The entire story is an example of irony. All Mathilde thinks about are the luxurious parties. However, when she finally has a chance to attend one, she losses the expensive necklace and experiences ten years of torture repaying the debt. It is the necklace that allows her to be the centre of attention at the party but it is also the jewel that leads her into extreme poverty. Mathilde’s mind is focused on luxurious parties, but they are the elements that lead her to misery and destitution. This theme interests the reader because irony happens prevalently in everyday life, and the reader must has experienced the troubles irony brings him. Reading the exaggerated example of the theme is like learning a moral lesson: arrogance is valueless and people should be satisfied of their status.
Another important element is the two ordinary protagonists, Mathilde Loisel and Mr. Loisel. Mathilde Loisel is a vain woman who craves luxuries and a lifestyle that would allow her to join the upper class. Although she has a caring husband, she does not appreciate him and blames her social status on her husband. Mr. Loisel offers her a “furnished flat” but she dreams of a “hushed entrance halls, hung with oriental fabrics and lit by bronze scones”, showing that how immeasurable her greed is. When she loses her friend’s expensive necklace and experiences extreme poverty, instead of being angry at her carelessness, she “dream of the long-distant evening when she had been the Belle of the Ball”. Mathilde Loisel does not consider how vain and juvenile she is, she is merely riddled by how life works, “How strange life is, how changeable! What small things make the difference between safety and disaster!” She strongly believes that the misfortune is inescapable destiny instead of negligence that could have been avoided. The audience is interested in this protagonist because she is a typical lady in a society who loves to fit in a higher social class and blames her faults on someone else. By studying this character, the reader can compare Mathilde to himself and continuously remind himself not to follow her attitude. On the other side of the coin, Mr. Loisel is a totally different person. He is satisfied and enjoys his present simple life. This contrast to his wife’s narcissistic personality can be spotted at the beginning of the story when they are having dinner, “‘Ah! Vegetable soup; what could be better than that’ she let her mind run on delicious dishes served in exquisite porcelain”. The exclaimed “Ah” emphasizes how pleased he is, but the repetition of the symbols of a luxurious life clearly show the difference between Mathilde and him. Ironically, he cares and adores his wife. Mr. Loisel interests the reader because he is a gentleman. No matter how badly his wife treats him, he still sees her as his adorable wife. The reader feels pity for him. Mr. Loisel contains all the qualities that an ordinary person desires, he is hard-working, content with his present life and caring. He is also innocent of the disaster that befalls him. It is his wife, the person he loves the most, that causes all the trouble. This is another reason why the reader feels sorrow for him, because he is suffering unnecessary agony.
These two characters easily capture the reader’s attention because they are both ordinary humans. He imagines himself in the same situation as Mathilde Loisel and her husband, doing the same thing. Similar to Mathilde Loisel, everyone wants and dreams of a better life no matter what class they are in. When she sees the diamond necklace in Madame Forestier’s house, “her heart began to beat faster, and she was filled with a mad longing”, a normal reaction that the reader has if he sees something he adores. Everyone are also scared to admit their faults and attempt to correct them before others realize them. Similar to Mr. Loisel, when a normal person has someone he cherishes, he tends all the power at his disposal to make them happy and protect them. These two characters represent two prevalent personalities that average people like the audience have, which is the major reason why they are appealing.
Pride is the last element that holds the audience’s interest. Pride is a sense of one’s own dignity or value. Mathilde Loisel’s pride only comes from her beautiful appearance and she craves even more pride through owning luxurious items, “she felt that luxuries and soft living were her natural birthright”. This gains her one night of contentment, but also triggers ten years of depression. If she gave up her pride and was honest with her friend, she would have avoided enduring poverty for the next ten years, but she chose to preserve her pride and thus inviting her fate.
Everyone has different forms of pride and the readers can effortlessly envisage themselves as Mathilde Loisel again because they all have experienced the pleasure and misery that pride brings. Through this story, they remember numerous episodes involving pride.
In conclusion, Guy de Maupassant uses irony, ordinary protagonists and the theme of pride to make the unfortunate life of vain Mathilde Loisel interesting and worth reading.
