In this essay, I will show how the author, Guy De Maupassant,

characterizes Mathilde Loisel as a selfish, greedy, and manipulative person who thought only of herself. I will also show how her selfishness affected other characters in the story.

My first example of Mathilde Loisel's selfishness is "She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved; she felt that she was made for them." (p.133). These sentences show how materialistic Mathilde is and how selfish she is for caring only about gaining these things for herself. She didn't show any care for her husband who despite their humble living,

seemed to be a caring and loving husband who kept a positive attitude about things. She held her love for materialistic objects so high that it consumed her and occupied her mind.

My second example of Mathilde's selfishness is "Nothing. Only I haven't a dress and so I can't go to this party. Give your invita

tion to some friend whose wife will be turned out better than I shall" (p.134).

party just because she feels that she does not have a fancy, expensive dress to wear. She totally ignores the fact that Loisel went through a lot of trouble to get that invitation and he did so to make her happy. She acted as if his efforts for a waste and that his thoughtfulness was of no use. She is selfishly thinking only of herself and not considering the feelings and efforts of her husband who is selfless.

My fourth and final example of Mathilde's selfishness is "Go and see Madame Forestier and ask her to lend you some jewelry. You know her quite well enough for that. She uttered a cry of delight. That's true. I never thought of it" (p.135). In her time of need, Mathilde goes to ask her old friend for jewelry which is selfish because she refused to visit her under normal circumstances. She was just using Madame Mathilde for her own materialistic gain once again as she has done to Loisel. Obviously, her selfish concept of friendsh

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Approximate Word count = 699
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)