She dreamed of elegance. Of a place where her fantasies of tapestry adorned walls, of silver cutlery, and guilty pleasures were her true reality. Throughout “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Madame Loisel wishes she had numerous prestigious jewels and clothes for “these were the only things she loved.” She wanted everything she did not have, and yet when she begged and pleaded for her husband to give her the money to buy a lovely gown for the party, it only made her want the splendid jewels to go with it. This greed was the snare that would lead Mister and Madame Loisel down the path of poverty and deceit, in her grand quest for elegance.
Looking around, we see things that we lust or long for, as if it were a life or death situation. We want to be desired, wanted, and loved, just like Madame Loisel. With her beautiful gown and her dazzling, barrowed, diamond necklace, she walked into the doors of the party with her head held high, eyes glistening with pure confidence. Sadly, the night ended in tragedy. Madame Loisel, in her anguish and shame, lied to the friend from which she had borrowed the necklace, and bought a new one to replace the lost.
This was the first of many life changing lies and deceptions. As time wore on, the pair was forced to become accustomed to the toil and struggle of the poverty stricken people. They worked endlessly until they had repaid every debt. In the end, unfortunately their toils were to no avail. The necklace Madame Loisel had lost was simply an imitation of the true stone.
Greed, deceit, and consequence play key parts in giving readers the story that we act out every day of our lives. We want something, we see something, and we lie, or do whatever it takes, in order to achieve what we long for. Sadly for us, most of the time our quests end much like Madame Loisel, in utter defeat and indifference. We are always wanting more than we have; it is simply the human way. Greed destroys us, and sometimes consumes us. Why can’t we simply be happy with what we are already blessed with? It simply is not the natural way.
Finding complete satisfaction is a key part in our lives, but do we truly ever achieve such a lofty goal? Whether it be finding a girlfriend or boyfriend, finding a great job, or having the nicest car, we all wish to be the best at something, or have the most fascinating thing out there. But what are we truly longing for? Trust? Love? Longing for something that we can’t achieve? If you want something, deceit is not the answer. Being truthful with others, and staying true to yourself, is the most important thing ever. No matter what we long for, it is guaranteed that someone in the world is wishing on the same shooting star, for the exact same thing.
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