True to George’s original estimation, he will go through his life alone. Another character who suffers from loneliness is Curley’s wife. It is her sexuality that causes her loneliness. All the men on the ranch try to avoid her because they believe that women are always the cause of trouble. She longs to have someone to talk to, yet she gets restricted by her brutish husband.
Whereas she seems to belong more in glitzy and glamorous world, in an easy and out going life. The ranch hands, as seen from the fact that she is given no identity of her own as she is dubbed “Curley’s wife”, objectify her. She is the only woman in the ranch, which isolates her even further since she has no one of similar views and interest to talk to. She is vain, flirtatious and very gullible, which is easily picked up on since she believed out of her own delusions that her mother hid the letter, which told her if she was going to become an actress. This causes her to enter a loveless marriage with Curley, which she believed in self-delusion, was going to provide her a glamorous lifestyle.
What is the significance of “dreams” in the novel? Hopes and dreams are a key and central theme to ‘Of Mice and Men’. George and Lennie share a dream of independence, owning their own land and working for themselves, which Candy and Crooks are quickly drawn into. Curley’s wife also has a dream of being a movie star in Hollywood, as well as the underlying ‘American Dream’ which forms the base of all the character’s separate ambitions as well as many thousands of other people of the time. Firstly, dreams serve as a vital escape mechanism for the characters, to help them cope whilst living through the American Depression, where life is lonely and difficult.
She tends to look for other male ranchers. But Curley, her husband does not recognize her as a person but more like a sexual object, Candy said that “he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife” this shows us Curley uses he wife as a trophy and she was never given a name in the novella, she is only treated as a possession of Curley and how no one else on the ranch wanted to get to know her but avoid her instead. We first set eyes on Curley’s wife in the bunk house, when she pretends to be looking for Curley the impression of Curley’s wife being flirtatious is emphasized as she dresses inappropriately for a women married to the boss’s son “she had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, her fingernails are red and her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages” which in my opinion red shows sign of danger besides from this, she both talk and acts playfully and flirtatiously in front of other ranchers “she said playfully”. Candy’s description of Curley’s wife seems accurate after her first appearance in the novel. In this situation George notices this and tries to avoid having conversation with her, using short answers like “Well he ain’t now.” This is because he thinks Curley’s wife is“Jail bait” before getting to know Curley’s wife and the reason why she is this way.
We can see that Curley clearly treats her as a trophy wife as her name ‘Curley’s wife’ shows that she is practically his property and he owns her. As there are only men on the ranch, she is seen as an inferior being while all of her relations are troubled. Steinbeck has used this to portray that women have no place whatsoever on a ranch. The various characters throughout Of Mice and Men have numerous relationships with Curley’s wife. For example George states she is a ‘tramp’.
Curley’s Wife Curley’s wife is an extremely complex character in the novel “Of Mice and Men.” Steinbeck excellently portrays this throughout the novel with the detailed ways in which he describes her looks and everyday behaviour. Before we even meet Curley’s wife we know that George thinks she will be trouble. This prepares the reader for future events and we begin to dislike her immediately. Curley’s wife is treated with so little self respect, hence why she is never referred to by her first name; this highlights the prejudice against women in the novel and shows she has no importance amongst the ranch workers. She is also a good-looking lady who wears a lot of makeup, form-fitting dresses, and ostrich feathered-high heels.
Steinbeck depicts Curley’s wife not as a villain, but rather as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life. She's the only female character in the novel, and she's never given a name and is only referred to in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “looloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. Steinbeck represents Curley’s wife as a lonely woman who is unappreciated by her husband, so, conclusively, she will flirt with any man who comes to the ranch.
But her mother forbids her from this. Therefore, she married Curley, after only knowing him for two weeks. She admits that she doesn’t even like Curley, that she only married him to escape her mother. I think Steinbeck chose to name this character ‘Curley’s Wife’ because it shows how unimportant she is, how she will never reach her dream and make something of herself. It also shows how she is Curley’s property and
Curley made life really unpleasent for his wife on the ranch. He never had a proper conversation with her throughout the book and never cared how she felt. Curley kept “his hand soft for his wife” and went around showing off to other men about it. Curley is always resentful and angry towards everyone on the ranch, he has a problem with big men even though he is described as small in the book. Everyone on the ranch called Curleys Wife a ''tart'' because she flirts and the ranch men said ''Shes got the eyes''.
In addition to this, as he is a respected figure on the ranch, he feels no need to vocalize a dream. George Lennie and Candy all have the dream to live on a farm and become independent. George says “Some day- we’re going to get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres … “. This was a very common dream for migrant workers in 1930’s America, however due to Lennie’s actions; the