Mathilde's chief characteristic is that of being not too bright. She never thinks that she doesn't actually have to own jewelry to go to that party. She's perfectly content to leech off her poor husband. Her husband had to suggest to her that she borrow something from Mrs. Forrester. Once she got the necklace, it didn't occur to her to take special care to make sure that she didn't lose it. If you're not used to wearing a necklace, you should be able to tell when it's missing. Neither she or her husband considered that it might not even be the real jewels. It was a fitting end to see her brought up short by Mrs. Forrester.
	Mathilde has a good quality about her, and that is loyalty. She didn't go anywhere when the going got tough. She stuck around and sucked it up. She didn't abandon her husband like some people might. She adapts and learns to do grunt work. She does all the kitchen work, and does dirty things like take out the garbage. She also saved money any way she could, by haggling and bargaining for all she was worth.
	Mathilde is so stuck up, it's ridiculous. She cares only about her beauty. Even after everything that happened, she still dreamed of the night where she was the center of attention. She believes herself born solely for the jewels. Pathetically, she would weep after visiting her friend, because all her owning all these jewels and fancy clothes. She doesn't make the best of what she has. Even after her husband gives her money for a dress, it's not good enough. She wants more.
	This is definitely an allegory we can relate to, because many see the young generation as the self-absorbed generation. No matter what we have we want more, and we're the first in line when the new cell phone, video game console, or set of shoes comes out. We spend a lot of time and money on frivolous things, instead of on things that could help us improve ourselves or society. Many are slovenly and unhealthy, as seen in the record obesity numbers. That we spend so much money on "nice" things shows the lack of impulse control we have, and just like Mathilde, when we receive these nice things, we take them for granted and often don't take care of them, forcing us to buy new things and continue the cycle. 
	However, due to this being a product of the time it was created, it shows that we are this way not because of our age or our circumstances, but because we are human. That people were showing these same tendencies back then shows that it's not just a generational thing. It's human nature to want more, to be obsessed with ourselves, because one of our flaws as a species is our inability to relate to others, more so strangers, but sometimes also the people we do know and are close to. In understanding this, we can conclude that we aren't as different from our elders as the media would sometimes have us believe.
