curley's wife

• Curley's wife


  • The only female character directly featured in the novel
  • Perceived as a "tart" by the male characters on the ranch
  • Threatened by the male characters on the ranch
• Curley's wife is never named in the novel, which reflects how she is not valued as a person
• Curley's wife's character demonstrates the misogynistic attitude towards women that may have been held by men such as the ranch workers at the time
• Curley's wife is only thought of in relation to her husband and is never seen by the other characters as a worthwhile individual
• Curley's wife


  • Lonely
  • Seeks out men to speak to so she can engage in conversation
  • Admits she does not like her husband and thinks he's unpleasant
  • Disappointed because of her failed dream to become a movie star
• Curley's wife: '"I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely."'
• Curley's wife's statements are short and simple, reflecting her sparse and limited life on the ranch
• Curley's wife uses only a few words, in the same way as she speaks very few words in her day-to-day life
• The word "awful" is used to emphasise how lonely Curley's wife is, and also shows how sad her life is
• Curley's wife: '"–Sat'iday night. Ever'body out doin' som'pin'. Ever'body! An' what am I doin'? Standin' here talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs–"'
• Curley's wife is bitter, insulting the only men left on the ranch (Lennie, Crooks and Candy) by referring to them as "bindle stiffs", meaning tramps
• Curley's wife repeats "Ever'body" to show how alone she feels, as if everyone in the world is doing something except her
• Curley's wife's appearance


  • Wearing a cotton house dress, which represents the role she is supposed to be taking up
  • Wearing rouged lips and red mules, suggesting she is heavily made up despite the cotton house dress
  • This could suggest she is not happy with her role on the farm, or it could be an obligation for her husband, or it could be her own choice to make herself feel happy, or it could be an attempt to appeal to the other men on the ranch
• The men talk about Curley's wife defensively, worried that she could get them into trouble
• George: '"I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be."'
• George emphasises his mistrust of Curley's wife by saying he has never seen another woman as likely to get a man into trouble before
• George warns Lennie away from Curley's wife, suggesting she is dangerous and untrustworthy
• Curley's wife wanted to be the sexy femme fatale in the movies, but even in the movies she could not escape the sexist views of society
• There would never be a strong independent woman in a film - you were either a strong independent woman at the start who gives it up for a man, or you would be punished