Power of Possessions

name
February 14th, 2013
English 110
Paper #1
Power of Possessions: An analysis of ‘The Necklace’
Materialism. What does it mean to be materialistic? Why does materialism bring out the worst in others? Being materialistic means that your spiritual beliefs and morals are often discarded by what objects people have or do not have. Society is consumed by material processions and people believe that objects are what define you. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, ‘The Necklace’, the main character, Mathilde, believes that objects have the power to change her life. Mathilde’s happiness in life is directly dependent on objects she does not even possess. Her materialistic obsession with what she does not have leads to her perpetual discontent. ‘The Necklace’ by Maupassant demonstrates the theme of materialism by the author’s use of conceit, egotism, and jealousy.
The author uses conceit throughout his short story to display the theme of materialism. Maupassant shows the main character as having excessive self-pride that makes her unhappy. Mathilde’s husband tries to please her by inviting her to a high-status ball and, “instead of being delighted… she threw down the invitation on the table with disdain… ‘what do you want me to do with that?’ ” (265). Mathilde shows that she is prideful and has a high opinion of the wealthy people who will attend the ball and she knows that she would not be able to go without feeling like she is inferior because she is poor. She is not happy with her husband’s invitation because she does not want other people to see her as without material possessions. Mathilde is prideful because she cares what her peers think of her. She is concerned with her status and how people perceive her. Her pride is shown when she says, “I have no dress and therefore I can’t go to this ball. Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped that I” (266). Mathilde holds on to her pride when she says that she cannot go to the ball because she does not have a proper gown. She is not as wealthy as she would like to be and is concerned with her appearance in front of those who do have money. She feels that she is not provided with the material things necessary for going to a ball and tells her husband in a backhanded comment that someone with money is better suited to go. Guy de Maupassant illustrates the theme of materialism through Mathilde’s prideful obsession with the material things she does not possess.
Egotism is used throughout ‘The Necklace’ to exhibit the theme of materialism. The author shows this by Mathilde’s inflated sense of self-importance. After buying a gown with her husband’s savings, Mathilde is still not satisfied with how she will appear to others at the ball. When her husband asks her why she is still not happy, she states, “it annoys me not to have a single jewel, not a single stone, nothing to put on. I shall look like distress. I should almost rather not go at all “ (266). Mathilde is preoccupied with herself and her egotism is shown when she again threatens to not go to the ball. Her fixation with her appearance and material objects shows how selfish she is. She takes into no consideration that she spent her husband’s savings to buy a dress, and still has a need to feel like she is wealthy. She still feels less fortunate than the other wives’ with the money to have jewels and by having these possessions associated with wealth and status, she can try to fill a void. Mathilde is so concerned with what people will think of her that the thought of looking poor to other’s hurts her ego. This is especially seen when she says, “there’s nothing more humiliating that to look poor among other women who are rich” (266). Her comparison between the other women and her own wealth makes her desperately unhappy. By looking like she is comparably rich it gives her a sense of self- importance. Without material possessions to display wealth, she is not validated. She shows she has a flawed reverence for material things. Her ego is fleeting and she feels that she will only gain respect by having material possessions. Maupassant demonstrates the theme of materialism in ‘The Necklace’ through exemplifying jealousy within the main character. The author shows Mathilde as envious of wealthier women. She is a covetous woman who will do anything to reverse destiny’s mistake into a life that she sees as inappropriate and inadequate. She, “suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling” (264). Mathilde endures emotional pain from feeling like her life is invidious. She lives in deception where her actual life does not match the ideal life she believes her beauty and charm make her worthy of. Life is adversely affected by Mathilde’s views that she is in poverty because she does not have all the materialistic novelties that come with being wealthy. In reality, Mathilde is neither wealthy nor part of the social class that she feels she is a deserving member of. Mathilde compares herself with the other woman and, “all those things, of which another woman of her rank would never have been conscious tortured her and made her angry” (264). Mathilde is resentful of the women who have the material things to display their wealth. She has an awareness of what she does not possess and it causes her to feel rage. She feels she is less fortunate than the women in a high status rank and it evokes emotional anguish and jealousy.
In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, ‘The Necklace’, the theme of materialism is exhibited by the use of conceit, egotism, and jealousy. Mathilde believes that objects have the power to change her life. Her obsession with the accessories of the wealthy lead to her indefinite dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Her current life has no value and she is not content with what she does have. She feels she is not validated without possessions to display her significance. Life cannot be valued or measured by what material objects people own. It took an unfortunate event and ten years of debt for Mathilde to be fortunate for what she had. She could not clearly see what to be grateful for until lost everything. The irony and twist ending to this short story leads to an amazing moral of the story; to be grateful for what you have before you end up with less.
Works Cited
Maupassant, de Guy. “The Necklace.” A Little Literature. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. New York: Longman, 2007. 263-270

Cited: Maupassant, de Guy. “The Necklace.” A Little Literature. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. New York: Longman, 2007. 263-270