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UNIT-5 THEME - MASKING REALITY

The

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Getting Started

Valuing external appearances over contentment and honesty, leads to the tragic
consequences of materialism and dishonesty. The story encourages appreciating
what one has and understanding that true happiness comes from within, not
from material possessions or societal validation.

She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as if by an error of fate, into
a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no expectations,
What you Think?ou Think?
no means of becoming known, understood, loved or What y
wedded by a man of wealth and distinction; and so
she let herself be married to a minor official at the Who is Mathilde

Ministry of Education. Loisel ?
She dressed plainly because she had never been able to

afford anything better, but she was as unhappy as if she had once been wealthy.
Women don’t belong to a caste or class; their beauty, grace, and natural charm take
the place of birth and family. Natural delicacy, instinctive elegance and a quick
wit determine their place in society, and make the daughters of commoners the

equals of the very finest ladies.
She suffered endlessly, feeling she was entitled to all the delicacies and luxuries of

life. She suffered because of the poorness of her house as she looked at the dirty
walls, the worn-out chairs and the ugly curtains. All these things that another
woman of her class would not even have noticed, tormented her and made her
resentful. The sight of the little Brenton girl who did her housework filled her
with terrible regrets and hopeless fantasies. She dreamed of silent antechambers

hung with Oriental tapestries, lit from above by torches in bronze holders, while
two tall footmen in knee-length breeches napped in huge armchairs, sleepy from
the stove’s oppressive warmth. She dreamed of vast living rooms furnished in rare

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