Social Necklace In The Necklace

The Loisels: From Desiring to Disgraced
Rigid class hierarchy served as one of the factors that beget the turbulence of France in the 1800’s—the tumultuous era in which Guy de Maupassant penned his short story, “The Necklace.” The Loisels, the main couple of the story, demonstrate unhappiness with their social structure and the insatiable desire for a higher social standing. By dehumanizing and demeaning her husband in order to achieve a facade of wealth, yet ultimately achieving nothing but a loss of social and economic status, Mathilde Loisel embodies the superficial mindset that de Maupassant vilifies. Depicting Mathilde as a shallow woman that loses everything—while mindlessly striving to have more—and contrasting her with her seemingly
Mathilde Loisel typifies an obsession with wealth, serving as the physical representation of an overpowering desire that is ultimately self-destructive and would lead to a loss of her identity. When detailing the appearance of her home, Mathilde “suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries [...] The sight of the little Breton peasant who did her humble housework aroused in her regrets which were despairing, and distracted dreams” (de Maupassant 34). She views herself as if she were a sort of noblewoman forced to endure abject poverty and constantly wronged, leading her to feel entitled to a finer house and better clothing. Yet she was already an upper class
Monsieur Loisel subjugated his happiness for his obsession—fueling his wife’s obsession—just as Mathilde quashed her own chance at happiness with what she had by spurning it in hopes of attaining something better. Their own individual selves were oppressed to the point that they served merely as vessels to achieve an end goal, independent of the happiness of the vessel. Instead of weighing the benefits and detriments of feeding their desires, they fed them to the point of ruination. This same phenomenon is also seen in modern society, where competition leads to the race for more material goods at the cost of individual happiness. Being so determined to accrue the most lucre leads to an unfulfilling emptiness that can never be achieved, something that de Maupassant warns against. Chasing this unobtainable goal would only lead to a person losing their identity, to be replaced by a mindless struggle for