The Faithful Husband

With so much news on marital breakdowns, I feel that The Necklace serves as the panacea for all that. And in this case, it is the husband Monsieur Loisel who deserves our utmost respect for ensuring that his marriage to Mathilde can withstand all sorts of hardships that assail them. For those of us familiar with the story, we know that their downfall is in a way due to Mathilde's folly.

There are three reasons why I think this unsung hero should be given some form of recognition. You may have other reasons which you are most welcome to share.

The first is that he does not blame his wife for their misfortune. The husband is willing to part with his money which he has saved for himself so that Mathilde could get herself a nice dress for the party. Yet, this is what he gets in return:

"I'm utterly miserable at not having any jewels, not a single stone, to wear," she replied. "I shall look absolutely no one. I would almost rather not go to the party."

His suggestion that flowers would do has fallen on deaf ears. In the end, she settles for a borrowed piece of supposedly expensive jewellery as suggested by her husband. And in one night, their whole life turns into a living nightmare because she loses it during the party. Loisel does not put the blame on her carelessness. He even goes to the extent of working extra hours so that the debt can be paid:

Her husband worked in the evenings at putting straight a merchant's accounts, and often at night he did copying at twopence-halfpenny a page.

The second is that he values her for who she is and not what she has. Sadly, Mathilde bemoans the fact that she is married to a clerk. Right from the start of the story, we know that her concerns are on externals:

She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains. All these things, of which other women of her class would not even have been aware, tormented and insulted her.

Never once in the story do we find Loisel wishing that his wife were less materialistic. Perhaps his decision not to stop her from all this folly is the cause of this sad turn of events. I prefer to think it is his love for her that panders to her every need.

And thirdly, he is able to see the jewel in the wife. It is stated that Mathilde is beautiful and one may wrongly assume that Loisel only goes for her looks. This is not so because after striving for 10 years just to pay off the debts, we have this description of Mathilde:

Madame Loisel looked old now. She had become like all the other strong, hard, coarse women of poor households. Her hair was badly done, her skirts were awry, her hands were red. She spoke in a shrill voice, and the water slopped all over the floor when she scrubbed it.

Therein lies the great tragedy in this story. Loisel sees in that wife of his the greatest treasure. Mathilde on the other hand, finds treasure in that diamond necklace which turns out to be a fake.