The Necklace

The Necklace

The one element that is above all important is conflict. The conflict in this story is Man vs. Self. Mathilde always wanted more then what she had. Mathilde’s character is introduced as having the belief that she should have been born into a higher class, which results in her profound desire to, at the least, appear to lead a life of luxury. Nothing was ever superior enough for her. “She grieved incessantly, feeling that she had been born for all the little niceties and luxuries of living.” She thinks is perfect and that the world should revolve around her. When she is older, she is not as perfect as she was when she was younger. Mathilde appeared an old woman now. She became heavy, rough, and harsh, like one of the poor. Her hair untended, her skirts askew, her hands red, her voice shrill, she even slopped water on her floors and scrubbed them herself. There was no longer a maid present. Nor were there dreams of going to a ball. I’m sure that the only dream that she had was to have her old life back.
It is clear right away that Mathilde feels she deserves more than a clerk for a husband.   Her desire to live a life of luxury consumes her and prevents her from finding satisfaction with any aspect of her life.   Her husband goes through a great deal of trouble to obtain an invitation to a fancy party; however, when he tells her the news, she replies coldly, “What do you want me to do with this?” He is brokenhearted, and makes every effort to convince her to go to the party and even sacrifices his savings for her to buy a new dress.  
Mathilde is so concerned with her appearance at the beginning of the story that she is not satisfied with a new dress; she also needs jewels to feel socially acceptable.   Madame Forestier, the one who lends her the necklace, treats her with kindness and lets her choose any piece of jewelry to borrow.   After rummaging through Madame Forestier’s jewel collection, Mathilde chooses the one that she expects will draw the most...