Fitri Andriyani
6th Semester
Sociology of Literature
HEDONISM OF MATHILDE LOISEL IN
GUY DE MAUPASSANT’S THE DIAMOND NECKLACE
In the beginning of the
story, Mathilde is one of women in middle class, but she is unhappy with her
place in society. She is not satisfied because with her beauty, she thinks she
should be wearing beautiful clothes and lived in well condition.
“The girl was one of those pretty and charming young creatures who
sometimes are born, as if by a slip of fate, into a family of clerks. She had
no dowry, no expectations, no way of being known, understood, loved, married by
any rich and distinguished man; so she let herself be married to a little clerk
of the Ministry of Public Instruction. She dressed plainly because she could
not dress well, but she was unhappy as if she had really fallen from a higher
station; since with women there is neither caste nor rank, for beauty, grace
and charm takes the place of family and birth. Natural ingenuity, instinct for
what is elegant, a supple mind are their sole hierarchy, and often make of
women of the people the equals of the very greatest ladies. Mathilde suffered
ceaselessly, feeling herself born to enjoy all delicacies and all luxuries. ”. (Guy de Mauppasant, The Diamond Necklace, 1884)
The quotation above is about Mathilde’s condition. She
is beautiful, pretty and charming woman, but she could not dress well because
of her live condition. She married with poor men who work as a little clerk of
Minister of Public Instruction that make Mathilde more suffer.
Mathilde’s
husband was comfortable with his place in society, while she hates and disappointed
with her live condition.
“When she sat down to dinner, before the round table covered with a
tablecloth in use three days, opposite her husband, who uncovered the soup
tureen and declared with a delighted air, "Ah, the good soup! I don't know
anything better than that," she thought of dainty dinners, of shining
silverware, of tapestry that peopled the walls with ancient personages and with
strange birds flying in the midst of a fairy forest; and she thought of
delicious dishes served on marvellous plates and of the whispered gallantries
to which you listen with a sphinxlike smile while you are eating the pink meat
of a trout or the wings of a quail. She had no gowns, no jewels, nothing. And
she loved nothing but that. She felt made for that. She would have liked so
much to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after”. (Guy de Maupassant, The Diamond Necklace, 1884)
Loisel try to make enjoy their dinner with saying that
he feels satisfied with the soup. He wants to make her wife happy, while
Mathilde is always thinking about the luxuriousness and the upper class live
condition that she wants.
Loisel
want to make his wife happy with bring an invitation from the Minister of
Public Instruction where Loisel works.
“…The Minister of Public Instruction and Madame Georges Ramponneau
request the honor of M. and Madame Loisel's company at the palace of the
Ministry on Monday evening, January 18th.
Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she threw the
invitation on the table crossly, muttering:
"What do you wish me to do with that?"
"Why, my dear, I thought you would be glad. You never go out, and
this is such a fine opportunity. I had great trouble to get it. Every one wants
to go; it is very select, and they are not giving many invitations to clerks.
The whole official world will be there."
She looked at him with an irritated glance and said impatiently:
"And what do you wish me to put on my back?"”. (Guy de Maupassant, The Diamond Necklace, 1884)
Loisel try to make his wife happy with the invitation,
he tell to his wife that he was very difficult to get the invitation and the it
is just for the people in upper class and there will be people from the upper
class, so that they have opportunity to take a part as the upper class, but
Mathilde refuse it and she won’t to go to the party.
Mathilde
feels give up, she can’t go to the party. She complains to her husband that she
doesn’t have dress which proper to wear in the party and she suggest that the
invitation should to give to another.
“What's the matter? What's the matter?"
he answered.
By a violent effort she conquered her grief and replied in a calm voice,
while she wiped her wet cheeks:
"Nothing. Only I have no gown, and, therefore, I can't go to this
ball. Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I am
He was in despair. He resumed:
"Come, let us see, Mathilde. How much would it cost, a suitable
gown, which you could use on other occasions--something very simple?"”. (Guy de Maupassant, The Diamond Necklace, 1884)
Loisel really loves his wife, he wants to make his
wife happy. He persuades his wife to go to the party with give some money to
buy a new dress, while actually he wants to use the money to buy a gun for
himself.
After
Mathilde gets a dress to wear in the party, she complains again to her husband
that she has no jewelry to wear with the dress.
“"What is the matter? Come, you have
seemed very queer these last three days."
And she answered:
"It annoys me not to have a single piece of jewelry, not a single
ornament, nothing to put on. I shall look poverty-stricken. I would almost
rather not go at all."
"You might wear natural flowers," said her husband.
"They're very stylish at this time of year. For ten francs you can get two
or three magnificent roses."
She was not convinced.
"No; there's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other
women who are rich."”. (Guy de
Maupassant, The Diamond Necklace, 1884)
Loisel suggest his wife to use natural flower, but
Mathilde refuse it. She doesn’t hear what his husband said and she just
thinking about herself who need jewelry, said that it just make her look more
poor people.
Loisel
try to resolve his wife’s problem with suggest to borrow jewelry to Madame
Forestier, Mathilde’s friend, and she agree with her husband.
“She saw first some bracelets, then a pearl necklace,
then a Venetian gold cross set with precious stones, of admirable workmanship.
She tried on the ornaments before the mirror, hesitated and could not make up
her mind to part with them, to give them back. She kept asking:
"Haven't
you any more?"
"Why,
yes. Look further; I don't know what you like."
Suddenly she
discovered, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace, and her heart
throbbed with an immoderate desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She
fastened it round her throat, outside her high-necked waist, and was lost in
ecstasy at her reflection in the mirror.
Then she
asked, hesitating, filled with anxious doubt:
"Will
you lend me this, only this?"”. (Guy de Maupassant, The Diamond Necklace, 1884)
Mathilde is
one of the dissatisfaction people. Madame Forestier show some her jewelry and
Mathilde wants to more and she choose the diamond necklace to borrow and to
wear in the party.
At the party, Mathilde become prettier than other
woman, she feels like a rich woman with a new dress and the diamond necklace.
“The night of the ball arrived. Madame Loisel was a great success. She
was prettier than any other woman present, elegant, graceful, smiling and wild
with joy. All the men looked at her, asked her name, sought to be introduced.
All the attaches of the Cabinet wished to waltz with her. She was remarked by
the minister himself.
She danced with rapture, with passion, intoxicated by pleasure,
forgetting all in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a
sort of cloud of happiness comprised of all this homage, admiration, these
awakened desires and of that sense of triumph which is so sweet to woman's
heart”. (Guy de Maupassant, The Diamond Necklace, 1884)
In the party, all of men look at her and want to dance
with her. Mathilde was very happy and feel satisfied because she can feel like
a rich woman and she can to be what she wants. She feels like a high class
society and her society of course accept her because she can show that she is a
member of high class. She enjoys the party with dancing with other men and
include with women in high class. Loisel leave his wife to enjoy the party. At
the party, Mathilde dancing, laugh and gets the experience that she thought she
was born to enjoy.
References:
·
http://www.enotes.com/topics/guy-de-maupassant/in-depth
·
http://www.enotes.com/topics/guy-de-maupassant/themes
