He wants to see his wife happy. He brings home the invitation to the party because he knows that she wants to be a part of high society. The invitation to the party will allow her to be a part of it for a little while. However, Mathilde is upset by the idea that she won't have anything appropriate to wear. She begins to cry and Monsieur Loisel is described as being "utterly at a loss." When she tells him to give the invitation to someone else since she doesn't have anything to wear, the narrator says that "he was heart-broken." Monsieur Loisel gives his wife the four hundred francs because he wants to see her happy.
