What might have been the quality of Madame Loisel's life if she had not lost the necklace?

I first read this story in 10th grade, and the entire
situation continues to haunt me - it is one of those fabulous stories that will never
leave you.

I've thought about it this way: Losing the
necklace made her work harder and sacrifice more than she ever had before.  Consider how
much (money) she and her husband made to replace
it.

Hypothetically, had she not lost the necklance but if
they could work that hard to make as much money, perhaps that short time of sacrifice
could have been a small nest egg they could have built up to eventually have a slightly
higher quality of life.  Or, what if she had just been honest (after she made enough
money) and then got to keep most of it... I think in that case the work might have
seemed worth it.

But then you have to realize, that had the
necklace never been lost, the work put into replacing it never would have happened.  In
fact, her life probably wouldn't have changed at all, except that she would still be
living in bitter envy of those who had more than she did.  Without some sort of calamity
to spark her into action, I doubt Loisel would have been capable of making a major life
change on her own.