The Necklace Case

Happiness is the key to success in one's life, however one may end up losing his or her own happiness striving for a life not meant for him or her. Guy De Maupassant portrays this in the short story, "The Necklace". The story is focused on an attractive middle-class woman named Mme. Mathilde Loisel. Her aspirations of being affluent and to be admired gets the best of her, while her husband is satisfied working as a clerk and living by their earnings. She displays no compassion and appreciation towards her husband. However, M. Loisel shows to be generous and devoted throughout "The Necklace". The love M. Loisel has towards his wife is unconditional.

M. Loisel does everything within his power to make his wife happy. He demonstrates this when one evening he arrived home from work with an invitation to attend a ball at the palace of Ministry. Initially, Mathilde does not show much emotion upon hearing about the party, because she felt none of her evening dresses would be appealing enough for an event this extravagant. M. Loisel, the thoughtful and generous man that he is, placed his wife's happiness above his own; offering her money to purchase a new gown. Money he had spent months saving up for to buy a hunting rifle. Mme. Loisel accepts her spouse's offer, but with no display of compassion or thankfulness.

M. Loisel had anticipated the four hundred francs was enough to satisfy his wife's wishes, but she desired more. As the day of the ball loomed, Mme. Loisel appeared down and uneasy. Mathilde began to complain that she needs gems to go with her gown. Her husband proposed she borrow jewelry from her prosperous friend, Madame Forestier. When Mme. Loisel explained her predicament to her affluent friend, she was able to borrow a breathtaking diamond necklace. Mathilde displayed much more gratitude and compassion toward Madame Forestier, who does nothing more than grant her permission to wear a necklace, but never