Mathilde's Husband example essay topic

In Guy De Maupassant's Story "The Necklace", Mathilde let herself be married to Mr. Loisel, a little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction. She was forced to dress plainly because she had no money to dress well, and was unhappy. She suffered ceaselessly, feeling that she was born to enjoy all the luxuries that Paris life had to offer. She hated where she lived and felt poor and thought she was better than it all. One evening her husband brought home a large envelope in his hand. Handing the envelope to Mathilde, he seemed happy and felt he was giving his wife a present.

She tore the paper quickly and drew out a printed card which read: The Minister of Public Instruction and Madame Georges Ramponneau request the honor of M. and Madame Loisel's company at the palace of the Ministry on Monday evening, January 18th. Instead of being thankful and happy, as her husband had hoped, Mathilde threw the invitation on the table and was less then delighted. When her husband asked her what the problem was, Mathilde replied that she couldn't go because she only had one gown and it wasn't fit to be presented before the people who attended such events. When her husband asked how much a new gown would cost, he was bothered to hear that it would be around 400 francs. Planning to save that money for a new gun he had been eyeing, he gave up the savings to his wife to purchase a new gown. As the party drew nearer, Mathilde's husband noticed her acting a little strange and asked her why.

When Mathilde's response was that she felt embarrassed to not have any jewelry to wear, her husband reminded her of her friend, Madame Forestier. Madame Forestier would surely loan Mathilde a piece of jewelry to wear. When Mathilde went to her friend and described her troubles, Mme. Forestier told her to say no more and brought Mathilde a jewelry box and told her to choose. While she rummaged through the box nothing seemed to suit her and she kept asking if she had more. Finally she discovered a very ornament diamond necklace and chose that one to borrow. Not leaving the ball until after 4 in the morning the two returned home and Mathilde noticed that there was something terribly wrong.

She had lost the necklace. Immediately Mathilde's husband searched the city as she sat waiting impatiently. Dismissing ideas of lying to her friend to tell her it was broken, she decided to go to the local jewelry stores in search of a replica. Finding one, it cost 36,000 francs. Mathilde and he husband would borrow the money and replace the necklace. Now, with the necklace replaced and Mathilde and her husband now buried in debt, they had to leave their home for something less expensive and Mathilde's husband took on more jobs.

Mathilde came to learn housework and other chores to get the debt paid. This life lasted ten years. At the end of ten years they had paid everything with the rates of usury and the accumulations of the compound interest. Ten years later and Mathilde has grown old now.

She had become a woman now a woman not afraid hard and rough labor. With her hair a mess, skirt askew and red hands, she grew accustomed to talking loud while washing the floor through the swishes of water. But sometimes she sat down near the window and she thought of that joyous evening, of that ball where she had seemed so beautiful and so admired among the well to do. One Sunday, Mathilde suddenly saw a woman leading a child. It was Madame Forestier, still young, still beautiful, and still charming.

Mathilde felt moved. Should she speak to her? And now that she had paid, she would tell her all about it. Approaching Madame Forestier, she went unrecognized and Mathilde told her who she was. Surprised, Madame Forestier pointed out how time had changed Mathilde. Mathilde blamed it on Madame Forestier and told her about losing the Necklace and giving up her life to replace it.

Upon hearing this, Madame Forestier laughed and revealed to Mathilde that the necklace was a piece of costume jewelry and not real.