Simply put, Mathilde Loisel thinks much too highly of herself. She was born into "a family of clerks," and she married "a little clerk"; yet, she daydreams constantly of riches that she believes she deserves but cannot afford. She "suffered ceaselessly" about her home and her life. She is "distressed" by the furnishings of her house; it "tortured" her to think of the many things she was missing: fancy dinners, colorful tapestries and "priceless curiosities."
