Further, she does little to hide these flirtations from her husband, though they’re likely to infuriate him and make him feel even smaller. As the only woman on the ranch, Curley’s wife is lonely and sad; something her marriage to Curley only makes worse. She reveals throughout the course of the story that she is unhappy in her marriage because her husband seems to care little for her, and is really more interested in talking about himself than anything else. She is constantly searching for her husband, “I’m looking for Curley.” Although, this may be just an excuse to mingle with the men and have some company. Curley’s wife barges in on Lennie, Crooks, and Candy in Chapter Four.
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.
Another thing he cried, "I tell ya a guy gets too lonely and , he gets sick. His words describing his loneliness. Along with this he feels himself very down because of his colour. Crooks felt very small when Curly's wife address him "Nigger". Another character is Curley's wife who is very lonely.
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.
The letters that Irene sends are often full of misinterpreted information that often causes trouble, where it is none of her business. So I think as an audience we feel pity for her, as we see how lonely and devout of purpose she is, but also she is clearly a very bitter woman so perhaps we don’t feel too sorry for her. The first line of the monologue, ‘I can’t say the service was up to scratch’, sets the tone for the rest of a Lady of Letters, with Irene moving from one disappointment and source of complaint to the next at a rapid rate. Her only link to the community that she seems to mostly despise is the letters she writes; these letters are an outlet of her frustration and fear of a community she has been almost completely isolated from. Irene doesn’t realise this isolation as she thinks she has been sent a personal letter from an opticians, when in fact it is simply generated advertising.
When members of society are discriminated, they start to develop feelings of loneliness which affect their self-esteem and general self worth. Crooks, the African American was discriminated due to his race which caused him to be seen as a lonely, bitter, quiet individual, the insecurity that possessed Curley’s wife caused her to be seen as a superficial, flirtatious female character but readers learnt that loneliness caused this persona and Candy who had only one companionship experienced solitude due to the loss of his dog and because of being an elder, disabled worker. Often in our society, we are discriminated due to our physical characteristics, race and genders; this makes us vulnerable to the feeling of loneliness. To overcome this, we need to seek companionship in someone who will make us feel accepted and
Poor Curley’s wife! Curley’s wife is a victim. She is a victim because she suffered through a lot when she was young or before she was married and also after her marriage.In this scene Curleys wife was flirting with lennie and she said “I get Lonely. You can talk to people but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad.
Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in different perspectives. The sympathy which she attracts is immense. She explains that she ‘gets lonely’ and ‘I get awful lonely’. The use of repetition emphasises her isolation and frustration at her not being able to talk to ‘nobody but Curley’ and this frustration continually surfaces as she speaks to Lennie. “And her words tumbled out in a passion of communication as though she hurried before the listener could be taken away”.
Throughout the novel, almost every character is portrayed by Steinbeck as suffering from loneliness. Curley’s wife suffers acutely from loneliness. In the male dominated, hostile world of the novel, being female isolates her from the ranchers. She is referred to as “ a tart “ and as “ jail bait “ – expressions which convey fear and contempt. She is never referred to by her name; she is only known as “ Curley’s Wife “ which emphasises her character’s sense of loneliness.
For example George states she is a ‘tramp’. Her relations with Curley are troubled and extremely scarce as they are never once seen with one another. Steinbeck portrays many acts of Curley’s wife that significantly affect the reader’s relationship with her. Two prime examples would be when she enters Crook’s barn and shows a shear amount of prejudice to Crooks, Lennie and Candy. Secondly, towards the end of the novella, the readers see her as an innocent woman due to the way she ‘consoles’ Lennie.