Within Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” story, Madame Mathilde Loisel is a careless character; Madame Loisel does not pay attention to her actions. To this end, Madame Loisel loses a costly necklace that she has borrowed. Further, Madame Loisel fails to wash the tablecloth for her dinner table for three days, Moreover, against her conviction, Madame Loisel allows herself to be married by a mere clerk. This essay highlights Madame Loisel‘s carelessness in “The Necklace” based on the following aspects: Madame Loisel loses a costly necklace that she has borrowed; Madame Loisel fails to wash the tablecloth for her dinner table for three days; and, against her conviction, Madame Loisel allows herself to be married by a mere clerk. Given that she loses a costly necklace that she has borrowed, Madame Loisel establishes herself as a careless character. In this regard, Madame Loisel borrows an expensive diamond necklace from Madame Jeanne Forestier.
Madame Loisel attends a particular high-class party while wearing this necklace. Upon returning home from this revelry, Madame Loisel however discovers that she has lost the borrowed diamond necklace (Maupassant, n.d,), This scenario highlights Madame Loisel‘s carelessness; Madame Loisel fails to pay adequate attention to the borrowed necklace, hence its loss, If she were not careless, Madame Loisel would take care to ensure that she does not misplace Madame Forestier‘s necklace. Madame Loisel further illustrates her carelessness in that she fails to wash the tablecloth for her dinner table for three days. On this note, the narrator reports that Madame Loisel and Monsieur Loisel settle down to have dinner on a table that is covered with a tablecloth that has not been replaced or washed for three days (Ibid.).
This situation reflects Madame Loisel’s carelessness; Madame Loisel has noticed that this tablecloth is dirty but chosen to ignore the dirty status of the tablecloth, Alternatively, Madame Loisel has not noticed that this tablecloth is dirty. These two possible scenarios illustrate that Madame Loisel is careless; Madame Loisel does not take her housewife duties seriously. Otherwise, Madame Loisel would not allow her dinner table to be covered with a tablecloth that has not been replaced or washed for three days, Considering that, against her conviction, Madame Loisel allows herself to be married by a mere clerk, Madame Loisel further demonstrates her carelessness To this end, Madame Loisel is aware that, if she marries a man who does not hold a high social position, she would not be able to enjoy certain pleasures that are accessible only to rich individuals Nevertheless, Madame Loisel concedes to be married by Monsieur Loisel who works as a clerk at the ministry of education (Ibidt).
Such marriage means that Madame Loisel will not be able to attain her aspirations. By settling for this undesirable marriage, Madame Loisel demonstrates carelessness; she does not pay attention to her actions Such lack of attention allows Monsieur Loisel to take Madame Loisel as a wife. If she were not careless, Madame Loisel would not accede to Monsieur Loisel‘s marriage proposal. In conclusion, within “The Necklace”, Madame Loisel illustrates carelessness in several ways. For example, Madame Loisel loses a costly necklace that she has borrowed. Moreover, Madame Loisel fails to wash the tablecloth for her dinner table for three days. Additionally, against her conviction, Madame Loisel allows herself to be married by a mere clerk. It would be enlightening to find out why Maupassant depicts Madame Loisel, a woman, as a careless character.
Madame Loisel’s carelessness is further evident when she does not confess the loss of the necklace to Madame Forestier, leading to years of unnecessary financial hardship. When she finally does tell Madame Forestier about the loss, she discovers that the necklace was a fake and worth a fraction of the cost of the replacement. In conclusion, Madame Loisel’s carelessness is a critical element in “The Necklace.” Her obsession with wealth and status blinds her to the consequences of her actions and leads to her financial ruin. Maupassant uses the story to warn against the dangers of materialism and the pursuit of wealth at all costs.
