
Major Characters:
Mathilde Loisel – the protagonist of the story.
She's obsessed with beautiful, expensive things,
and the life that accompanies them. Unfortunately, she wasn't born into a
family with the money to make her dream possible. Instead, she gets married to
a "little clerk" husband and lives with him in an apartment. She is annoyed
with the every day work in the house. Mathilde hates her life, and probably her
husband too. She weeps "all day long, from chagrin, from regret, from
despair, and from distress".

Monsieur Loisel – Mathilde’s husband. He is the "little clerk in the Department of Education". Monsieur
Loisel is content with the small pleasures of his life but does his best to please
Mathilde’s demands. He loves Mathilde immensely but does not truly understand
her, and he seems to underestimate the depth of her unhappiness. He also seems to be devoted to his wife. After all, he got her the
invitation to a fancy party. He sacrifices the hunting rifle he's spent months
saving up for, so Mathilde can buy a dress for the ball. And when she loses the
necklace, he's the one who goes all over the city searching for it. Moreover, Monsieur
Loisel sacrifices his own future to help her repay the debt. He pays dearly for
something he had never wanted in the first place.
“He grew slightly pale, for this
was exactly the amount he had been saving for a gun, intending to get a little shooting
next summer on the plain of Nanterre with some friends who went lark-shooting
there on Sundays.
Nevertheless he said: "Very well. I'll give you four hundred francs. But
try and get a really nice dress with the money.”

Many years have passed but Madame Forestier is still beautiful. She does not recognize her old friend when
they meet.
“It was Madame Forestier, still
young, still beautiful, still attractive.”
Minor Character:

The writer reveals all the
characters, using both direct and indirect characterization. He describes the
characters and also reveals their features with the help of their deeds. He looks
deeply into the emotions of Mathilde,
and make the reader feel her pain and sympathize
her. But the narrator doesn’t share his emotions. He appears to be rather detached
from the events happening.
But to my mind, Maupassant’s
detachment also keeps the reader aside from
being too strict with Mathilde and blame her for her troubles.
As for my own attitude towards the
characters, I just admire Monsieur Loisel. His love and devotion to his wife is really precious. He sacrificed everything for the sake of Mathilde.
Such people is a real rarity in our society.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий