why did the beautiful and charming main character (Mathilde Loisel) marry a minor civil servant (an unimportant government employee) ?

"The Necklace" (in French: "La Parure") is a short story written by a French writer named Guy de Maupassant. This story was first published on February 17th 1884 in Le Gaulois (a newspaper from France).

Mathilde Loisel is the protagonist of this story. She was a very beautiful lady; however she was only blessed with beauty as she had no money and no dowry. Mathilde was unhappy with her life in general and wanted a better life.

She then married a minor government official because, having no dowry herself, she would not be able to find a rich man to marry her (those men would never accept marrying her due to her average social status). Also, Mathilde used to dream of being respected by others, which would be easier to achieve as a married woman than as a single lady.