Character Analysis Essay on Madame Mathilde Loisel in the Story the Necklace

Introduction

"The Necklace," is a story of a middle-class woman called Madame Mathilde Loisel who is unsatisfied with her material things. Mathilde Loisel wishes she is wealthy so that she would have all she needs in life. She is a greedy and dream of having a fancy life she does not have. She envisions fancy furniture, feasts, and footmen. She looks for rich men to seduce because she believes that they can offer her the life she deserves. The purpose of the essay is to analyze the character of Madame Mathilde Loisel in the story "The Necklace."

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At the beginning of the story, it is clear that Mathilde Loisel is a social woman although she was born in a lower-middle-class family. Unfortunately, she was brought in a middle-income family as her parents were clerks. Moreover, M. Loisel, her husband is also a clerk who works in the Department of Education. The author states"one of those pretty and charming girls who are sometimes, born into a family of clerks"(900). She desperately wishes to upgrade to a high-class woman and spend most of her days dreaming she was an aristocrat like Madame Jeanne Forestier. She compares herself with other high-class people in society.

Madame Loisel very materialistic woman and this is demonstrated when her husband brings her a party invitation. Her husband expects her to rejoice but she ''Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she flung the invitation petulantly across the table". The action of flinging the invitation means that she is ungrateful. She does not attend the party because she has no dress to wear. She murmurs ''What do you want me to do with this?'' (903). She complains that the clothes she has are cheap and she would not feel comfortable with them. Her husband is forced to use all he had saved to buy her an expensive dress. To make his wife happy, he spends the money meant to buy a hunting rifle since the dress was costly. She has inflated self-esteem that makes her feel that being brought up in a lower class family as an accident of fate. Although she had high ambitions, she ends up getting married to a low-income clerk who strives to make her happy despite having nothing significant to satisfy her flamboyant desires. She is unsatisfied with his life because she has ''no marriage portion, no expectation, no means of getting known, understood, loved, and wedded by a man of wealth and distinction'' as well as ''no clothes, no jewels, nothing'' (904). Although she has some material things, she suffers endlessly because they make her remember those she admires but cannot do. She continues living uncomfortably since she ''weep whole days, with grief, regret, despair, and misery'' (902). Little does Mathilde know that her life will soon get worse as she comes ''to know the ghastly life of abject poverty'' (902) in trying to pay off the debt for a necklace she borrowed and lost.

She is selfish and inconsiderate as she forces her husband to spend his all savings on her dress. Moreover, she asked him to borrow money to purchase an expensive jewel so that she could match with the new dress. She does not consider that he does not earn a lot of money since he is just a clerk. She does give a chance to invest and improve their current status. Although her husband put all efforts to make his wife happy she is not satisfied with what she gets. She is gripped entirely with utmost selfishness in contrast with the generosity of her husband. She only cares about the things that make her classy and happy while her husband struggles to achieve them. In this case, Madame Loisel portrays a selfish character.

Mathilde Loisel is a lugubrious and greedy woman who only gets satisfied when she is on the same level as wealthy people. In the story, she was only happy at a party while wearing an expensive dress and the exorbitant necklace which she borrowed to match with the dress. At the party she has a wonderful time as "She danced with intoxication, with passion, made drunk by pleasure, forgetting all, in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a sort of cloud of happiness composed of all this homage, of all this admiration, of all these awakened desires, and of that sense of complete victory which is so sweet to a woman's heart"(902). Sitting among the rich people at the party, Mathilde Loisel seems overjoyed, feeling that this is where she admires. She was excited due to the adornment gave her the appearance of belonging to a high social class.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "The Necklace," depicts a story of a middle-class woman who is obsessed with wealth and social class. She has a loving and caring husband who struggles to maintain her high demands. She is unhappy with her social class and wishes she was in the same class with Madame Forestier who she borrows the necklace. After losing the necklace on her way back she lost the necklace and spends ten years paying for it. Her character makes her lose everything she had and even becomes poor.