Diamond Necklace

“The Diamond Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant is a story that tells of a woman named Mathilde Loisel and her dissatisfaction of being poor. She was not born to riches or to a high status family so she allowed herself to be married into a man of the working class. Her husband was a little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction. Mathilde felt that had she been born into a higher status family she would enjoy the delicacies and luxuries of a rich family. She suffered ceaselessly because she would dream of antechambers with an Oriental tapestry, big armchairs with a bronze candelabra and long reception halls with ancient silk, etc. She thought of reception rooms for chatting at five o’clock with intimate friends and with famous men that are sought after and envied. When Mathilde realizes that her dwelling is none of what she dreams of, and that she is not able to have beautiful gowns or jewelry like those of rich folks, it would torture and distress her. Looking at her bare walls, shabby chairs, and ugly curtains made her angry. Although Mathilde had a peasant boy who would do her housework, she still was not satisfied with her life and wanted to have more. She wanted elegance, riches, and status. Mathilde wanted to be envied, charming, and sought after by others. One day her husband came home with an invitation to a ball held by the Minister of Public Instruction and his wife. He thought that Mathilde would be delighted because she hardly went out of the house and not very many clerks were invited. Besides he went through great trouble to get it. Instead of being delighted, Mathilde was cross with her husband and told him to give it to some other clerk whose wife is more equipped to go to a ball. She cried some tears and when her husband noticed, he asked her why she was crying, and she told him that she had nothing to wear to the ball. Wanting to please his wife, Mathilde’s husband gave her the money he was putting aside to treat himself to buy a nice gown. She spent four hundred francs on a gown but as the day for the ball approached again Mathilde was acting sad and uneasy because she did not have a piece of ornament to wear with her gown. Her husband gave her some suggestions to wear natural flowers as ornaments but she replied that she would be humiliated and look poor to wear such a thing and be among women who are rich. Mathilde’s husband then suggested that she go visit her friend Madame Forestier to borrow some of her jewels. She was delighted at the idea and went to see her friend to help with her distress. Mathilde went the next day and tried out some of the jewelry, she finally settled on a diamond necklace. Mathilde was happy she had the final piece to complete her wardrobe. She had so much fun at the ball that they did not leave until the early morning. In her haste to hide the fact that her wrap was plain and not that of riches Mathilde and her husband rushed out to catch a ride home. When they got home Mathilde realized that she had lost the diamond necklace. Her husband walked all the way back to look for the necklace. When the necklace was no where to be found they replaced it with another that looked just like it. Mathilde’s husband had to take out loans and other side jobs to pay for the replacement necklace. They had to live in a place that did not cost as much and Mathilde had to do all the work herself for 10 years which took its toll on her physical appearance like looking older than she is now and when she discovered that the necklace was made of paste and not real. I guess the moral of the story is greed will not get you nowhere but put you and everyone close like family in a situation that you cannot get out of and must pay for it.