ipl-logo

False Sense Of Satisfaction In Maupassant's The Necklace

488 Words2 Pages

There is nothing wrong with wanting more, but temporal desires can lead to a whole new portrayal of your character. Finding your self worth in materialistic things will only lead to the destruction of who you really are. Guy de Maupassant illustrates this in his story, “The Necklace.” Maupassant describes the consequences of how worldly desires can precede a false sense of satisfaction. Mathilde Loisel, the main character, struggles with her feeling of entitlement, her lust for materialistic things, and her pride. The story begins with Mathilde sitting at home wondering why she couldn 't live the elaborate lifestyle. Mathilde felt entitled to every luxury and comfort of the upper class: “‘She suffered constantly, feeling that all the attributes of a gracious life, every luxury, should rightly have been hers’”(Maupassant 333). Mathilde hated her simple belongings, and she pitied herself because she was short of fortune. She felt that she deserved to be adored by men and resented by women: “‘ She had longed so eagerly to charm, to be desired, to be wildly attractive and sought after.”’ (Maupassant 334). Mathilde felt she would only be lusted after if she had all the treasures. Mathilde’s feeling of entitlement causes her to be ungrateful for what she has, and leads her to make selfish decisions. …show more content…

Mathilde only wants to be seen if she has the fancy dress and nice jewelry. The only things that Mathilde loves and that makes her feel loved is her worldly possessions: “‘She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved”’(Maupassant 334). Mathilde felt insulted when she would look at all the things that she has because of their poor manner. She felt that she had the right to all the fortune she could get. Mathilde’s lust for materialistic things makes her insecure and causes her to rely on her own

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Fahrenheit 451, A Stolen Party, And

    1424 Words  | 6 Pages

    By doing this, Bradbury is also forcing the readers to compare the corruption in the book to the world that they are living in, and to get them to acknowledge the dangers of ignorance. In turn, the readers are compelled to recognize Beatty’s immoral mindset as well as how regardless of her age, Clarisse possesses much more mature qualities than most of the adults in the society. Much like Clarisse, Mathilde from Maupassant’s “The Necklace”, also yearns for something more. In Mathilde’s case, she desired for a wealthy lifestyle and “suffered endlessly, feeling she was entitled to all the delicacies and luxuries of life”(Maupassant

    Read More

  • Pride In The Odyssey's

    243 Words  | 1 Pages

    De Maupassant's “The Necklace” characterizes Mathilde Loisel, the main character, as a beautiful, egotistic woman who desires only wealthy apparel. He emphasizes the negative results of narcissism by blinding Mathilde with that trait

    Read More

  • Desire In Gruen's Water For Elephants

    1334 Words  | 6 Pages

    Growing up we all have asked our parents the tireless question “are we there yet?”. Trapped in a musty car in the sweltering heat with our legs stuck to the sticky leather of the seat the only thing on our minds was how long until we could be put out of or misery. We were determined to get an answer so we relentlessly insisted on badger our parents. After being worn down from a countless number of questions, our parents would finally provide us with an answer. In Gruen’s novel, Water for Elephants, she proves that persistence leads to the achievement of desire.

    Read More

  • Desire In Tracy Chevalier's Girl With A Pearl Earring

    1588 Words  | 7 Pages

    Desire is defined as a strong feeling of want towards something or a wishing for something to happen. For centuries, desire has and will continue to have a substantial hold over man. It captures and envelopes every emotion and thought, placing individuals into damning situations. In Girl With a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier conveys desires forceful nature, and its ability to completely alter identity. Money controls us, it controls our actions, our thoughts, and our feelings; everybody wants it, yet no one seems to ever have enough of it.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley Research Paper

    679 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mathilde discusses a woman’s search for love, atonement, and redemption.” (Melville 1). She later passed of brain cancer on February 1,

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Grieron Character Analysis

    731 Words  | 3 Pages

    Did you know that Mathilde and Emily have somewhat in common? Yes they essentially do, and it is that they demand so much that they cannot let go of some kind of entity. As for both, they do vary in how they are analyzed though their actions, or their characteristics. Deep down somewhere, those women’s circumstances were immoral in many habits. To illustrate, both women inside felt incomplete that they lost what they desired.

    Read More

  • Ray Bradbury's Jealousy

    804 Words  | 4 Pages

    Madame Loisel says that all she wanted was fancy clothes and jewels but she couldn't get that. Also from the text it states, ¨She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its mean wall, worn chairs, and ugly curtains,¨ (2). This shows how Madame Loisel thinks that she was supposed to be the one with all the luxury items. Instead she is stuck with a poor life and is jealous of all the other high class women.

