Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace", written in the late nineteenth century, tells the tale of a middle class woman named Madame Mathilde Loisel who only dreams of the finer things of life. Although she lives quite comfortably, she is dissatisfied with her life as being the wife of a clerk. Mr. Loisel is content with the life they live but still he puts forth all his effort to make her happy. One day, Loisel manages to secure the two of them invitations to a ball which was being thrown by his boss. This still doesn't please Mathilde due to her lack of fine clothing and jewelry. After having to buy a new dress and borrow a necklace from her old friend Mrs. Forrestier, the couple arrive at the ball, only for Mathilde to become the center of attention. The author goes on to explain that it was the tragic misfortune that happened the night of the ball that caused the devastating turn of events soon turning Mathilde's dream into a nightmare. Aside from the ironic twist caused by the necklace, Maupassant also expresses many points of symbolism throughout the story which piece together the events to the characters.
In the beginning of the story, it's clear to realize that Mathilde constantly dreams of having nothing more than the finest luxuries. Instead of being grateful for the fine apparal she does have throughout her household, she describes them as "drab", "threadbare", and "ugly" (paragraph 3). It's apparent that the author is portraying the characters Mathilde and Loisel to being categorized as upper-middle class due to the fact that the Loisel's currently have a housekeeper. Mathilde looks down on the housekeeper seeing her as a lower class worker. The author states that "the sight of the young country girl ... awakened in [Mathilde] only a sense of desolation and lost hopes" (paragraph 3). It is not until later in the story that Mathilde herself turns into that same country girl, performing the same chores around the house....