Curley's Wife
How does Steinbeck present the character of Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men?
Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a poignant tale which tells of a number of disconnected, isolated characters. Curley’s wife epitomises the extreme loneliness of the human condition. Although she only makes a significant appearance three times in the novel, she plays an important part both in terms of plot development and in terms of furthering the readers’ understanding of the theme of loneliness and alienation.
Steinbeck uses a number of techniques to portray Curley’s wife and the resulting character is fairly hard to pin down. Although Steinbeck uses a third person omniscient narrator, it is important to acknowledge that we learn of Curley’s wife through a male perspective; the author/ narrator is male, as are all of the other ranch dwellers who comment on and judge Curley’s wife, potentially subtly prejudicing the reader.
Curley’s wife is known throughout the novel as ‘Curley’s wife’ and this has a number of effects.
Firstly, her lack of personal identity dehumanises her. Every other character, including Crooks, has a name. Curley’s wife is consistently identified as her husband’s possession. This is a constant reminder as to the main reason that the ranch workers cannot talk to her: they are anxious that
Curley could take offence at any male engagement with his wife and that, because he is the boss’s son, they could lose their jobs as a result. The name she is referred to by the narrator and by the other characters in the novel could be seen as indication of women’s inferior social status in 1930s
America.
Although in a letter to an actress playing Curley’s wife in a stage version of ‘Of Mice and Men’,
Steinbeck insists he is sympathetic to the only female character, as readers, we have to work hard to feel sympathy towards her. Through the use of the other characters’ opinions, the reader is given a biased view of Curley’s wife before even meeting her. For
Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a poignant tale which tells of a number of disconnected, isolated characters. Curley’s wife epitomises the extreme loneliness of the human condition. Although she only makes a significant appearance three times in the novel, she plays an important part both in terms of plot development and in terms of furthering the readers’ understanding of the theme of loneliness and alienation.
Steinbeck uses a number of techniques to portray Curley’s wife and the resulting character is fairly hard to pin down. Although Steinbeck uses a third person omniscient narrator, it is important to acknowledge that we learn of Curley’s wife through a male perspective; the author/ narrator is male, as are all of the other ranch dwellers who comment on and judge Curley’s wife, potentially subtly prejudicing the reader.
Curley’s wife is known throughout the novel as ‘Curley’s wife’ and this has a number of effects.
Firstly, her lack of personal identity dehumanises her. Every other character, including Crooks, has a name. Curley’s wife is consistently identified as her husband’s possession. This is a constant reminder as to the main reason that the ranch workers cannot talk to her: they are anxious that
Curley could take offence at any male engagement with his wife and that, because he is the boss’s son, they could lose their jobs as a result. The name she is referred to by the narrator and by the other characters in the novel could be seen as indication of women’s inferior social status in 1930s
America.
Although in a letter to an actress playing Curley’s wife in a stage version of ‘Of Mice and Men’,
Steinbeck insists he is sympathetic to the only female character, as readers, we have to work hard to feel sympathy towards her. Through the use of the other characters’ opinions, the reader is given a biased view of Curley’s wife before even meeting her. For