Another character is Curley's wife who is very lonely. Steinbeck shows lonliness by showing her only women on the ranch. She is lonely because at that time author is writing ,women were used to stay at home and not allowed to go out. She always flirts with the male workers of the ranch to seek attention.She always try to talk to somebody but no one is ready to talk to her. For evidence she said to Lennie,"I never get to talk to nobody.
In the 1930s America, women were seen as inferior to women. They were deprived of many rights and their default position was thought to be at home. Married women were by law forbidden to work and those unmarried were reduced to the worst jobs of society. In Of Mice and Men which is essentially a poignant tale about the friendship between two men, Steinbeck presents to us an unvaried sample of women. One of which actually speaks and appears for herself in person and another who although appears to have some moral values is “dead” and only appears through Lennie as a figment of his imagination.
Of mice and men is essentially a microcosm of the socio-economic problems faced throughout the great depression in America. The only definitive representation of women throughout the novella is Curley’s wife. Steinbeck was quite cruel in the way he portrayed Curleys wife in the novel, not even giving her a name or identity – this is because he is trying to get across to the reader the patriarchal society that this was. Curley’s wife appears three times in the book; the first time is in chapter 2 where the reader gets the initial impression that she is a “tart”. The second time we see her is in chapter 4 where we gain knowledge of her temperamental side.
Curley’s Wife Essay Loneliness paragraph quotes: “Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?” –p.99 “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while” –p.88 “Sullenness” used to describe her face when talking about her husband suggests that that is irritated and gloomy that the only person in the world she can talk to is a horrible husband. Shows her underlying irritation and gloom. –p.88 “Wire” is used to describe Curley’s hair by his wife. The fact that his hair is like wire as a posed to Curley’s Wife’s hair which is soft makes us feel that the two are polar opposites as in that Curley’s wife’s hair is an example of her warm welcoming presence where as curley’s hair is like wire as a metaphor of being a closed off place. Death Paragraph quotes: “Writhed” gives the reader the image that she is helplessly struggling like a small animal and compares her to the mouse and dog that Lennie has killed.
Curley’s Wife is a complex character that is mentioned in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’. In the beginning of the novella we feel sympathy and negativity towards Curley’s Wife. We feel sympathy because Curley’s Wife has no name. This shows that she is not of importance and that she is no more than an object. The characters in the novella refer to her as ‘Curley’s Wife’.
The character, Curley's wife, of the novel "of mice and men" is an example how the readers perception of a character changed without the character actually changing. This is demonstrated by the way that George and Lennie are warned about Curley's wife and how she is portrayed as a seductive, troublemaker. As the story continues, stienbeck slowly reveals her secrets, the real Curley's Wife is found. Stienbeck influences our opinion of curleys through other characters opions. She is first mentioned in the narrative when Candy describes her togeorge.
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.
To what Extent does Steinbeck present Curley’s Wife sympathetically? In the novel of Mice and Men, there is a woman merely referred to as Curley’s Wife. Her lack of identity could imply that she is not a human, but rather a possession of her husband. This attracts the readers sympathy as she is not given a name of her own, thus showing she is overpowered by her husband. Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in different perspectives.
Steinbeck uses Curley's wife's character to depict the inferiority of women. He also uses her to inform the reader of the dire range of choices for women of that era. Steinbeck creates the character of Curley's wife to show the reader that life as a house wife is dull and repetitive. He does that by making Curley's wife not fit into the expected mould of a married house wife. She is a lonely character constantly searching for attention, even if it is from ranch workers, cripples and the coloured.
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”.