We all have experienced some form of jealousy or the need to have what others have, but the acts of ungratefulness and greed can lead to our destruction. The story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant focuses on the downfall of the Loisels. Its primary focus is on the feelings of my wife, Madame Mathilde Loisel. Throughout the story, it mentions how miserable she is living a basic life. It also talks about everything that is done to please her and her feelings. However, the mentioning of my feelings is rare. If the story focuses more on how I feel rather than how Madame Loisel feels we would have a different outlook on events. The major events of the story include when we received an invitation to a ball, when Mathilde asked to borrow Madame Forestier’s necklace, and when the necklace got lost.
One evening I returned home from work joyful because I had some news that I knew my wife was going to love. We were invited to a ball by Monsieur Georges Ramponneau. I notice how my wife is always moping about the house and never goes out to enjoy herself, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I gave her the invitation, but she did not react in the manner I had expected. “Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she threw the invitation on the table with disdain, murmuring: ‘What do you want me to do with that?’” (Maupassant 370). I was taken aback by her response because I thought this would be something she would enjoy. She cried about having nothing to wear and that any old dress would not suffice. So, I asked her how much she needed for a new one and she stated four hundred francs. To my dismay, I saved that exact amount for a shotgun I wanted to purchase to go hunting with friends that following summer. However, I did not put up a fight and just gave her the money for the dress. She seemed happy once she purchased the dress, and I thought everything was fine. However, we had another situation.
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The day of the ball was approaching, and I noticed how Mathilde was sad and anxious, so I asked her what was wrong. She stated that she had no jewels or anything to put on to complement her new dress. I told her that she can wear flowers. They were not only stylish but also cost-efficient. However, that did not satisfy her needs. She had to have something extravagant and flashy that made her look rich. I reminded her of her good friend Madame Forestier. “How stupid you are! Go look up your friend Mme. Forestier and ask her to lend you some jewels. You’re quite thick enough with her to do that” (Maupassant 371). She went to Madame Forestier the next day and told of her predicament and came home with a beautiful diamond necklace. We were finally ready for the ball.
The day of the ball finally arrived. Mathilde looked better than every lady at the ball. Every man looked at her and wanted to dance with her. She enjoyed herself and had a great night. I on the other hand fell asleep waiting until her night finished. Around four o'clock in the morning, she was finally ready to call it a night. We left the ball and had to find a carriage in the cold rain. We made it home and I began taking off my clothes when suddenly Mathilde let out a cry. I asked what was wrong and she stated she lost Madame Forestier's necklace. We began searching everywhere. “And they looked in the folds of her dress, in the folds of her cloak, in her pockets, everywhere” (Maupassant 373). We did not find anything, so I left to retrace our steps to see if it was on the ground. I returned with no luck and we knew we had to replace the necklace.
The next day we went to the jeweler whose name was printed on the box. He said that he only supplied the case and not the necklace. We left and went from jeweler to jeweler until we found a replica of the necklace in a shop called the Palais Royal. It was priced at forty thousand francs, but we could purchase it for thirty-six. We begged the jeweler to give us three days to come up with the money. We also made a deal that if we purchased the necklace and found the original then the jeweler would buy it back for thirty-four thousand francs. I already had eighteen thousand francs. “Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs which his father had left him” (Maupassant 374). I borrowed the remainder of the money from different people, and we went back to purchase the necklace. Mathilde took the necklace back to Madame Forestier and she did not notice the replacement. We went on with our lives taking on jobs to repay the money we borrowed. We knew it was going to take years to pay off the entire debt.
After ten long years, we are finally free from debt. It only took for us to empty our life savings, give up our home, and take on little odd jobs for us to be debt-free. Mathilde seen Madame Forestier one day in the park. She finally got the courage to tell her about the necklace. Madame Forestier was appalled about the information but was surprisingly not upset. The original was only a knockoff that cost 500 francs. I never imagined I would spend almost my entire life paying for something that I did not have to purchase in the first place.
If only Mathilde would have worn the roses as I said, or if I would have listened to her and just gave the tickets to someone else. Maybe this entire situation would have never happened.
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