Curley’s Wife: Floozy or Innocent Girl? Essay

Curleys wife is a young, pretty woman, who is mistrusted by her husband, Curley. The opposite personalitys refer to her only as Curleys wife, which is significant as she is the only character in the novel without a name. She is a simple object or possession belonging to her husband and this shows the severity of the sexual discrimination in America in 1930s. I rely Steinbeck would ask thought of her not as a person but a symbol. Almost everyone on the ranch is lonely and she symbolises this. The audience would come to believe she is a weak isolated character however, the men are fearful of her. She is the wife of their boss. She has power and this power creates fear among the ranch workers. She is both in charge and screaming for attention. When we first meet Curleys wife, the description of her suggests she is clearly overdressed for life on a ranch. Her fingernails were red and she wore red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. The repetit ion of the red suggests danger.This could be a warning about trouble in the future. Danger creates fear and the workers on the ranch definitely fear her. She has the power to dismiss them from their jobs or til now have them lynched as she is the bosss wife. This Miss Dynamite image is support by the fact that George thinks she will be trouble. He calls her a tramp steamer, poison and tells Lennie (who has taken a shine to her) to leave her be. He sees her as a threat and doesnt want Lennie to get involved with someone who could potentially lose them their jobs. The audience begins to dislike this woman. This highlights the prejudice against women at the cartridge clip. She comes across as a confident flirt when in company due to her consistence language. The first description of her includes ..so that her body was thrown forward. This gesture suggests that she almost throws herself at men. George called her a tramp and her actions are beginning to fulfill this opinion of her. I think some would view this as disappointing. Women were mainly seen in whore houses at the time. The fact that Curleys wife had found herself a husband, lived on a ranch and not in a whore house, suggests she is a good girl. We want her to be different from the general view of women at the time which had been brought about by prejudice. Unfortunately she comes across as no different. This continues in chapter 5, when Curleys wife consoles Lennie. She moved closer is repeated showing how she continuously reduces the withdrawnness between herself and Lennie. It suggests she is forward and flaunting herself at him. The audience could start to feel uncomfortable and anxious at this point. This could be the moment of danger that was foreshadowed in the beginning. She seems to be the virile Miss Dynamite. However, there are so many implications that she is a lonely dupe.After she is killed there is a poignant moment in the book. The long sentences accent the movement of peace, time s tanding still before the men find her body. All the negative aspects of the character disappear and we feel sympathy for her. She tries to convey enthral and sophistication when really she is just a sweet country girl. Steinbeck describes her as very pretty, simple and sweet when dead. The audience now realise the ease of her authoritative self. the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face shows that she is at peace. She doesnt have to pretend anymore. She has been putting on an act. She had a fantasy which we only become aware of in this chapter to become a film star in Hollywood. One theme in the book is the American dream. Lennie and George have one.However, it is suggested that this is unreachable as George talks of them owning red and blue and green rabbits which gives the American dream a fantasy quality. The fact that Curleys wife still seems to believe in her dream gives her a naivety and we feel more sympathy for her and the audience warm to her . I think this is the point in the book (when Steinbeck reveals her true character) that the audience can look back over the book and think of her differently, as the lonely victim. For instance, she is constantly searching for her husband which could be an excuse to ruffle with the other men. Im looking for Curley could have a hidden meaning and she could be desperate for some attention if she is lonely. The loneliness of her character is supported by the scene with Lennie in Chapter 5.She tells Lennie the about herself and her dream. She is so desperate to talk to someone and for someone to listen. .. her words tumbled out in a passion of converse shows how desperate she is to share her story. This desperation continues when she went on with her story quickly, before she could be interrupted. This could be seen as her creation conceited. On the other hand, she could just be overwhelmed that someone is actually listening to her so she wants to say everything before it becomes to o good to be true and Lennie loses interest. This implies she has no one to talk to which is saddening as it shows how isolated she moldiness be.This isolation is emphasised further when she cant even connect with Lennie. The one person who she starts to befriend turns out to be too good to be true. Dont you think of nothing but rabbits? shows that Lennie isnt really listening. They lose what was a potentially beautiful connection. In conclusion, Curleys wife dreams of being Miss Dynamite but is really only the lonely victim. Her dream was to be a film star in Hollywood but she finds herself accompaniment on a ranch. One of her strengths is her status in society as the bosss wife but apart from this she seems to be the lonely victim through and through even though she tries to cover it up with her glam image. She hides behind a mask and the audience only realise when she dies.