Curleys wife, In John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men, is an example of how the readers perception of a character can change without the character actually changing. Curleys wife is first introduced when Candy describes her to George. Candy says things such as “she got the eye” and goes on to describe her as a woman who likes to look at other men and then finally calls her a “tart”. Through Candy’s words we develop an initial perception of Curley’s wife as flirtatious and promiscuous. This perception is further emphasized by Curley’s Wife’s first appearance in the novel.
Women were looked upon as inferior; and incapable of the skills men were, so a woman’s role was mainly housework and nothing with manual requirement. From the first short encounter we share with Curley’s wife we see just one, prominent side to her. From this first meeting, a lot can be foreshadowed. Steinbeck focuses our first introduction with her on her appearance; emphasizing her sexual appeal and desirability towards men. ‘She had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up,’ which suggests that the author wanted us to presume the worst of her before she’d even spoken and we set ourselves up for her to be a character we feel a lot of resentment for.
This enforces the idea that unlike Lennie, she is a complex character in the novel. Steinbeck mentioned that Curley’s wife’s voice had a “nasal, brittle quality” which is a clear sign of her flirtatious behaviour. Although her intentions were flirty, the fact that it was described as ‘nasal’ by the author made it obvious that it was unpleasant to the ears. The reaction from George made it clear to the reader that she was an attractive woman, however he was being apprehensive as he “looked away from her and then back”. This contrasts with Lennies reaction as his “eyes moved down over her body” blatantly checking her out.
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. Additionally, the bouquets of ostrich feathers, also described as red, on the insteps of her shoes would have been extremely expensive in the times Of Mice and Men was set; and that Curley's wife not only wears them on her feet but in the middle of the 'Dust Bowl' expresses her desperate need for attention as she is willing to possibly ruin her best shoes in order to entice the ranchers, despite the fact that she has a husband.
The physical description which follows underlines how out of touch she is with the male world of the ranch. She is “heavily made up” whilst the “little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” seem almost laughably inappropriate. The repetition of red – which is a colour associated with passion and danger – is an early indication of Curley’s wife flirtatious character. This is an impression underlined by her body language as she leans against the door “so that her body was thrown forward” and by the fact that she speaks “playfully” in response to George who has just “brusquely” retorted: “Well he ain’t
When we first meet Curley’s wife, Steinbeck makes her appear very flirtatious and dangerously beautiful. Steinbeck does this by giving her features that are very atrocious but yet lures you such as ‘full, rouged lips’, ‘red fingernails’, and ‘red mules’. The word ‘red’ symbolises many associations with sex, lust and seduction. Another quote that would question the reader would be, ‘She’s a jailbait.’ From this quote alone, it evokes the reader of suspicion that she could be the ticket to jail as well as being an object that would foreshadow later in the book. In addition to the previous paragraph, we also know that Curley’s wife is a married woman, a possession of Curley’s.
“You’re growing up, hmm; getting dreamy? Pretty soon now you’re going to be riding the red, and if you don’t look smart, next stop is wolfie’s house, and wolfie, doesn’t he just love the smell of that blood, oh yes.” The authors in both stories use social satire to communicate theme. In the handmaid’s tale the handmaid’s were veils and are not allowed to show their body because they are restricted to reveal their body structure. These satires on the Islamic religion where women are covered under a veil to protect themselves from attracting other men. On the other hand, Hopkins uses the red riding hood dress as a seduction for the wolfie, to tease him and make him want more.
Scarlett O’ Hara is beautiful, but spoiled, high-tempered woman. For instance, Scarlett quotes “I want them to be pea green with envy!” She always wants people to be jealous of her. Sometimes she does not care what other people care of her. In addition, Scarlett always flirts with the guys. Scarlett can be unfaithful, just how she was to her husbands in the story.
Her finger nails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.’ This opening quote tells us many things about how the character was initially introduced. She is described using the colour red many times in this opening quote. This suggests that she is a dangerous character who shouldn’t be played with, much as the colour implies and if you were to be involved with her, there could be consequences.
This further suggests her need to overcompensate in her image as an attempt to impress the ranch workers and her husband. The reader may infer that Curley’s wife succeeds in her attempt for their attention when slim addresses her as “good-lookin” in a friendly manner, however we notice George stays constantly wary of her and treats her with a similarly brusque air “well he aint now.” Steinbeck uses this short and abrupt sentence to perhaps highlight George’s intolerance of her, and her dangerously flirty personality. Steinbeck prefigures the death of Curley’s wife, later in the novel, also through his physical description of her. This is shown through use of the colour red in her; “rouged lips”; “little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” and “red mules” perhaps meaning her association with the colour red holds connotations of danger and death. Her death is also prefigured in the very first introduction of her entering the bunkhouse “the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off” Steinbeck presents the sunshine as being part of Curley’s wife’s’ ‘dream’ and perhaps being used as a metaphor for the freedom and happiness she longs for, however when the light is “cut