‘Of Mice and Men’ is a tragic novel set in 1930’s America during time of great Depression and poverty. It portrays the prejudice and clichéd views of a strained American society. Curly’s wife, a character who is detached from the rest of the world, a heart wrenching symbol of the American dream, trying and failing to break down the boundaries of society. This female represents women in the Depression, the lack of freedom and equality that they held, an equality that may still be held from many women to this day . Steinbeck is addressing the struggle for female existence during this period by leaving Curly's wife as the solitary female of the book, unneeded, and unwanted by the other characters.
In the times John Steinbeck lived in women were not held in high regard but they were just present to serve men. However, they still tried to yearn for a better future by exploiting men. The character Curley's wife in the novel is a victim of society and her dream. She is married to Curley who neglects her and so because of her loneliness she is always seeking attention. She wears too much makeup and dresses like a "whore"
Curley's Wife, Innocent or Not? Of Mice and Men is not a novel that portrays women considerately, examples of this are shown throughout the novel, in particular Curley's wife, who walks the ranch as a temptress and as a result is treated with scorn throughout the course of the novel, resulting in her death. This essay will analyze and discuss Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley's wife. Whether or not she is ultimately an innocent person caught in a tragic situation or simply a malevolent person who brings about her own inevitable doom. Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife at the beginning of the novel as a tramp, a tart that threatens to destroy any male on the ranch.
Curley’s wife is a character in ‘Of Mice and Men’ who is initially perceived as flirtatious and promiscuous however as the novel unfolds so does her personality and we begin to understand why she acts the way she does. Much of her behaviour can be traced back to the effects sexism had on women in America in the 1930s. She is lonely, with no other women on the ranch to relate to; her dreams have been lost and buried due to conformity and her final attempt at friendship with Lennie who she sees as someone with boundaries like herself ends in fatality. The phrase ‘lonely in a crowd’ is one that springs to mind when discussing Curley’s wife, she is surrounded by people but just can’t seem to find the attention she desires. When we are primarily introduced to her we can sense she may cause trouble among the men.
She is the only female character who appears in the novel and it is her death that ultimately leads to the events of the tragic ending. - Curley’s wife is shown as an important character as she plays a lot of main parts in the book, and the things she says plays an important part in the book ‘I don’t like Curley, he ain’t a nice fella’ this shows that maybe she has regrets about marrying him, and that because she didn’t carry on with her dreams and ambitions, which is one of the themes in the book, that’s why she ended up on the ranch feeling ‘lonely’ she says which is also another theme in the
Curley’s wife is unnamed, in part, to show her low status. Children often name various different objects and creatures, making them more important than the unnamed things in the world. This goes for characters too; namelessness gives readers an innate illusion of insignificance. Curley’s wife is not viewed as anything relatively important in the eyes of the ranch workers. Shown in Candy’s rude remark to her, “You ain’t wanted here.
“How does this add to your understanding of women’s role within society at this time?” In this passage, Curley’s Wife is confiding in Lennie. A few lines into the extract, she asks Lennie “Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?”- Which could show that women at this time were told what to do, and whom they were allowed to talk to by their husbands. Women at this time were seen as having a lower status than men. Obviously Curley’s Wife does not love her husband, which is delicately shown when she tells Lennie “I don’t like Curley, he’s not a nice fella.” It is noticeable that Curley’s Wife does not have a name throughout the novel. She is only addressed as “Curley’s Wife” – her real name is never said.
Curley's wife was treated with injustice due to the fact that she was the only female on the ranch and because she had no one to converse with. Curley's wife has no female friends to share with so naturally she would want to go talk to the men on the ranch. Most often she would go talk to someone who she really did not need to talk to. An example of one of these instances would be when she enters Crooks house and starts talking to Lennie, Candy, and Crooks (77). She is portrayed as a 'tart' (28) and as a flirtatious lady who is going to cause the men trouble (32).
Kate Chopin in The Awakening shows significance of Edna’s suicide by having her death location at the same place as her awakening. Chopin writes the ending so ambiguous to highlight the fact that Edna drowns herself. Edna’s suicide results are attempts of her trying to choose the type of female that she wants to be in the society that she is in, which this leads to her defeat of her life to the sea. I feel that Edna finally surrenders herself to the sea. This would have been out of her frustration and pathetic state of her being.
eDoes Steinbeck encourage the reader to see Curley’s wife as a victim or villain in section five of ‘Of Mice and Men’ Steinbeck has created a character in the book named ‘Curley’s wife’. In the book Curley’s wife does not have a name as it makes the reader feel that she doesn’t deserve one. Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife as either victim or a villain. In section five of ‘Of Mice and Men’ Curley’s wife is at some points a villain. She takes advantage of Lennie.