The Necklace Greediness

Guy de Maupassant, born into nobility, wrote “The Necklace,” along with many other literary works, some inspired by his nobility. “The Necklace” is rittled with themes of wealth, and status, all issues Maupassant would have dealt with. The main character, Mathilde deals with these issues as well. When Mathilde deals with these themes her character is revealed, some good, but mostly bad. In “The Necklace” Maupassant represents Mathilde’s character by revealing her greediness, her lies, and her love. Maupassant shows greediness in a variety of ways. Mathilde thinks very highly of herself and has a vain complex. She thinks so much of herself that she feels almost every dime they have should be spent on her for just one evening. Shortly after
This might not seem like a lie or even a big deal, but she does not belong there and she knows this. Not because people do not like her or anything such as that, but because she is not rich and does not and could not properly fit in even though she tries very hard at an event like this or with people in attendance. She also deceives everyone there by what she is wearing because she looks the part but is not. Mathilde’s biggest lie comes when she lies to her friend when she returns her necklace, but it is actually not the real necklace because she lost it on the night of the party. It was an honest mistake and would have been okay if she would have been honest with her friend, but she did not and the reader senses the fear when the story reads, “If she had detected the substitution, what would she have thought, what would she have said? Would she have taken Mme. Loisel for a thief?” (72). Lying is not good and Mathilde seems to do it frequently and quite comfortable with it. This just shows more bad qualities and an even worse character. When Maupassant writes, he more than likely writes about things he has gone through or experienced and with that knowledge the reader can infer that he probably dealt with the outsiders, the poor, and the peasants, trying to be like him. It is an easy assumption to be made and not
He took up ruinous obligations, dealt with users and all the race lenders. He compromised all of the rest of his life, risked his signature without even knowing if he could meet it…he went to get the new necklace, putting down upon the merchant’s counter thirty-six thousand francs. (72) He risked so much showing again that love was present. Mathilde did not owe anything to anyone but a necklace to Mme. Forestier, and once a necklace is given back, she could have left but she did not. Even through all ten of those horrible years of labor, she stayed by his side. Mathilde is a greedy, liar but she also has a heart of love when it comes to her husband. Through her trying to get as much money as possible for a dress, and trying to see as many jewels as possible Maupassant shows a greedy nature about Mathilde. Through her going to the ball and as she returns the necklace, Maupassant reveals a lying habit. Through her marriage to her husband, and sticking by him through all the hard times Maupassant portrays Mathilde as loving. In the end, Mathilde looks like a terrible person who loves her husband, which is what she really