Everyone tells young adults as they emerge from college or into adulthood, that they should dream big and pursue their dreams. The real question is can someone dream too big.  In many cases there are goals that are outside of someone's talents.  For instance, if a horse jockey wants to be a center for the Lakers, this might be out of the question.  Though if you don't dream to big, what is the point of dreaming at all? It does seem, however, the way the world is does have an impact on one's ambitions. This is just the issue in the essay "The Necklace " by Guy Maupassant. The main character, Mathilde, seems to want to do just that. She wants to dream too big, and, when the world is different from her ambitions, she doesn't give up on them. It's more like the ambitions give up on her.  In the end of the essay it seems that her life is a mess and one may wonder what was the point of her life and the purpose of the story.  Maupassant point is to use Mathilde as an example to never try to be something that you are not. 

Maupassant begins by describing Mathilde's naive view of the world. She saw herself as a "princess" that had fallen from grace or as Maupassant put it, "she had really fallen from her proper station."  In her mind, she felt that she was deprived of all the "delicacies" that she deserved, to the point that she entered a state of delusion. For instance, as she ate at her humble dinner table, she imagined,

"dainty diners, of shining silver wear, of tapestry which peopled the walls with ancient personages and with strange bird flying in the mist of a fairy forest; she thought of delicious dishes served on marvelous plates, of whispered gallantries, which you listen too with a sphinx-likes smile, while you are eating the pink flesh of a trout or the wings of a quail," (Maupassant, 33).

Her dreams became the goal that she was determined to achieve.  She wanted to return to the throne that she had thought up in her mind and desired to make her dreams a reality

Her imaginary world was much different than the way the world real was. 

Although she was "pretty and charming," she was of humble beginnings. Maupassant tells, "she had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood, loved, wedded, by any rich and distinguished man"(33).  Thus, she had no way to conquer her dreams. She did marry, but not to a wealthy man. He was a hard working, humble citizen, who did not make enough to support Mathilde's ambitions.  Despite the fact that he was unable to give her the things she wanted, he tried his best. For instance, he found a way to get Mathilde tickets to a ball, where very established individuals would be attending. This should have met her dreams of being a noble woman for even one night, but her husband's wealth limited her ability to fully accomplish her mission. It angered her to know that she could not afford the proper attire for such an event; however, her husband surprised her with enough money to buy a suitable dress.  This too did not satisfy her appetite. In her own words, "jewels"(35) were needed to complete the outfit.  Although she was only a few steps above a peasant, she acted as if she was of royalty. In short, she was trying to be something that she was not.

She will soon find that she had dreamed to big and the ambitions that she wanted to achieve so badly would be her ultimate downfall. Before the ball she desired "jewels"(35) and luckily one of her close family friends was willing to lend her a beautiful "pearl necklace with diamonds" (39). Once off to the ball, it was starting to sink in that her dreams were about to come true. As Maupassant tells, "she danced with intoxication, with passion, made drunk by pleasure"(36), but like all good things it must come to an end. Unlike everyone else at the ball, reality was about to set in for Mathilde. The diamond necklace was lost and her life with it. Surprisingly though, she had much respect for the women who had lent her the necklace, Isadora, to repay her for the lost item, which was extremely expensive. After ten long, hard years of labor she finally bought a new necklace of identical kind.  It was at this time when Mathilde came to face reality. Maupassant wrote:

"She came to know what heavy housework meant and the odious cares of the kitchen. She washed the dishes, using her rosy nails on the greasy pots and pans. She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and the dish dash cloths, which she dried upon a line; she carried the slops down the street every morning and carried up the water, stopping for breath every lading. And, dressed like a women of the people, she went to the fruiter, and the grocer, the butcher, her basket on her arm, bargaining, insulted, defending her miserable money soul by soul," (38).

She now knew what real work was . Although she still had her dreams, she was now changed in an important way. 

This is when the most important part of the story is told. She confesses to Isadora when they are both old that the necklace she borrowed was lost. However, she had purchased another identical necklace. Hearing this Isadora informs her that the necklace was fake all along.  Isadora explains that it was a "chalk necklace"(39). It seems to be the case that Mathilde's life had no meaning; she wasted her life away over "chalk"(39).  Although this is a important part of the story, the point is to never put value in something that is not real.

The main character learns priceless virtues, through her struggles and hard work. The fact that she learned that her ambitions were too large helps mold who she becomes in the end. When the story began, this young lady was a beautiful person, who many people adored, but because of her greed and gluttony, she became a an old hag that not even her friends recognized. 

