Unhappy with her current social status, Madame Loisel desires more. She feels entitled to a life beyond her means. She longs for jewels, expensive tapestries, and fine furniture. Madame Loisel does not value her possessions and feels they are unworthy. In addition to her desire for material things, she longs to be the object of others' desires and to be envied by other women.
After receiving an invitation to a ball, Madame Loisel is at first unhappy. However, she buys a new dress and borrows a necklace from a wealthy friend. Finally, she is satisfied. While at the ball, she feels for a short time what it is like to live the life she desires. Men wish to meet her and to dance with her. She finds herself "drunk by pleasure." Once the evening comes to a close, Madame Loisel again finds herself unhappy and unsatisfied.
Madame Loisel wants to lead a life of ease, comfort, and social respectability. She believes herself entitled to better things on account of what she thinks is noble ancestry. Because of this, she's profoundly dissatisfied with her present life. Although she and her husband are not badly off—they can afford a servant, after all—Mathilde wants more out of life. She wants to wear beautiful clothes, to be the toast of society; she yearns to be the center of attention, to be admired and adored by the fine ladies and gentlemen of the upper classes to which she feels such a natural connection. That's why Mathilde looks upon the forthcoming Education Ministry ball as her first step on the road to a new, exciting life.
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