In a description of Mathilde's fantasies about "elegant dinners," de Maupassant alludes to classical mythology:
[S]he fantasized about elegant dinners, [....] about gallantries whispered and listened to with sphinxlike smiles[.]
The mythical sphinx is a mysterious monster that is half-woman, half-lion. The sphinx was a common feature of Greek art and myth, as well as a figure that often appears in Egyptian art and mythology. Here, the reader can assume de Maupassant is referencing Greek culture, as the “sphinxlike smiles” seem to suggest coy, mysterious female responses to male attention (“gallantries”).
The sphinx has passed into literature as a symbol of inscrutability and feminine mystery. The invocation of this figure plays into the ideals of femininity presented in the earlier part of the story. Early on, the narrator suggests that superficial charm and beauty can enable women to overcome challenges in their lives. This notion isn't just pervasive in the society around Mathilde—it's also an idea that she has internalized through her own lavish fantasies about the mystique of beauty and wealth. The story itself goes on to discredit this ideal, as Mathilde's beauty does not save her and in fact flees when she comes into contact with real hardship for the first time. Her dreams, it is demonstrated, are based on ideas far removed from the harsh economic and social reality of women’s lives in this period.