    Read More

  • How Does Madame Loisel Change

    294 Words  | 2 Pages

    Madame Loisel changes from the beginning to the end of the story with the way she sees everything. The story has implied that she has changed for the better because in paragraph 93 and 94, it states how Mathilde realized what it meant to do labor. This shows how Mathilde changed from someone who whined and imagined about the luxuries and riches, to someone that worked and understood the life of the needy. This also shows how work Mathilde and her husband suffered to pay off the 18,000 debt they borrowed. In addition, Mathilde looked and dressed up differently when she still had money.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Thank You Ma Am

    962 Words  | 4 Pages

    Furthermore, family-wise, there are not many similarities between these two characters. Roger has no family to support him and he needs to provide for himself. Mathilde however, has a loving and doting husband, wanting to please her with fancy dresses and invitations to parties. Her husband may love her, but in the story “The Necklace”, he told her to lie about losing the necklace and instead say that they broke the clasp and had to replace it. In saying this, her husband basically got them into this whole “I’m poor, woe is me” mess.

    Read More

  • Themes And Characters In The Jewelry By Guy De Maupassant

    1367 Words  | 6 Pages

    M. Lantin turned to his late wife’s jewelry collection; he knew that it was fake jewelry but he was desperate and was in need of money. He took the jewelry to a jewelry store expecting to receive only a few francs but then he was told he was receiving thousands of francs. M. Lantin was in shock and could not believe that the entire time it was real jewelry and not fake; he became a very wealthy man and resigned from his job, eventually marrying another woman who made his wife miserable. M. Lantin’s first wife had a big impact on his life; however, his selfish actions lead to what he deserved ending up with a wife that made him miserable. M. Lantin’s first wife was a young beautiful woman who he fell deeply in love with, she was the ideal woman that any of the men would want in their life.

    Read More

  • Della And Mathilde In The Necklace

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the second paragraph of the story the author states that she is suffering because she doesn't have the things she wants by saying, “She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains.” (Guy de Maupassant 2) “She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved;” (Guy de Maupassant 2) The author included this to let the readers know what kind of “Poverty” Matilde was living in. Mathilde doesn't seem to love her husband as much.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Gift Of Magi And The Necklace

    759 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although Mathilde considers herself to be born deprived from all refinements of life, she is more beautiful than any character in the story, as the passage suggests,“She was prettier than all others, elegant, gracious, smiling and crazy with joy.” (De Maupassant). On the other hand, Della’s hair is so gorgeous that it could even devalue the queen of Sheba’s jewels (Henry). Another similarity between Mathilde and Della is that both of them are affected due to their lack of money. Della suffers because she struggles to buy Jim a present (Henry).

    Read More

  • Mathilde's Greed In The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant

    785 Words  | 4 Pages

    Human nature causes people to desire more than what one already has. However, after desiring material items, people realize the foolishness in their greed. In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Mathilde Loisel, who lives in France during the 1880s, attempts to transform her ordinary life into one of luxury. She attends a reception with her friend Madame Forestier's diamond necklace, but after losing it, she works to buy a new necklace, only to later discover the necklace she lost is fake. Through this experience, Mathilde learns to be content with what she has, and as a result, she realizes the flaws in her character.

    Read More

  • Criticism And Realism In The Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant

    1107 Words  | 5 Pages

    The protagonist of ‘The Necklace’, Madame Loisel, live a rather steady, ordinary middle-class life in the beginning of the story. However, she views that she is intended for a luxurious life, and, therefore, does not cherish what she has. She takes a step forward to her desires, as she was invited to a ball where all the upper-class woman would be, yet she was unhappy with the fact that she does not even have a stone to put on.

    Read More

  • Decisiveness In The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant

    967 Words  | 4 Pages

    For example, in “The Necklace” it shows what type of woman the character was by the things she wanted to acquire in which it says, “She has no proper wardrobe, no jewels, nothing. And those were the only things she loved.” This quote in particular indicates that she wanted to fit in along with the other wealthy people. It also states how she wanted to obtain fine jewelry because it was what made her happy. However, she did not want these things because of its appearance but mostly because of its value.

    Read More

More about False Sense Of Satisfaction In Maupassant's The Necklace

Open Document