Reasons for Not Liking Mathilde Loisel in Maupassant's "The Necklace"
...nly time in the story that Mathilde is happy is when she is at the party. There she thinks “of nothing but the moment, in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, on cloud nine with happiness made up of all the admiration, of all the aroused desire of this victory so complete and so sweet...” (Maupassant 8). Mathilde loses everything she has because of her selfish and materialistic desires. After she loses the necklace, her husband gives up his inheritance, and even borrows money from loan sharks to replace the necklace. The Loisels live the life of the impoverished, giving up their middle class life and working only to repay the debts. Mathilde does her own housework, “wearing away her manicured fingernails…” (Maupassant 10). She looks old, her hair is unkempt and she speaks loudly as a woman of a poor household. Mathilde works hard to help repay the debts, doing her share, fulfilling her obligation. Maupassant describes the ten years of hard work and sacrifice to show that Mathilde has tenacity, her only admirable trait. But even during those ten years of misery, she still “dreamed of that evening so long ago, of that party where she had been so beautiful and so admired” (Maupassant 11). Mathilde does not dream of how her life was before she borrowed the necklace or of how fortunate she was. She never realizes the value of everything she had, the focus of her life is still that one night at the party. After the debts have all been paid, Mathilde still does not take responsibility for losing the necklace. When she sees Mrs. Forrestier again, she never apologizes or acts regretful. In fact, she blames all her suffering on her friend. “I’ve had some tough times since I saw you last; in fact, hardships…and all because of you…” (Maupassant 11). Instead of apologizing for losing the necklace and feeling proud of how hard she has worked to repay al...