curleys wife

• Curley's Wife


  • The only major female character in the novel
  • Represents all women in the 1930s America setting
  • Not powerful enough to be solely responsible for the end of George and Lennie's dream
• Lack of power/respect


  Curley's Wife is not taken seriously by the men on the ranch
• Candy: 'Well, I think Curley's married...a tart.'
• George: 'Jailbait<|>Bitch'
• The men can openly speak disparagingly of Curley's Wife, showing her lack of danger
• The stark juxtaposition of Curley's Wife and the men on the ranch shows she is isolated from them and perceived as dangerous, but this perception does not make it accurate
• Curley's Wife: 'I get lonely. You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?'
• Curley's Wife lacks power and freedom, as she is treated as a possession rather than a person
• The men on the ranch may misunderstand Curley's Wife and exaggerate her flirtatiousness
• Curley's Wife: 'You're all scared of each other, that's what. Ever' one of you's scared the rest is goin' to get something on you.'
• The men fear each other more than they fear Curley's Wife, showing she is not dangerous
• Curley's Wife: 'Why can't I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.'
• Curley's Wife's behaviour stems from her loneliness and vulnerability, not malicious intent
• Curley's Wife: 'I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself. Maybe I will yet.'
• Curley's Wife still holds out hope for a futile dream, making her a poignant character rather than a dangerous one
• Curley's Wife: 'I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny. N*gger'
• Curley's Wife uses her societal power as a white woman to terrorise those below her, demonstrating the danger she poses
• Curley's Wife is unfairly demonised even after her death, showing Steinbeck wants the reader to engage with her as a victim, not a dangerous character
• Curley's Wife emerges as a complex and sympathetic figure, not a dangerous character