Explore how Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in novel ‘Of Mice and Men’
1930’s America was the time of the Great Depression; there was lack of jobs and the lives of many families were destroyed as a result of severe poverty. Men would travel the roads searching for any work which could provide them with the means to live. These men were migrant workers and in Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are two such men on a ranch. Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch and the fact that she has no name symbolises the discrimination suffered by women in the 1930’s. During this time few women worked and therefore had little independence and instead relied on the support of their families or husbands.
The first impression of Curley’s wife is profoundly negative. Candy describes her as a “tart” an suggests she is promiscuous, “she got the eye” and is disrespectful towards her husband even though she’s only been married two weeks. This leads the villain to believe she has been unfaithful and is the villain of the novel. However, Candy also says “Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife” could suggest that Curley sees her as a purely sexual object and takes advantage of her, without regard for romance, equality or respect. Because of Curley’s authority over the other workers his attitude and opinion towards his wife will influence the other men, creating generally biased opinions of her. This relates to the power of men at the time – Steinbeck is showing how men had the upper hand even if, like Candy, they were of low status. As a result, the reader may sympathise with Curley’s wife and see her as a lonely young girl desperate for any form of attention and so unhappy in her marriage that she would seek attention from those who have already formed a negative opinion of her.
When Curley’s wife first enters the novel, Steinbeck describes her as “heavily made up”.