Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Essay

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Of Mice and Men Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife in a number of different ways. Curley’s wife is a glamorous, flirtatious, self-obsessed woman living on an all-male ranch. In some ways she has been portrayed fairly, as her cruel actions show that she deserves the judgements that are thrown at her. In other ways there is misogyny detected in Steinbecks depiction, as she is judged right from the start, before they know what she has to go through. You may view her as a sympathetic character, however all sympathy may be lost throughout the novel. Of Mice and Men is set around the 1930’s, during the great depression. This caused great troubles for the American ranch hands and the harsh times contributed…show more content…
Her character is harshly judged from the start simply because she’s a woman and no one saw things from her perspective. Because of this, the reader is influenced to feel sympathy for Curley’s wife. Her husband, who is always trying to keep a close eye on her, controls her. He is exceedingly possessive of her, and is easily angered when he catches her talking to another man. “I get lonely.” She says to Lennie, “You can talk to people, but I cant talk to nobody but Curley”. However, in some parts of the novel, the reader is shown the other side of Curley’s…show more content…
Not only is it fair simply because she deserved the judgement that she got, but steinbeck has fairly portrayed curley’s wife to suit the time period in which the story was set. The way Curley’s wife is treated reflects how many women were treated in those days. There was very limited respect for women, especially of her description. They were the odd one’s out and possessions of their husbands. If the story were to be set at present date, his depiction would have been seen as unfair and sexist, considering women are viewed very differently today. Nowadays women have gained higher respect and are treated more equally to
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