This is not the first time for me to read The Necklace by Mapaussant, yet I still can not help but wonder how skillfully the author adopted a tone of sarcasm and vividly he described the characters in the story.

I enjoy reading the first several passages. They gave me a clear idea of what type of person Mme. Loisel was. She was constantly engaged in her imagination of a fancy life style and was never contented with what she already had. She had a husband who loved her and cared for her happiness and she did not have trouble make her ends meet, but all she had felt was that she deserved better. A big contrast can be seen in the different attitudes M. Loisel and Mme. Loisel held towards their soup. While M. Loisel regarded the soup as the best thing to have, Mme. Loisel regretted that she could never afford the dainty dinners as the rich did.

The middle part of the story, which focused on the ball the Loisel family attended, revealed us of the shallowness of Mme. Loisel. She regarded the envy from other women as her source of contentment and she hated to be seen in plain clothing after the dances had ended.

The last part of the story is most sarcastic. The Loisels spent ten years compensating for the loss of the necklace. Mme Loisel had to give up the comfortable life she used to have yet she was still thinking of the glamorous night as a very happy time of her life and did not learn that all her suffering was caused by her greed. I can hardly imagine the shock and regret Mme Loisel would feel after knowing the truth behind the borrowed necklace, but that surely would make her reflect upon the priorities in her life.

Reading Mapaussant's novel gives me a sense of how superficial The French society was back at the 19th century. It exposed to me the foolishness in our character and warned me against a shallow life.