Greed And Cosequences Essay, Research Paper
?The Necklace? by Guy De Maupassant and ?The Rocking Horse Winner? by D.H. Lawrence have two women in these stories that show no care or concern for anyone but themselves. Hester and Mathilde both had families that they truly did not love. And they were only involved with them for social reasons and to have their selfish needs provided. They finally righted the way they lived but only because they lost something or someone of importance to them.
Mathilde always thought that she should be someone of wealth or at the very least married someone who was rich. She was a beautiful woman that had all the tastes of a family with great prosperity. Only she was not prosperous as she married a clerk. Maupassant writes that Mathilde ??let herself be married to a little clerk at the Ministry of Public Instructions? (Maupassant Page 976). She never married for love but married for what she had to settle for. A woman does not let herself become married, should be for love. ?She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but that; she felt made for that? (Page 976). So Mathilde could not love her husband for who he was, she only loved material possessions. Possessions she could not have.
Mathilde had all the tastes of excess. ?She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries? (Page 976). Mathilde suffered because she wanted it all but could not have the ?delicacies.? One day her husband came home with an invitation to a formal gathering at her husband?s place of work, The Ministry of Public Instructions. Instead of being pleased to actually go somewhere of upper class, she makes her husband feel about two inches tall. Mathilde was not satisfied with just going but her selfish conceited ways only wanted more. Not caring of the expense she demanded a new dress for the occasion. Which happened to be the same amount of money that her husband was setting aside for gun for himself. But he gave her the money anyway to make her happy. Only Mathilde was not happy she wanted more. Mathilde whined, ?It annoys me not to have a single jewel, not a single stone, nothing to put on. I will look like distress. I should almost rather not go at all? (Page 978). Again her husband feels horrible that he cannot provide for his loved one, when in return she could careless about him. He had no money left to give, so he sent Mathilde to her friends to borrow jewels to wear. She was pleased with this idea and borrowed an elegant necklace. The night of the event came and Mathilde was a hit with everyone. Finally Mathilde and her husband left the party in a frantic way because Mathilde was embarrassed of her wraps she wore to cover her shoulders. After all the rushing and when they arrived home, Mathilde realized the necklace was gone. She had lost the necklace.
?I have? I have? I?ve lost Mme. Forestier?s necklace? (Page 979). Mathilde uttered to her husband and their lives changed forever. To replace the necklace her husband was forced to borrow money from who ever he could. They both had to take on jobs now more than ever. But Mathilde had changed and now knew that the debt must be paid off and she was willing to help. ?She took her part, moreover, all of a sudden, with heroism? (Page 980). Finally after ten years all debts had been paid. Two things happened to Mathilde over these ten years. First she lost her looks, charm, and overall appeal. ?She had become a woman of impoverished households?? (Page 981). The second is she learned to care for others. She did anything to help her husband pay the debt off that was ten years lasting. It was unfortunate for Mathilde she did not learn better ways until she had been humbled by the work. All because of a necklace that was supposedly of great importance.
As well as Mathilde, Hester did not love the ones she was supposed to. ?She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them? (Lawerence Page 873). Everyone thought that Hester was a good mother. ?Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so? (Page 873). Hester was more concerned about maintaining her social standing and obtaining more money than being a mother or a wife.
?There must be more money! There must be more money!? (Page 874). These words that were heard throughout the house summed up the lifestyle that Hester wanted and felt she needed to live. Hester could have chosen to live a less extravagant lifestyle and concentrate on solely on raising her children instead of being consumed with social concerns. Even though her children knew that their mother did not love them, Paul still made an effort to help his mother with her money ?problems.? Paul had a gift that he could the winner of the horse races. Paul accumulates a huge sum of money from predicting the winners. Then he arranges for his mother to receive one thousand pounds for five years on her birthday. But instead of investing it wisely to come out of debt, she foolishly spends it, showing a lack of common sense and care for the rest of the family. Receiving this generous gift was still not enough for Hester?s tastes. She wanted the whole five thousand pounds at once, which she eventually got. The narrator states, ?There were new furnishings, and Paul had a tutor? There were flowers in the winter, and a blossoming of luxury that Paul?s mother had been used to? (Page 881). Hester spent the money carelessly and quickly. This put a burden on Paul to fulfill his mother?s selfish needs.
Paul sensed that his mother wanted more money and he felt it was up to him to obtain it. Paul had three races left to bet on and the pressure he put on himself to pick the winner started to show. Even Hester could see that Paul was not right and needed to relax. ?You?d better go to the seaside. Wouldn?t you like to go now to the seaside, instead of waiting?? (Page 881), Hester said, showing a sign of compassion for her son. Paul refused as he felt he must meet his mom?s selfish wants of more money. A couple days before the Derby Hester went to a party in town but has this sudden anxiety. Hester starts to have strange seizures of worry about Paul. She begins to feel concern and love for her child and a sense of motherhood finally reached her heart. She frantically goes home and rushes to her son?s room. Hester finds him hard at work on his rocking horse trying to predict the winning horse for the Derby. Unfortunately Hester had reason to worry, as Paul shouts out, ?Malabar,? and then collapses on the floor unconscious. Malabar was indeed the winner of the Derby and Paul now eighty thousand pounds to give his mother. But the price he paid was his life as he died later that night from a brain fever. Uncle Oscar states, ?My God, Hester, you?re eighty thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad? (Page 884). Showing that Paul was doing this all for his mother and now that she is a rich woman she lost her first born that she finally learned to love. And that money will do nothing to fill her softened heart.
Mathilde and Hester were both selfish, careless, greedy individuals. They wanted it all and it did not matter that it was not obtainable they wanted it anyway no matter what the burden it produced. These two both had expensive, luxurious tastes that sometimes just could not be met. When finally Mathilde and Hester realized the way they had been living was not the way to go about something of great importance was taken form them and that it would never be returned. Sometimes a person does not figure it out until they go through a pain like no other and that is a shame.