Here is the answer and explanation to the question What does the phrase “a mistake of destiny” in the quote “born as if by mistake of destiny into a family of clerks” mean or imply about Mathilde in…
What does the phrase “a mistake of destiny” in the quote “born as if by mistake of destiny into a family of clerks” mean or imply about Mathilde in “The Necklace”?
| Certified Educator
The phrase “mistake of destiny” implies that Mathilde believes that she has ended up in the wrong social class.
Believing herself to be of noble blood, despite there being no evidence to that effect whatsoever, Mathilde finds herself leading what to her in a humdrum lower-middle-class existence married to a humble civil servant.
As a consequence of her mistaken beliefs, Mathilde firmly believes that she is entitled to better things. So when her husband receives an invitation to the Education Ministry ball, Mathilde sees an opportunity to be the belle of the ball, to show off her beauty and rub shoulders with members of the social elite, to which she believes she belongs.
In order to do this, however, Mathilde has to look the part. Among other things, this means wearing an expensive necklace befitting of someone of her refined sensibilities. But because Mathilde really isn’t anywhere near as refined as she thinks she is, because there was no mistake of destiny in her relatively low birth, she doesn’t recognize that the supposedly valuable necklace she wears to the ball is in fact nothing more than a fake, rather like herself.
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your subscription to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Start your Subscription
Further Reading
- https://thcslequydoncaugiay.edu.vn/topics/necklace
Do you find that the article What does the phrase “a mistake of destiny” in the quote “born as if by mistake of destiny into a family of clerks” mean or imply about Mathilde in…
If not, please leave a comment below the article so that our editorial team can improve the content better
Post by: THCS LeQuyDon
Category: question
#phrase #mistake #destiny #quote #born #mistake #destiny #family #clerks #imply #Mathilde #eNotescom
