Characterization of Mathilde Loisel

Outer characterization

Mathilde Loisel is the main character of the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Her outer characterization shows that she is a “pretty and charming” young woman “born in a family of clerks”. Mathilde is poor and has “no dowry”, and “dresses plainly” because she does not have money to buy the clothes she dreams of. Mathilde is married to “a little clerk at the Ministry of Public Instruction”. The expression “she let herself be married” suggests that she resigns herself to a marriage she is not excited about, because she has no other choice.

Ten years after the ball, Mathilde looks old, “strong and hard and rough”. She has “rowsy hair, skirts askew, and red hands”, as a result of her hard work. 

Inner characterization

Mathilde is mainly characterized by her ambition. S...