She dislikes her husband and had a desire to become a movie star. She is not seem as an individual and has no name. This shows how a woman belonged to their husband. This essay is going to examine in detail how Curley’s wife has been presented in this novel. Steinbeck presents her as a negative married woman.
Even though we see a sense of power with Curley, we are then brought to the idea that she is ‘giving men the eye’ which makes us dislike her for we assume then that she is being unfaithful and portraying her as a floozy. I think that Steinbeck uses this technique as it allows the reader to build up a character portfolio of the men on the ranch relationship to Curley’s wife and shows that there is a fear when it comes to her and
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.
Curley’s Wife Curley's wife is the most pathetic of the outsiders: unlike the others, even Lennie, she seems not to understand her limitations - or she refuses to admit them. She still dreams of what might have been, seeing herself as a potential film-star .Desperate for companionship which she doesn’t get from Curley, she flirts with the ranch-hands. They are uneasy about this, as they think her to be seriously promiscuous, and are fearful of Curley's reaction. She is misunderstood and the way she is introduced by Steinbeck is from the point of view of the workers so her image is marred and the audience have a slight dislike for her already. She is constantly objectified by the ranch workers who see her as nothing but a sexual object which we see as she is the target of name-calling from the ranch workers, being referred to as a “tart”, “loulou” and “tramp”.
This makes the reader immediately judge Curley’s wife and stereotype her as a lonely women wanting sexual attraction. Steinbeck presents her in this manner as a sign of potential foreshadowing as the reader knows Lennie has had previous trouble with girls so he wants to show how Lennie is exposed to possible danger. Also,
Koro had said, “Pai, go sit at the back. You’re a girl”. This short, albeit effective sentence was used by Koro because he wanted to quickly tell Pai that he didn’t care for her as much as the boys, just because of her gender. When a viewer hears this short but effective statement, they would immediately realise the great mistreatment towards Pai that she must endure every day due to the fact that she is a female. Another display of patriarchy during this film during a scene preceding the birth and simultaneous death of Pai’s brother and mother.
When this happens he will do anything to get women`s attention, which leads to him being an extremely disrespectful and impolite teenager who is also very immature. “I started giving the three witches at the next table the eye again”(Salinger 70”). In short, Holden tries to be nice to people of the opposite sex and wants to create friendships, but his immaturity makes him think of women as objects and his disrespect towards others will not help him get through his life. Holden`s communication idealism is first brought forth when he describes his life at Pencey Prep High School. He thinks it is full of phonies, morons and bastards.
Steinbeck uses character relationships to create an impression of the characters so that the reader can begin to imagine what they are like. Curley’s wife is seen to be a lowly, devious woman by the majority in the farm that will do anything and hurt anyone to make herself feel better. As she is a woman, at the time she is seen as an inferior to the male workers. She is married to the bosses’ son, Curley, and their relationship is a poor one. We can see that Curley clearly treats her as a trophy wife as her name ‘Curley’s wife’ shows that she is practically his property and he owns her.
She starts to make excuses for him not answering. When she calls again her lover doesn't pick up avoiding her, which makes her wonder what he is doing.The she is obsessed over every action he has done. Feeling rejected and avoided from her lover, she is rationalizing his actions in order because she think she loves him. If she accepts the real truth about their relationship and the situation, she know it will make her feel less of lady. The society as put in everyones head to be.
Curley’s wife emerges as a relatively complex and interesting character. Although her purpose is rather simple in the book’s opening pages—she is the “tramp,” “tart”, and “bitch” that threatens to destroy male happiness and longevity—her appearances later in the novella become more complex. When she confronts Lennie, Candy, and Crooks in the stable, she admits to feeling a kind of shameless dissatisfaction with her life. Her vulnerability at this moment and later—when she admits to Lennie her dream of becoming a movie star—makes her utterly human and much more interesting than the stereotypical vixen in fancy red shoes. However, it also reinforces the novella’s grim worldview.