Guy De Maupassant's short story, "The Necklace" is chalk full of various meanings, morals, and lessons readers can learn from. The story revolves around a woman who has all the necessary comforts in life, yet believes she has been shorthanded and deserves more. Her childishness and greedy ways eventually lead to her downfall, and she loses everything she once took for granted. Of the numerous messages the short story has to offer, the main lessons that stick out are to find happiness with what one already has, love the loyal people in one's life, and greediness will always bring misfortune.

"She was one of those pretty and charming girls who are sometimes, as if by a mistake from destiny, born into a family of clerks" (Maupassant 1). The first sentence sets the theme for the entire story: Mathilde was not of high social standing, yet she would be unsatisfied until she was treated like the wealthy woman she dreamt she was. She also ironically states later in the story, "there's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich" (3). Mathilde will soon know the true meaning of poverty after having to repay an enormous debt from losing a necklace she greedily borrowed from a wealthy friend. Mathilde is fortunate enough to have a comfortable home, a loving husband, servants, chefs, and warm clothes on her back, however, she can only think about how unlucky she is to not live a more extravagant life. Maupassant shows her disgust on page 1, " She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling...of which another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her angry." Mathilde is picky and finds faults in her life, when in reality she is very fortunate. She has many things to be thankful for, but she does not truly realize their value until she loses them.

Of all Mathilde's possessions, her husband is unarguably the most valuable. She was lucky enough to find a "diamond in the rough": a man who would give her anything she desired even though he had little to give. He goes to great lengths to attain tickets to a ball that many wealthy people of high society are attending so Mathilde will have a taste of the life she yearns for. Although he may not have the means, he goes to the ends of the earth to make Mathilde happy. He even goes so far as to give her 400 francs that he was planning to use for a hunting trip with his friends so she could buy a new dress for the ball (2). He is loving and patient, using doting phrases like "my dear", "fine opportunity", and "try to have a pretty dress" when referring to the ball. Mathilde finds it difficult to love the one she is with, even though he would do anything to satisfy her demands. She thinks more often of being desired by other men than honoring her own husband. Regardless of all Mathilde already has, she wants more. She uses the vulgar words, "what do you want me to put on my back?" to demand a new dress for the ball (2). His generosity of 400 francs does not satisfy mathilde, however, for she continuously pouts and acts childish because she does not also have expensive jewels to wear. She even goes so far as to threaten not to attend the ball if she does not get what she wants!

Mathilde then makes a decision that will ultimately lead to her complete downfall. She decides to borrow jewelry from a wealthy friend, Mademoiselle Forestier. Even in the fancy home of a woman she aspires to be like, Mathilde still acts greedy. She demands, "haven't you any more?" when she is shown a jewelry box full of beautiful necklaces, pendants, and earrings (3). She predictably chooses the necklace she believes has the most value, composed entirely of large, sparkling, beautiful diamonds. When Mathilde returns home from the ball, she comes to realize she has lost the necklace. She was too prideful to admit she had lost the necklace to Mademoiselle Forestier, so she gives up all of the finer things in life she once had and spends the rest of her existence earning money to replace the necklace. Mathilde's husband looks through all hours of the night for her necklace, but he cannot find it. He then must "compromise all the rest of his life" and "risk his signature without even knowing if he could meet it" so that he could replace the necklace his wife lost (5). In order to be someone she wasn't for one night, Mathilde spent the rest of her life in poverty. The necklace did the opposite of bringing her happiness; it brought her eternal grief. Mathilde lost hope of everything she once dreamt of and fell into a lifestyle she could have never imagined. She quickly realized that material objects and social status meant nothing compared to a loving husband that would stand by her side through both the good and the dark times. She also learned to be humble and stop demanding unnecessary luxuries, because in reality, they can never make a person truly happy.

By the end of "The Necklace" the reader has realized that Mathilde was so greedy that she lost sight of nearly all the comforts she had in life. She once had servants, a chef, exquisite beauty, a home, a loving and generous husband, and beautiful clothes to wear, then was devastatingly left with almost nothing. The irony of the story is a central part of the theme; we are shown a perfect example of the saying "be careful what you wish for." Mathilde was selfish at the ball and danced with other men all evening while her husband slept in the foyer waiting 

patiently for her special night to come to a close (4). After she lost the necklace, her beauty faded from the hard work and labor it took her to repay her debt, and no other man looked at her in the same way again besides her loyal husband. She learned to love the one she was with, be herself, be happy with what she had, to put her pride aside, and most importantly, that greediness would get her nowhere in life.

