How does someone know that their obsession with something is too much? The short stories “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Necklace” can help people understand. In their respective stories, both protagonists face a conflict that is tied in with their desires. The two characters from their respective stories, Della and Madame Loisel, share many similarities. However, when the two are compared based on their personalities, they have different weaknesses. In short, Della cares for her husband while Loisel does not, Loisel is not willing to sacrifice anything valuable to her unlike Della, and Loisel suffers from her unrealistic and greedy desire to be on the same level of aristocracy of her friend. The first major personality difference between the two characters is that Della loves and cares for her husband, unlike Madame Loisel who simply takes advantage of him.
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Compare her to Loisel who acts miserable because she cannot have the luxuries of wealthy individuals. Della sells her beautiful hair in “The Gift of the Magi” to get Jim a nice present, while in “The Necklace”, Loisel complains to her husband about not having a nice dress or any jewelry. For example, in “The Necklace”, Loisel says to her husband, “I’m utterly miserable at not having any jewels, not a single stone, to wear” (de Maupassant, page 2). Essentially, both Della and Loisel live in working-class environments with little access to luxuries that richer individuals have. Even with little money to spare, Della is still willing to get Jim a nice gift, and ended up selling her hair to get the money to do so, while Loisel gets herself her dress with her husband’s money and borrows jewelry from her wealthy friend. One of Loisel’s weaknesses is that she is not willing to give up anything to get what she wants, while Della is more than happy to do so for her husband’s Christmas
Compare her to Loisel who acts miserable because she cannot have the luxuries of wealthy individuals. Della sells her beautiful hair in “The Gift of the Magi” to get Jim a nice present, while in “The Necklace”, Loisel complains to her husband about not having a nice dress or any jewelry. For example, in “The Necklace”, Loisel says to her husband, “I’m utterly miserable at not having any jewels, not a single stone, to wear” (de Maupassant, page 2). Essentially, both Della and Loisel live in working-class environments with little access to luxuries that richer individuals have. Even with little money to spare, Della is still willing to get Jim a nice gift, and ended up selling her hair to get the money to do so, while Loisel gets herself her dress with her husband’s money and borrows jewelry from her wealthy friend. One of Loisel’s weaknesses is that she is not willing to give up anything to get what she wants, while Della is more than happy to do so for her husband’s Christmas