Necklace And Rocking Horse Winner 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.