Story Analysis: The Jewelry by Guy de Maupassant

"Happy the man who wins her love! He could not find a better wife."

The piece tells the story of a man, Monsieur Lantin, and his sudden downfall after the tragic loss of his young bride. It all started when he met the girl at a work event and he instantly fell head over heels in love with her. She was a virtuous woman from the country and was brought by her mother to Paris in hopes of finding her a suitable husband.

Monsieur Lantin, upon finding this out, laid out his eligibility to the mother, and soon, the two were wed. The girl was pretty. So pretty in fact that men often cast them with envious looks due to her natural beauty and modest tastes. Using his hard-earned money from his government position, she began to govern the house effectively. The couple was living like they were in luxury and it was one of the two flaws Monsieur Lantin found out about his wife--- her intense love for theater and fake, gaudy jewelry. 

Back then, she used to be a timid girl. Never goes outside without her husband but after finding out about her strange, lavish lifestyle, Monsieur Lantin allowed her to do as she pleases. He would accompany her back then but due to the demands of his current job as a  chief clerk in the Department of the Interior, he couldn't do so anymore. 

Monsieur Lantin focused on his job as his wife began spending more and more of her time outdoors and coming home with her new addition of fake jewelry for the jewelry box. He called it the " trash" because of all the gaudy jewelry his wife likes to collect. Oftentimes, she would play with them and place the fake pearls around his neck, admiring them incessantly. He will get tired of it but she would know what words to say and what to do next. From his point of view, she was the best partner he could ever have. 

But then she died one day after a case of pneumonia and she left her husband with nothing but her boxes of jewelry to remember her by. Monsieur Lantin was devastated by the sudden death of his young wife. His finances began to dwindle and he grew grey hairs within a month. He neglected his job and never changed a single thing in the house they shared. He became a poor man and with it comes his desperation. He then thought of selling a piece of his gaudy jewelry so he went to a jeweler to get an estimate on the price. Unexpectedly, the jeweler gave him a bigger sum as if they were real and he was flabbergasted. He went to the next jeweler and the man said that the jewelry came from them and they were willing to buy it for a few francs less than the original price. 

The story proceeded with Monsieur Lantin selling every piece of jewelry to the jeweler until he amassed a total of four hundred thousand francs. So he went to his boss to resign from his job, went to a fancy restaurant to dine, and got married to another girl in a few months who made his life miserable. 

I read this story when I was in third grade and reading this story again made me realize the real meaning behind the story. You see, Guy De Maupassant uses a naturalistic style to write his stories. Oftentimes represents the life of lower to middle-class individuals in a pessimistic manner. Although it wasn't mentioned in the story, it was implied that Mrs. Lantin became a rich gentleman's mistress who constantly sent her home with "gaudy and fake" jewelry every time they met at the "theater".

When I was younger, I thought that Mrs. Lantin was a dull woman who couldn't judge a real piece of trinket from a fake one. I also thought that Monsieur Lantin was a fool to have wasted so much money and to have left his job. It turns out that she had been cheating behind Monsieur Lantin's back to fund her lavish lifestyle. This may also involve the matters of how she manages their home to look as if they were living beyond their means. She is a smart, kind, and obedient young woman and these are the qualities that Monsieur Lantin fell in love with. 

However, upon learning of his wife's infidelity, Monsieur Lantin must have been hurt so much that to mask his pain, he began spending his wife's fortune as a way to get back at her. Unfortunately, his wealth has attracted a terrible woman into his life who then proceeds to bring so much sorrow into his life. It reflects the irony of the late Mrs. Lantin vs the new Mrs. Lantin. His first wife was a frugal, gentle, and kind girl, his second, however, is the direct opposite. Although his first wife cheated on him, he lived a very comfortable and happy life. But now that the tables have turned, he only had naught but to feel sorry for his fate. The rude awakening that he underwent was enough to make him do a hundred and eighty but in doing so, his luck has also turned its back on him. 

Monsieur Lantin's life is the direct representation of a man who has never learned from his mistakes. Although the sorrow of his second marriage was not described in detail, it is evident that his carelessness in choosing his marriage partners always involves two of his flaws: flashing his wealth and his attraction to "virtuous" women.