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"He compromised all the rest of his life, risked his signature without even knowing if he could meet it; and, frightened by the pains yet to come, by the black misery which was about to fall upon him, by the prospect of all the physical privation and of all the moral tortures which he was to suffer, he went to get the new necklace, putting down upon the merchant’s counter thirty-six thousand francs."
Monsieur Loisel's decision to sacrifice his finances and uproot his life to replace the lost necklace demonstrates his status as a martyr. Throughout the story, he consistently makes personal sacrifices in a desperate effort to lift Mathilde's spirits. His loyalty to his wife never falters, even when it means destroying his own life. Through his choices, the reader sees how his eagerness to please Mathilde and ease her agitation, at personal cost to himself, ultimately leads to his downfall as well as hers.
"She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries."
Mathilde is convinced that she was born for a better life and she therefore feels tortured by her modest lifestyle. She makes a martyr of herself, committing herself to a life of suffering and self-pity. She wallows in her misery, spends all her time dreaming of a life that is not her own, and consequently is unable to appreciate any aspect of her life. Her behavior reflects the dangers of martyrdom as readers observe Mathilde's inability to accept her own chances at happiness.
