Caroline Sweiss
September 25, 2013
English Language Arts
Character Analysis
Money: The Root of All Evil? Or Envy?
In Guy de Mauppassasnt’s “The Necklace,” the female protagonist Madame Loisel learns a tough lesson in
life, that money does not guarantee success or happiness. Madame Loisel spends ten long years of her and her
husband’s life paying the debts of a necklace that she thought she lost, only to realize the necklace was a knock-off
and only worth “four-hundred francs.” Although the irony at the end holds readers rapt and leaves audiences
somewhat sad for the fate of the suffering Loisel’s, many readers do not sympathize with Madame Loisel.
Madame Loisel’s preoccupation for the materialistic things in life renders her a character that readers struggle to
sympathize with.
To begin, Madame Loisel spends her days fantasizing about the fancy things in life such as, “silent
antechambers, heavy with Oriental tapestries, lit by torches in lofty bronze sockets, with two tall footmen in kneebreeches sleeping in large arm-chairs…vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting
priceless ornaments.” Indeed, this is a woman unhappy with her and Loisel’s meager existence and daydreams of
that which she will never be able to afford. Her failure to accept her life for what it is affects her sullen personality,
to the point that when her husband brings home a coveted invitation to a royal party, she throws the invite across
the table. “She looked at him out of furious eyes, and said impatiently: ‘And what do you suppose I am to wear at
such an affair?’" Her ungratefulness at her husband’s kind gesture is the first of many instances that distances the
reader from her character.
Furthermore, Madame Loisel’s ungratefulness is further manifested when she realizes that a fancy dress
alone is not sufficient to attend a party; she needs a necklace to complete the look. Monsieur Loisel feels bad that
she doesn’t have diamonds or jewels so he recommends that she borrow a “diamond” necklace from Madame
Forestier, and only then does Madame Loisel relent and go to the party. A fancy dress, fancy jewels, and a fancy
party, but only to realize that she lost the necklace; the rest of her and Loisel’s lives are not so fancy, indeed.
Loisel is forced to borrow money, spend his father’s inheritance, and work endless hours. No longer is
Madame Loisel fantasizing about luxurious things in the comfort of her home; instead she is pushed into greater
poverty and spends the next ten years in servitude. “She came to know the heavy work of the house, the hateful
duties of the kitchen. She washed the plates, wearing out her pink nails on the coarse pottery and the bottoms of
pans. She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and dish-cloths, and hung them out to dry on a string.” Readers
sympathize with the saint of a husband Loisel and pity his fate; if only his wife was grateful from the start and did
not envy the more materialistic things necessary for the ball, their future would not be so bleak.
In conclusion, the old adage goes, “Money is the root of all evil,” and in a way this story drives home this
message through the character of Madame Loisel. Her greed for more and more ultimately was brought about her
downfall, and unfortunately, her husband must suffer along with the poor decisions she makes. Readers,
therefore, are drawn to sympathize with Monsieur Loisel, while feeling vexed with Madame Loisel’s
ungratefulness.