To be completely honest, I don't think what Mathilda did was wrong. Mathilde definitely showcased a great change of heart, the only dynamic character in the story. She started off being so stuck up and feeling so superior to everyone else even though she was not even close to being of high class. However, when posed with a situation that tests her loyalty and morality as a person, she took so much time to work hard and make sure that you didn't upset her friend, literally using her entire life's worth of money to pay for a brand new diamond necklace. And I truly believe that her intentions were genuine because 10 whole years of hard work is not worth it for a friend you could care less about.
But was what she did the right thing to do? It really depends on who you ask. In reality, what she did wasn't wrong, just a bit foolish. I definitely think that there was a better way to approach the situation. Knowing myself, as much I dislike hurting people's feelings and putting people in unfortunate situations, an entire diamond necklace is not a situation that you can just avoid. The moment when Mathilde realized that the necklace was no longer on her neck, she should have already considered telling Madame Forestier and coming up with the money to replace it. It was a huge crisis for Mathilde but it actually wouldn't have been that serious if she had just been honest with her from the beginning. If it were me, I would definitely have brought up the situation to my friend and offered to replace it to get an idea of how much money I would need to do so. Just this simple exchange of communication would have shaved a good 32,000 francs off of her bill.
And to be totally honest, I don't think Madame Forestier deserved all that hard work because once Mathilde explained to her why she looked so old and worn out, she provided some comic relief to the story by smiling and nonchalantly saying that her necklace was fake and probably worth a mere 500 francs. Now, I have no idea how Francs would translate to modern day currency, but 500 francs is a hell of a lot cheaper than 36,000, especially if you're already poor as it is. Though Mathilde had a rather shitty attitude regarding herself and her perception of others, she did not need to spend her youth and beauty trying to make up to a woman who cared little of her in the first place. That's just a waste of time and energy. <https://youtu.be/ESkyMeYNLus>
Bianca, while you've done a good job of getting your ideas down, your analysis significantly omits key detail, namely who Mathilde is, her character, where she was going, and why she felt it necessary to borrow a friend's necklace.
ReplyDeleteAlso, even though I encourage students to use and develop a unique writing style, please be mindful of potentially relaxed language, "shitty" that doesn't fit the tone of your writing.