Contentment and Wealth in the Necklace By Simeon Teacher: Mrs. K English Grammar and Composition 1 Jan 13, 2014 (Email: Happywwhatihave@gmail.com)
The socio-economic classes of the Necklace are mainly separated by wealth, or the lack thereof. Three main classes are introduced, being the poor, middle, and wealthy classes. Although main characters Mathilde Loisel and her husband belong at first to the middle class, later in the story they are forced by debt into a poorer status. Mathilde also has a wealthy friend who is called Mme. Forestier. Mathilde is unhappy and discontented with the middle class, while her husband is just the opposite. We see from the contrast between Mathilde and her husband that happiness is caused by contentment with what we have, not by having more. The wealthy class is where Mathilde has always longed to be. She remembers a lobby hung with fancy drapes and expensive furniture supporting exquisite artwork. While she sits at her table before common Scotch Broth, she dreams of eating tender fish or quail wings with silver utensils. The reality of the Loisels' situation is that they belong in the middle class, where they must reuse a tablecloth for several days and rest on worn chairs. However, the poor class is much less desirable. Yet the Loisels land there because of the debt they accumulated. Mathilde develops a whole new
personality. She speaks loudly, splashes the water on the floor to wash it, and pays much less attention to her looks. Mathilde received a chance to rise, or act as if she rose, to the wealthy status. Her husband acquired an invitation to an elegant party, but she complains that she has neither a fancy dress nor jewels to wear. Loisel gives up the money he had saved for a gun for the dress and suggests, Go find your friend, Mme. Forester, and ask her to lend you some jewelry. You know her well enough to do that. (de Maupassant, 39) Mathilde has a great time at the dinner but afterwards is ashamed of being seen in her shabby coat as they leave. On the way home they loose the diamond necklace she borrowed from her friend. Hurriedly, they buy a new one to replace it, putting themselves greatly in debt and lowering themselves to the poor class. Living life as a poor woman, Mathilde becomes rough and hard, and age wears her down. They move to a small house and she does all the housework herself. Still, she dreams of a time that she could be wealthy and esteemed. Unlike his wife, M. Loisel seems content with the everyday life of an average man. Instead of dreaming of fancier dinners, he remarks, Ah, the good pot-au-feu. I don t know anything better than that. (de Maupassant, 4)
Being a frugal man, he is hesitant to spend large amounts of money on clothes or jewelry for his wife, but seeing her desire, he sacrifices for her happiness. He doesn't enjoy riches and esteem as much as his wife, for he is resting in another room when she finally is finished dancing and socializing. Mme. Forestier, on the other hand, belongs to a higher class than the Loisel couple. She no doubt lives the life that Mathilde dreams of, and so Mathilde is loath to visit her frequently, lest she become jealous. Later when she met her again, Forestier had barely aged after ten years. Despite her class, it is interesting to note that Forestier owned a false diamond necklace. She clearly valued the fake necklace, for when her friend returned it late she said in an annoyed way, You ought to have brought it back sooner, for I might have needed it. (de Maupassant, 96) Loisel and Mathilde think of wealth in different ways, and so their contentment is divided. Mathilde lacks contentment in her class, and it is her desire for wealth that brings about their demise. Even after sinking into poverty she is not content with the average life she used to have. On the other hand, her husband is happy with his original life. As stated before, he is content eating the same meals, and doesn't find as much excitement in the
extravagant party as Mathilde does. We are only as content with our possessions as we allow ourselves to be. If we constantly desire more, we will never fully enjoy what we do have.
De Maupassant, Guy, The Necklace, lines 39, 4, and 36. Jan 13, 2014