde represents wealth because it is stunning and “expensive”