The ability to overcome adversity is perhaps the strongest test of character. People's true colors are typically only revealed when they have been pushed emotionally or physically to the brink, when his or her very sense of self is stretched to its thinnest, and all that remains is the core of that individual. Only then does one's true disposition make an appearance, raw and exposed for all to see. In Guy de Maupassant's short story, The Necklace, Mathilde faces extreme hardship, largely as a result of her own flaws. Nonetheless, she comes out of this experience a very different person. There are those that might argue that The Necklace is a sad story, a tale of paradise lost, and needlessly so at that. In actuality, it is a tale of triumph. In the face of adversity as a result of losing her necklace, Mathilde confronts her challenges and arises from the depths of her tragic life a more genuine version of herself. 

Born into a class she thinks is below her, Mathilde has lived a life of perpetual disappointment, dissatisfaction, and resentment, a mentality she has to move beyond if she is to every find true happiness. Cursed by the beauty that should be a blessing, Mathilde looks down on the life bestowed upon her, and constantly seeks to improve her social standing, but to no avail. Maupassant illustrates the fruitlessness of Mathilde's aspirations by exclusively referring to Mathilde as "her" for the first portion of the story. By doing so, he shows that Mathilde, regardless of her dreams or her ideas of what her life should look like, has always been, and will forever be, a commoner. The author's deliberate exclusion of Mathilde's name is a harbinger of what is to come of this unfortunate soul, for no matter how hard she tries to pretend she is more, Mathilde will always be unexceptional. As unfortunate as this may seem, if Mathilde is to have a life beyond the loathing she feels for herself, she must be forced to accept her fate, and find happiness in what she is, not in what she wishes to be. By contrast, Mathilde's husband acts as proof that happiness can be found without the assistance of wealth. Maupassant demonstrates this possibility by juxtaposing Mathilde and her husband in the following quote, "' Ah, the good pot-au-feu! I don't know anything better than that,' she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware of delicious dishes served on marvelous plates" (Maupassant 38). While Mathilde's husband is delighted by a simple soup, Mathilde can think only of the luxuries she is denied, a mindset that will forever lead to disappointment. Because she can never be pleased, as is seen later in her sadness over not having a nice enough dress, and again when she lacks jewelry, Mathilde's sole option for living a fulfilling life is to accept who she is, not to strive to always be more. However, she cannot do this on her own. The loss of the necklace forces Mathilde to change her lifestyle, and enables her to find happiness. 

While upon first glance the adversity that Mathilde faces may appear to be the struggles of poverty due to the loss of her necklace, the real hardship she overcomes is her self hatred, a challenge she conquers through the trials of penury. Mathilde suffers so tremendously because the life she desires is so close to being hers. She is, at one point, just a necklace and a night away from being a member of the crowd she envies so much. Her proximity to the unattainable is what saddens her, to be balanced precariously on the line between merely scraping by and total comfort, is unbearable for Mathilde. Once again, Mathilde's beauty is responsible for giving her the illusions of grandeur which hold her back from true happiness. Thus, the loss of the necklace, and the subsequent loss of her beauty, frees Mathilde from herself. More than anything, the disappearance of the necklace is a means of escape for Mathilde. Now, since she and her husband are indebted for the better part of a decade, Mathilde has no choice but to relinquish her beauty for a hard day's work. Her concerns of social status and the elite are trivial compared to the ones she now faces, and this teaches Mathilde humility and endurance, a trait already present in other women of her class. Maupassant illustrates this transformation by describing Mathilde's new habits, "She came to know what heavy housework meant and, dressed like a woman of the people, she went to the fruterer bargaining, insulted, defending her miserable money sou by sou" (Maupassant 38). Mathilde learns to work for her meals, she grows to understand what real adversity is, and through this, her true character is revealed. For while Mathilde appears at first to be a spoiled and indignant housewife, underneath, she is a diligent worker. Furthermore, Maupassant's narrative tone illustrates how Mathilde's new life of toil is actually an improvement from her previous one of covetousness when he says the following, "How life is strange and changeful! How little a thing is needed for us to be lost or to be saved!" (Maupassant 38). The author's tone here is optimistic, not pitying. Mathilde has been changed, and irreparably so, but this change was the only way she could be saved from herself. While before Maupassant described Mathilde as "despairing," "tortured," and "angry." Now he describes her as "strong," and "heroic." The author's change in attitude towards Mathilde further proves that her suffering was for the better. She has finally accepted who she is, however, it was first necessary to strip away everything else but her true character. The necklace gave Mathilde this opportunity.

Aristotle once said, "The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper" (Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics). Mathilde bears the burden of poverty for ten years with resolve and determination, and in doing so, reveals the true beauty of her soul. Her entire life, Mathilde had been deceived by her looks, misled so expertly by the exterior that it never even occurred to her to look deeper. The tribulations of pauperism wipe clean the smut created by Mathilde's vanity, and her true character emerges, free at last. Money cannot create happiness, and the pursuit of wealth and glamor has been the downfall of many people who think otherwise. Mathilde was almost lost to her petty desire to join those elite few who seem to have no faults. However, as is seen in her emergence from perpetual inadequacy, external perfection is often indicative of inner turmoil, a far worse fate then the one bestowed upon Mathilde. It is what is on the inside that determines the true value of an individual, it is what is on the inside, that when all is stripped away, remains intact. Mathilde's wealth is a wealth of character, infinitely more valuable then even the largest sum of gold, or even the most beautiful diamond necklace.

