Question

Give a character sketch of Matilda.

Hint:

In character sketches, describe physical traits, personality, desires, actions, and the lesson their life conveys.

Answer 1

Matilda, the heroine of Guy de Maupassant’s story “The Necklace,” is portrayed as a young, charming, and beautiful woman. However, she is also dissatisfied with her modest life. She was born into a poor family and married to a simple clerk, Loisel, who worked at the Ministry of Education. Though her husband loved her deeply, Matilda always felt that she deserved wealth, luxury, and high social status.
She was vain, materialistic, and often dreamt of a life filled with expensive clothes, jewelry, and grand parties. Her desire to appear rich and elegant led her to borrow a necklace from her friend, Madame Forestier, for a ball. She enjoyed the evening immensely, but when she lost the necklace, her life changed completely. Instead of confessing the truth, she and her husband decided to replace the necklace with a costly one.
Matilda then spent the next ten years of her life in extreme poverty, working hard and sacrificing her youth and beauty to repay the debt. By the end of the story, she looked old, haggard, and broken. Ironically, she discovered that the necklace she had borrowed was a fake. This twist highlights the tragedy of her life.
Thus, Matilda’s character is a mixture of beauty, vanity, and pride, but her downfall teaches the lesson of honesty, contentment, and acceptance of reality.