When Lennie is in the barn because he killed the puppy Curley’s wife walks in and starts talking to Lennie. “…Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.”(86) In doing this Curley’s wife is coming right out and telling Lennie that she is lonely and just wants someone to talk to. Curley’s wife is always looking for someone just to talk to because she doesn’t have anything better to do.
Steinbeck presents her as a negative married woman. She has been presented first through the dialogue of ranch-hand Candy when he describes her to George. His opinion is very sexist towards Curley’s wife as he says “Curley married...a tart”. This shows Steinbeck presents her in a very crude manner. The word “tart” shows the immediate impression and effect Curley’s wife has on the other men on the ranch.
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''.
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.
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.
Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life. Curley’s wife: Of Mice and Menis not kind in its portrayal of women. In fact, women are treated with contempt throughout the course of the book. Steinbeck generally depicts women as troublemakers who bring ruin on men and drive them mad. Curley’s wife, who walks the ranch as a temptress, seems to be a prime example of this destructive tendency—Curley’s already bad temper has only worsened since their wedding.
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.
menThe next time we hear and see Curley’s wife is when she enters Crook’s bunk. She comes in this scene, interrupting Lennie, Candy and Crooks during their conversation. The first thing she says in this scene is “Any you boys seen Curley?” This shows again that she is still trying to find Curley, but they are never seen together until her death. In this scene she is trying to find someone to talk to, as you can see, as she is very lonely and has no-one to talk to. Once Curley’s wife says this the three men ‘swung their heads,’ showing that she had interrupted their conversation, which was about their dream.
She is not a good example for him; she spends her days sitting around the house, drinking muscatel, talking to Santa Battaglia on the phone, and going bowling. Mrs. Reilly expresses disappointment that he is not measuring up to the model of success, which she and her peers prefer. She is right; he is far from meeting his potential. However she seems to be embodying the stereotype of the parent who is never satisfied. Even though in the Chapter 11 readers find out that Ignatius's birth does not appear to
Because of her apparent sexuality, the men on the ranch ignore and never want anything to do with her. But because she is Curley's wife and Curley is an easily wound up former boxer, they see her as trouble. All of the men are sure that she would try to seduce them and then they would get in trouble and be fired by the boss. So, she's only ever allowed to talk to Curley and always feels lonely because of it. She doesn't like Curley in the least and doesn't enjoy being around him.