Truth and Its Consequences
Mme. Loisel in Guy de Maupassants The Necklace is not a sympathetic character. She is discontented, dishonest and selfish. Because of these characteristics, she and her husband suffer for ten years to pay off the diamond necklace. It would have been better for her to tell her friend the truth and face the consequences than to lie and pay for a real necklace to replace the fake one.
Despite the things people do for her, Mme. Loisel is discontented most of the time. From the minute her husband hands her the invitation, she is unhappy. She has nothing to wear, so her husband gives her 400 francs that he was going to spend himself. When she buys a gorgeous dress, she cries again, this time because she has no jewelry. Even when her friend, Mme. Forestier offers her anything she wants from the jewelry box, Mme. Loisel is not satisfied until she sees the shiniest, most expensive necklace.
In addition to her being discontented, she is also dishonest. She is not dishonest in not telling the truth; she is dishonest in pretending to be something she is not. At the ball, she abandons her husband and flirts with all the men, particularly the famous ones. She was the most fashionable person there, but in reality, she was the least most fashionable one there. She has an elegant, dazzling jewelry and stunning features, but that isnt the society she belongs in. She barely has anything, and ten years later, when she finally pays off her debt, she has close to nothing.
Mme. Loisel is also selfish. When she loses the necklace, she makes her husband look for it while she stays at home and weeps. When her husband comes home without it, he advises her to tell her friend the truth. She does not listen. So she tells her that it broke and they had it repaired. Then, she gives her friend a real necklace. When she sees her friend, ten years later, she blames the necklace on Mme. Forestier-, It was all on account of you!
De Maupassant criticizes Mme. Loisel, but he also criticizes society as well. From her example, we see that how people are harmed by materialism. In Mme. Loisels case, the necklace was the beautiful, shiny, glittering world that she could not be a part of. It also represents what she once was, a young, glittering woman and that is what she lost when she lost her friends necklace. She too was a fake.
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