Mathilde in "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant Essay Sample

The more time one devotes to a worthless activity, the less time one devotes to the things that truly matter. In the short story, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Mathilde’s actions to the reader quickly show how her fixation on appearance negatively impacts her connections with others. Guy de Maupassant focuses on the topic of appearance vs. reality through Mathilde. Mathilde’s character fantasizes about a better life for herself throughout the story, manipulates her husband into sacrificing money for her, and gets so envious of her friend that she stops visiting her. Therefore, when one is fixated on their external appearances, it damages their connections with those closest to them and their quality of life. First, Mathilde is constantly imagining how she wants her life to be more extravagant, proving she was not appreciative of what she had, and this affected her self-esteem. For example, she fantasizes about new types of food and visualizes herself in more luxurious circumstances than her current one. The narrator reveals her perspective: "‘Aha! Scotch broth! What could be better?’ she imagined delicate meals, gleaming silver... she imagined delicate food served in marvellous dishes, murmured gallantries, listened to with an inscrutable smile as one trifled with the rosy flesh of trout or wings of asparagus chicken” (Maupassant 2). This illustrates how Mathilde is expectant of higher-quality luxuries in her life. This also proves she does not care about the optimism or gratefulness her husband often shows. This impacts her self-esteem since she no longer believes she is successful because she does not live in a mansion and can't afford costly cuisine, so she lacks confidence without these things. This could reduce her quality of life since she is unable to experience enjoyment without them. Secondly, since she is preoccupied with her appearance she jeopardizes her marriage by asking her husband to make financial sacrifices for her. Mathilde’s character manipulates her husband into guilt and victimization, as she believes that what she lacks is all that represents her. Mathilde bemoans the fact that she won't be able to attend this occasion because she doesn't have appropriate attire, and she demands her husband sacrifice money to give her instead of meeting his requirements (Maupassant 1). This reveals that she is oblivious toward her husband and would rather make a favourable first impression, demonstrating how she utilizes what she doesn't have to persuade her husband to buy it for her, which functions well since her husband is aware of how little they own. Mathilde's fixation on her appearance at the event causes her to make her husband sacrifice money for her to buy an attractive dress, lowering their quality of life instead of using it for recreation purposes. Furthermore, Matilde enviously looks up to others who are wealthier than her, no matter how close they are. The author reflects on her past because she had to let go of a friend since she couldn't handle seeing her succeed, as the story stated, “She had a rich friend, an old school friend whom she refused to visit because she suffered so keenly when she returned home. She would weep whole days, with grief, regret, despair, and misery” (de Maupassant 3). This demonstrates how important Mathilde's external appearance is to her, as evidenced by her crying on the way home because she felt resentment after seeing her friend live a luxurious life. In conclusion, “The Necklace” demonstrates how perceptions are formed based on the appearances of others, which may differ from their reality. She had lost sympathy for her husband and continued to try to evade reality, allowing society to undermine her and who she is as a person. She lost touch with her quality of life because she is so focused on her outward beauty.