Monsieur Loisel works as a junior clerk in the Ministry of Education, which is considered a humble, lower-middle-class position that puts the food on the table and is enough to make ends meet. Monsieur Loisel's occupation also allows him and his wife enough money to enjoy dates at the theater, save up to buy expensive items, and even keep a servant to wait on them. Unfortunately, Madame Loisel had dreams of marrying a man in the upper-class and enjoying a life of luxury. She is greatly depressed with her current marriage and financial situations and longs to become a member of the French aristocracy. Despite her husband's efforts to please her, Madame Loisel remains unappreciative and initially dismisses her husband's invitation to a ball at the Ministry because she is embarrassed to be around aristocrats without wearing something of value, which is why she eventually borrows Madame Forestier's necklace to attend the ball.
Monsieur Loisel works as a minor official in the Ministry of Education. It's not a bad job. It doesn't pay much but it does put food on the table, even if the food in question often happens to be a rather uninspiring beef stew. The Loisels live what can fairly be described as a solid petit bourgeois existence, one shared with millions of others in Paris.
But Madame Loisel is heartily embarrassed at her standard of living. She thinks she is so much better than her surroundings. She yearns for the finer things in life: beautiful clothes, rich tapestries, liveried footmen, sumptuous banquets. It is the huge chasm between the Loisels' respective social ambitions that provides the impetus for what subsequently happens in the story. When Monsieur Loisel receives an invitation to the Ministry of Education ball, it provides a rare opportunity for his wife to live out her wildest, snobbiest fantasies.
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