However, as the story progresses, we learn that this is only one of many sides to a very lonely woman. The readers sympathy for this character also changes throughout the novel, as her secrets are revealed and the real Curley's Wife is found. Curley's Wife is a very complex character. The reader's first impression of her is created before she actually appears in the book. We find out what the workers think of Curley's Wife through Candy when George and Lennie first arrive at the ranch.
Tart light/dark This perception is further emphasized by Curley's Wife's first appearance in the novel. Steinbeck uses light symbolically to show that she can be imposing when he writes, "The rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off". Her physical appearance of "full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made- up", as well as painted fingernails and elaborate hair, further build on our preconceptions of her as a tart. She both talks and acts playfully and flirtatiously in front of the other ranch workers. Through her physical appearance and her own actions, Candy's description of Curley's Wife seems accurate after her first appearance in the text.
This perception is further emphasized by Curley’s Wife’s first appearance in the novel. Steinbeck shows that she can be trouble and perhaps danger when the “rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off”. Showing that something dark has entered the room. Her physical appearance of “full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made-up” as well as painted fingernails and elaborate hair, further builds up on our first thoughts of her. She also acts flirtatiously in front of the other ranch workers.
Ot having a name also shows that although she was a somewhat significant character in Steinbeck's novel in real life and in that period women in general are not especially this one. All these people were forced into isolation; everyone of them had his or her version of a dream in the hope it would bring upon them a better life at the time mostly referred as ‘The American Dream’. Curley’s Wife is the center of Stienbeck's novel and her importance in the novel is of how she is the downfall of the Dream- it is because of her (or, rather, because Lennie kills her) that the dream dies. Curley's wife, dressed in red, foreshadows the danger her character gives. In her first appearance she stands in the doorway and blocks out the sun- this physical darkening is metaphorical of her darkening of the dream.
The word “tart” which shows the impression and effect Curley’s wife has on other workers on the ranch. The word “tart” is very blunt and straight forward which is the effect Steinbeck wanted to use because he wants to show the reader the immediate impression workers have about Curley’s wife. This further supports my point that Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife in a negative manner. The effect of this is that the reader has made an unfair judgement about Curley’s wife without her even speaking. This means that the reader sees her as a danger to Lennie but also makes the reader think that she is unfaithful and has married Curley for the wrong reasons such as money and power which is what all ambitious women
Her charisma and confidence is made clear when the mother states, “She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature” (Walker 313). The mother also tells of Dee’s younger sister, Maggie, who has been scarred by a house fire. In the story, Walker writes that upon seeing her older sister, Maggie was “eyeing her with a mixture of awe and envy.” However, in addition to conjuring these descriptions of confidence and elegance, the mother also describes the darker aspects of Dee’s personality. Elements of criticism, judgment, and pettiness are all made apparent.
Curley’s Wife’s appearance and actions around the ranch workers portrays her to be trampy. She is “heavily made up”, has a red cotton house dress on, “full rouged lips”, red slippers with ostrich feathers, and “her hair hung in little rolled clusters”. This means she is making an effort to impress the ranch workers in the barn. She needs to be heavily made up to look attractive to get the attention of the ranch workers. Curley’s Wife asks about where her husband is Curley.
Author John Steinbeck is honored for the deep description in his novels that allow the reader to picture the story in the mind as if they are actually there. This is especially true with his details given about a story’s characters. However, in his novel Of Mice and Men, although he provides substantial detail about her personality and appearance, he leaves Curley’s Wife without of name. In the novel, Curley’s Wife was a possession to her husband, an outcast on the ranch, and a misunderstood victim of her circumstances. In the time era in which Of Mice and Men took place in, woman were considered second class citizens.
How does Steinbeck present Curley’s Wife in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’? Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in the novel Of Mice and Men by pointing her out in a negative way; this is how most men would see women in the 1930s. She is judged on her appearance and the way she presents herself to other characters on the ranch. Curley’s Wife is described on how she looks; she is described as wearing red, which shows a symbol of danger. By wearing the red throughout this relates to how she always dreamed of being in the movies and fulfilling her dreams.
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.