In the John Steinbeck’s novel “of Mice and Men” he introduces us to the character of Curley’s wife. She could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel as no one relates to her. Steinbeck relates her to how women were powerless during 1930’s and makes her seem desperately lonely and isolated from the others on the ranch. She has sexual power which she uses to get to the men on the ranch and she just needs someone to talk to. She dislikes her husband and had a desire to become a movie star.
She has no friends therefore has a lonely existence. Our first impression of Curley’s wife is by the men on the ranch and what they think about her. Some of the words the men use to describe her include ‘‘tart’’ ‘‘jail-bait’’ and ‘‘she got the eye.’’ These all describe her to be dangerous before we first see her. When we’re first introduced to Curley’s wife she is heavily made up with red lipstick and red ostrich feathers both of which symbolise sexuality as well as danger. She has a very flirtatious nature which makes her husband jealous.
Curley’s wife would always try to show more of herself, and of course the reaction of the men was to call her a “tramp” and a “rat trap”. This is also subtly changing the readers view. We can see that all the men on the Ranch feel the same way about her. Steinbeck almost puts you in the position of Lennie and George, so whenever she insults them, so also insults you, further exaggerating what you feel about Curley’s wife. For example, when she says “They left all the weak ones here” all the men ignore her to let her know that she isn’t wanted, and Crooks tells her to get out.
A feminist point of view would be that the men are excluding her from having a social life. An audience composed of feminist readers, would evoke a sympathetic response when analysing the character of Curley’s Wife. She is said to wear the colour red; red is a primary colour which attracts young children because it’s bright and has an element of happiness in it. This description indicates the fact that she is an oppressed wife, forced to wear the clothes she is expected to wear but also holds onto a dream of the movies by wearing ‘ostrich’ feathers. Steinbeck communicates through this that she still desperately wants to achieve her goal but cannot due to Curley procrastinating her goal.
She had bigger dreams than just being a housewife and I think being the only woman on the farm stifles her. She looks to the men on the farm for friendship and companionship, but obviously they take it as flirting and in order to stay out of trouble with Curley, they stay away from her. This increases Curley’s wife’s loneliness. Curley’s wife represents women in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Women in the 1930’s were seen by men as scheming and devious.
Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife to be attractive, flirtatious and vulnerable and she is a very complex character. On the one hand, Steinbeck is making the reader feel sympathy for her, however, on the other hand she is shown to be provocative and enticing to the men on the ranch. She represents the women back in the 1930s who weren’t seen as independent women but were seen as an extension of their husbands rather than being independent and the loneliness that came from the jealousy and distrust towards young women at the time. The first time you hear about Curley’s wife is when candy describes her to George. Candy uses expression such as “she got the eye” and goes on to describe her as looking at other men because of this they call her a “tart”.
The title "Of Mice and Men". Firstly Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife as a lonely character. Newly married and in a strange place, she is forbidden by Curley to talk to anyone but him. To counter this, she constantly approaches the ranch hands on the excuse of looking for Curley. The only result is that the men regard her as a "slut", and Curley becomes even more intensely jealous.
Candy mentions that she, "got the eye" explaining that she is flirtatious and immoral in that wea re hit with the fact that she flirts with other men immediately after it is stated thatshe is married to Curley. Already, the reader is introduced to the idea that Curley's wife is an immoral "tart" which is strengthened upon her first appearance, which follows shortly after. She is first seen in the doorway of the bunkhouse , asking about the location of her husband, which is soon revealed as being a weak excuse to interact with the ranchers. She is wearing a "red cotton house dress" and a pair of mules decorated with "bouquets of red ostrich feathers." emphasisinig her sexual presence as the colour red, which is expressed repeatedly when Curley's wife's clothes are described, is often reffered to as the colour of love and passion.
Examine the role of Curley’s Wife In this essay I am going to examine the life and death of Curley’s Wife in the novella ‘Of Mice Of Men’. When we are first introduced to Curley’s Wife in Chapter 2 of the novella, it is shown that Curley’s Wife is at the heart of ranch gossip, with worker Candy giving newcomers to ranch, George Milton and Lennie Small, an uncomplimentary view of her. Candy begins by explaining how Curley’s wife a negative influence on Curley, “Curley’s cockier than ever since he got married” proving Curley feels he’s even more overpowering now as he has something the other men want”. Candy then goes on to tell them about Curley’s ‘Glove fulla Vaselin.’ He goes on to say why, “Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife”. This indicates that he is keeping his hand soft for his wife’s sexual pleasure, which proves that Curley sees his wife as nothing more than a sexual object.
What is also similar is that when the other ranch hands have a problem with either of the two they complain to their ‘owners’. When Carlson feels Candy’s dog is of no use he questions “why’n’t you just shoot him Candy?” And when controversy sparks over Curley and his wife Carlson again questions “why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?” This cruel comparison again shows how women were thought of In the 1930s America, the effect it has on the reader is also a cruel and sharp one. It makes the reader belittle Curley’s wife and not think much of her but however on the other hand it may make some readers sympathise with her and actually feel sorry for